Our lighting on a budget series is here to show you how to get great results and CREATIVE results with affordable studio lighting. Our Part I series focused on lighting with one light. To view that article click here.
Part II of this series focuses on all the different looks you can get from just two studio lights. The trick to using two lights is to get creative and force yourself to see all the different combinations.
Many times before I even start shooting I will see the picture in my head. Do I want harsh light? Soft light? Even light? Shadowy light? These are all things you should be asking yourself before you even snap the shutter. See the light before you even begin, and then try to duplicate what you are seeing in your head. The more you do this, the easier it becomes.
Semi-harsh, Direct Light
In these pictures, I knew I wanted a semi-harsh, direct light.
My Technique
I decided to use the beauty dish with a diffuser, reflector, and barndoor. The beauty dish was placed to the left and diffuser to the right. The barndoor light was directly pointed at the back of the subjects head and closed so that it made a smaller beam of light.
In the first picture, you see the halo around the subjects head from the barndoor, with a relatively even lit face. This same photo with just a soft box would be rather boring, but by adding the barndoor and beauty dish it became much more interesting.
In the second picture, the light is set up exactly the same – I just changed the angle that I was shooting to get a whole different look. By moving the direction I was shooting, I was able to get a little of the backlight in the picture. Two totally different looks without switching the lights around at all!
Even Light
In this picture I knew I wanted a pretty even light. Not completely shadow free though, because I still wanted an interesting light pattern. But I knew I wanted a brighter background.
I put a large softbox above the subject to light the top of the head and floor around the subject. I used the softbox because I wanted a wide soft light. For the front light I used a beauty dish so that it would throw a dark shadow behind the subject. Since I wanted the subject’s face to be the brightest part of the picture, I had her face directly towards my beauty dish.
Shadows on the Face
This setup is very similar to the last picture, but I wanted more shadows on the face and a darker background with a spotlight effect on the floor.
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I lowered the light that is set up on the side of her and then switched the softbox for the barndoor. I left the barndoor relatively open so that I would get a harsh, bright light across the floor. I then raised the beauty dish up and pointed it down so that the light would fall down on the subject and eliminate the back shadows from her legs. I knew the barndoor would create a shadow and I didn’t want two shadows. I also added a reflector for a little fill light.
Strong Backlight/Lit Face
This little girl found this hat in my prop collection. She fell in love with it and I knew I had to do something really cool with it. I wanted a strong backlight that would wrap around her a little, but I also wanted the face completely lit.
I placed the beauty dish high above her and pointed down with the diffuser on it. I then put a reflector on the other side for fill light. The backlight was the barndoor closed as far as I could get it so that it was a very narrow beam of light. The backlight was placed to the right of the subject. Since I wanted a little of the backlight to show, I made sure it was not directly pointing at the subject’s head, but slightly in front.
One Quick Picture
Ever find yourself in a situation where the client wants just one quick picture on a different backdrop?? Here is a quick and easy solution!
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My Technique
I put a large softbox directly behind the subject with a second light in front! Instant high key backdrop! I could have used a softbox for a softer light in front, but I had the beauty dish already on so I just went with it. I used the reflector for fill light on the side.
High-Key Backdrops
Speaking of high-key backdrops…. With only two lights it is hard but NOT IMPOSIBLE to do!
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My Technique
I place my backlight with only a reflector dish in the back pointed close, to directly behind, my subject with a large softbox in front. I try to make sure the front is lit as cleanly as possible and as much of the background is pure white as I can get with only one light. This is one of the few times I CRANK the light power up.
The back light is turned up very high and the front light is turned up (not quite as much) and placed farther away from the subject. This will give me a larger area of light. If I kept the light close to my subject, it will darken the background.
With only two lights you WILL have to do some post work unless you come in really close. In this picture I knew it would be a close up. I pulled my subject as far away from the backdrop as I could and made sure they were standing in front of the center of the light in the back (strongest point of light). In this picture I didn’t have to edit the background in post at all because I was careful when setting up the shot.
I DO use this same setup for even large groups! It is just a matter of fixing the backdrop. I would not recommend this. Two lights in the back and two lights in the front are the most ideal for a high-key set up, but this is lighting on a budget! Sometimes you have to sacrifice a little extra time in post to get the look you want!!!!
