Some studio photographers will certainly go for the “more is more” approach to lighting. And it can seem a little daunting when you’re starting out shooting with artificial light when you see multiple light set-ups. However, you can create beautiful, powerful portraits with just one light. Sometimes, less is more, as they say!
In this video, photographer Mark Wallace walks us through a portrait shoot using just one light. And the results speak for themselves.
One light set-up
Mark is using a really basic set-up here, of just the strobe with the small reflector that comes with it usually. As portrait photographers, the first thing we usually do is remove this 8.3-inch shiny reflector, which typically creates hard light, and replace it with a softbox or something that will soften the light.
On-axis hard light
For this session, though, Mark actually wants those harsh shadows and sparkling highlights. Mark places the light directly over the camera axis (yes, again, something we are told to avoid doing unless we like the red-eye look). However, this sort of lighting has become quite popular in fashion photography and can be fun to try out with the right subject.
The effect of this on-axis hard light is that there are hard shadows under the subject’s chin and along the arms but very little on the background. Mark is shooting at around f/8 to f/11 for a good depth of field that keeps everything in focus.
Post-production
Of course, no shoot is complete without a little post-processing to really amp up the effect. Mark walks us through his post-processing techniques and approach for this shoot using Lightroom.
It’s worth watching the whole video, particularly to get some fresh ideas on different lighting looks and post-processing techniques. It’s not always easy to create flattering portraits with hard light. However, if you want fashion-forward images, they can be a fun alternative to the more usual softer lighting setups.
Do you ever shoot portraits with hard light?
