Three Point Lighting

Albert Pedrosa

Photo mania

I WAS once invited to a local talk show together with fashion photographer Joseph Ong.

During the interview, the host asked us about setting up and managing a shoot.

In Joseph’s answer, he described that in a fashion shoot, it’s actually a collaboration of different disciplines. From the make-up artist, to fashion stylist, creative director, photographer and the rest. The photographer should be able to blend and fuse them into a masterpiece. I totally agree with this concept.

In this article, I’ll talk about the basic three point lighting. This is among the many things you’ll be collaborating and managing during the shoot. Although this is a topic where you can write an entire book out of it, I’ll try to simplify it and probably cross my fingers and hope that you’ll understand it. The three point lighting is composed of a key light, fill light and the back light.

Key Light

Using three light sources, the key light is the main light source where the over all exposure is based on. It is normally positioned 45 degrees from either side of the subject. In this position, the light should cover a good amount of area. However, in this angle, shadows are also created. This is where the fill light is needed.

Fill Light

The fill light should be able to reduce and control the amount of shadows created. The idea is not to totally remove the shadows but to maintain a good ratio between main light and fill light. Different ratio gives you different feel so you have to do a lot of experimentation.

Back Light

To separate the subject from the background and to create dimension, the back light is angled at the back. The strength of the back light should be greater than the main light. This is essential since the back light should be able to create a good hair line or a rim light coming from the sides of the subject.

In one of Xander Angeles’ workshop, he explained that his style of lighting is additive. You start with a main light and add light where it’s needed. He said that it is important to add the light one at a time so you don’t mix them all up and end up with lights spilling all over the scene.

I believe that photography is a play of shadows and lights. As much as we need the light to be able to see, the shadow plays an equal role in creating the dimension of the scene. The challenge is to imagine the scene and realize it by manipulating the light and shadow through artificial or natural light.

Thank you Marienella Calderon for the beautiful poses and George Villamor for the flawless makeup. Keep on shooting everyone. For comments and suggestions, you may email me at photography@grp.ph.

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