High-Key 2
Here is another version of the high key set up.
My Technique
I knew I wanted to do a composite shot with this girl so I purposely did poses that would flow well together. Since I didn’t want to blast her with light from the front, I used the beauty dish so it would leave some natural shadowing on her skin and on the floor. The back light is cranked way up again!
Obviously this set up is a lot of post work, but the end results are well worth it! As I shot the different poses, I kept the same angle and height of the beauty dish but moved it
to whatever way her face was looking. When I was actually editing the composite shot, I left a little of the shadow under her feet. It help her not look like she is “floating” on white.
Clean White Look
Sometimes I don’t like the high-key white …..
When I want a clean white look without the high-key, I put a softbox HIGH above the subject’s head and then place another softbox at a 45 degree angle on the left. By placing a softbox high above her head, I eliminated most of the shadowing behind her. Nice simple clean light!
Lighting Guys
When lighting guys, I always like to go for a dramatic look. The pre-teen and teenagers like this look a lot. They don’t want to look pretty; they want to look “COOL”.
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My Technique
The first set up is with a bardoor in the back. You can see I let the light wrap around the back of the subject by opening the back door, but closed the door closest to my subject. I didn’t want a strong back light. I placed the beauty dish high above his head and angled it down. The key to the shadows on the jaw line is to bring the beauty dish high, but then bring in a reflector directly in front of the subject. The eye area is the brightest part of the face and the light softly gets darker the farther down you look.
The next setup is exactly the same with the backlight and angle. I brought the beauty dish in closer, dropped it so that it is more direct light, and put of the diffuser. The reflector also can be in a lot closer. By doing this you lose the fall-off, but you still get a dramatic look.
I used this SAME set up for the 3rd picture. You can see how great the kicker light looks in mom’s hair!!!
Get Creative!
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In both of these pictures, the same lighting setup was used.
Both used a beauty dish pointed right at the subject, but this time it is pulled away a little and the power is turned up. I only wanted a little fill light, so the reflector is moved farther away too. The barndoor is set up to directly spotlight the feet of the subject.
In the first picture with the little boy I wanted a really dramatic look, so I went for a more harsh light.
In the second picture, everything is the same except I added a diffuser to the barndoor (same one I use for the beauty dish, I just draped it over the barndoor). It softened the light just a little but still allowed me to keep an edgy look.
Focus on the Face
For this setup, I wanted all of the light to focus on her face.
I raised the beauty dish as high as I could get it and kept the power of the light really low so that I could spotlight her face. For the backlight, I only used the reflector dish. I wanted to backlight her whole body and not just one spot. Doing this only lights certain areas of the backdrop and creates an interesting pattern. On this picture, I added a light texture in post to really add to the pattern of light.
Toddlers
All of the previous setups require older kids or adults. ….
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My Technique
With young toddlers, it is really important to keep the light simple. When I am working on a large backdrop, I use two softboxes at 45 degree angles to create a large, soft area of light. When the little ones run around, I can pretty much get good lighting no matter when they are on the backdrop. I often will point the lights slightly down so that when the kids lay down and start to play I can still get the catch light in the eyes.
Kids with Smaller Backrops
When photographing kids on smaller backdrops that can create a glare, it is really important to “feather” the light.
To do this I place two softboxes facing each other. The key is to not let the light fall directly on the backdrop. It is harder to get the kids in the perfect spot but it is the only way to use the dark vinyl backdrops.
You can see in the pull-back that the lights are pulled as far away from the backdrop as possible. I want to keep the kids around the front to middle of the floor to get the best light and catch lights in the eyes.
These are just a few things that you can do with only two studio lights!!!!
YOU are now ready to ROCK out the studio!!
There are so many different effects you can achieve with just two lights! Now it’s time to get creative and think of all the amazing things you will now be able to do with those lights that you’ve been to afraid to turn on. Remember to think about your images as you’re setting up and the types of light you want on your subjects. Having a clear idea of the purpose of the lights and the placement of the lights will help ensure that the image you see in your mind is the image your client sees in print.
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Article by Nicki Hufford of Hufford Photography
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