Portrait photographers have come up with many different
lighting settings. They use light and shadow on the face of the model to
achieve a certain appearance and mood. In our article, photographer Sarah will
show the basic setting for dramatic portrait lighting - side (dividing) light
or split lighting.
What is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?
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What is side lighting?
Side lighting is a photographic lighting technique in which
a light source illuminating an object is placed perpendicular to the model.
This setting illuminates half of the face while the other half shades. Thus,
you "separate" the lighting on the face of the subject, from which
its name went.
Strong side lighting emphasizes the texture of the skin and
the face details of the model. Contrast and texture in portraits with dividing
light often make them more intense. It fills photos with power, confidence and
persuasiveness.
Separate lighting can also be used to make photos more
glamorous.
What is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?
Thus, such a light scheme is ideal for the following
purposes / genres of photography:
·
to achieve a dramatic
effect in portraits;
·
in fashion photography;
·
in commercial photography;
·
to add variety to a set of
thematic portrait photographs;
·
in order to make the wide
face of the model visually slimmer.
How to create dividing lighting?
Side lighting is a classic portrait lighting. Place the
light source so that its light falls on the side and directly on the face of
the object: it should be a 90 degree angle to the direction your camera is in.
It can be either to the left or to the right of the model. If possible, it is
better if the light source is slightly behind the model’s head. Check how the
light falls on your face. Move the light source or model until you can make
sure that exactly half of the face is illuminated, and the second in the shade.
How to make a circuit with side lighting better?
A few tricks that will improve the technique of dividing
lighting:
the subject’s ears can distract the viewer from the focus in
the frame. Make sure that they hide behind the hair (so that they do not leave
a shadow). Or, if the model’s hair is too short, just make sure the main light
is at an angle of 45 degrees.
the nose of your object can also create or, conversely,
disrupt the effect of light separation. If the nose of the model is large
enough, the effect of divided lighting may be unflattering. In this case, it is
better not to use this lighting method.
Show as little protein as possible in your eyes so you don't
get glazed eyes.
Use a natural light source for a softer effect
What is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?
You can start using the separate lighting scheme without
spending money on additional equipment. You can work with natural light: it is
especially easy to do this indoors, because you can place your object just on
the side of the window. To make the effect of such lighting more dramatic,
dispose of any other source so that only the light from the window remains.
Separate lighting can also be achieved when shooting
outdoors, using the sun as a light source. Such lighting is easier to do when
the sun is close to the horizon, for example, during sunrise or sunset.
Although this can be a little complicated, you will need to move the object
until you find the perfect position.
Use an artificial light source for full control
You can work with any light you have, for example, lamps or
flashlights. But you should keep in mind that they can give an undesirable
color cast to the whole image. They are also not always easy to move.
Especially if you need somewhere to connect the light to the network.
To have more flexibility and avoid color shades, you can
purchase special lighting equipment. Start with a LED backlight with a stand .
They are affordable, compact and battery powered. You can easily move them to
get a bright light on the face of your model.
Reflect the model’s eyes for a more vivid portrait
Catchlights or glare in the eyes are reflections of the
light source in the eyes of the subject. This is a small detail in the photo,
however, it gives the object extra vibrancy. Otherwise, the eyes may look
rather dull, and the look may be dull.
What is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?
The shape, size and location of glare in the eyes depend on
the light source, its characteristics and proximity to the model. Before taking
a picture, make sure that there is a glare, at least in the nearest eye to the
light source. If not, move the light source back and forth until you can revive
the look of the object.
If the shaded side of the face is not too dark, you may even
be able to see the highlight in the other eye.
Vary the light intensity for portraits in different moods
You can diversify the photos using the options of the side
lighting scheme. First of all, you can play with the intensity of light.
Placing the light source closer to the model will make it
more intense (harder). This will emphasize the texture. The contrast will also
become high, because the shaded part of the face will be much darker than the
illuminated one that is next to it, so the portrait will be more powerful and
dramatic.
What is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?
If you prefer a milder effect, you can vice versa reduce the
light intensity. Move the source away from the model or use the softbox to
diffuse the light.
Use color for creative portraits.
What is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?What
is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?
The temperature of the light is also a factor that
contributes to creating the mood of the portrait. Try working with white light
to get a neutral effect. You can also take a picture with dividing lighting
warmer using yellow-orange light. Or you can be even more creative and use more
colorful effects like red or purple. You can cover with a translucent colored
paper a light source or just buy color gel filters .
Convert your portrait to black and white to add more drama
The simplicity of black and white images helps add even more
drama to portraits with dividing lighting. With Lightroom, you can easily
convert color images to black and white. First, make all the necessary basic
settings on the main panel of the Develop module. These include adjusting
exposure, contrast, sharpness, or changing the tone curve.
This is an original photo right from the camera.
What is Split Lighting and how to use it in portraits?
In this case, the photographer increased exposure and
contrast, and reduced the shadows.
Once you do this, click the Black and White button on the
main panel of the Develop module.
Finally, in the HSL / Color / B & W panel, select the B
& W option. There you can darken or lighten any of the original colors in
your image.
These adjustments have a big impact on the final photo. Take
your time with them.
Conclusion
Dividing lighting is one of the basic settings that you can
apply to your portraits. Ideal for starting to experiment with light. You don’t
need a lot of special equipment and everything else to install the separating
lighting, just a model, a camera and a light source that can be both natural
and artificial, just wanting to be photographed.
Position the model so that it is perpendicular to the
direction of light from the source. Make sure that the face is clearly visually
divided into the bright half and half of the shadow. The side lighting scheme
is great if you want to make portraits more dramatic. Remember that this is not
a panacea and it will not be suitable for all occasions.
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