Commercial Photography Lighting Techniques
Recently, I read a post on the Alamy forum about photographic lighting. Hmmm…what an excellent category for the Photography and Marketing blog! Since Alamy provided inspiration the images in this post are from my Alamy stock photography collection, if you are interested in using any of these images for your creative projects and would like to know licensing information, please connect with us. There are a total of 6 examples with diagrams in this post.
Generally I like to keep lighting as simple as possible, here are some various examples of setups using 1, 2 and 3 lights. Examples with softbox, umbrellas, grids, gobo (go between), or no light modifiers. In my opinion the key to lighting is to see what you have to start with and then modify it to achieve your goal.
Links for the professional photography equipment used to create these images.
These products available at B&H Photo Video are used by and/or highly recommended by Warren Diggles Photography.
» Canon 1ds Mark III Digital SLR Camera
» Dynalite Power Pack and Strobes
» Photoflex Softbox
» 42″ 5 in 1 Reflector Kit
» Westcott White Umbrella
» Savage White Paper Background
» Savage Black Paper Background
Studio 2 lights
Commercial Photography Lighting Techniques: Example 1
* Softbox 90° to to right of subject
* Background light with grid modifier
* No fill light for more dramatic lighting
* Black background
A soft box is an excellent tool for providing soft even directional light, very similar to a large window in a dark room The black material on the sides of the soft box keep the light focused forward so it does not spill on the the background or contaminate other light sources you may be using in a studio lighting set.
Tabletop studio 2 lights
Commercial Photography Lighting Techniques: Example 2
* Softbox 90° to the left at the same height level as the glass of water
* Reflector (white card) 90° to the right
* Background light with grid to control size of light
* White plexi-glass with white background
The lower the camera angle is to the subject the better reflection you will get from the plexi-glass, plus the seam between the plexi and the background will blend better.
Outdoor product set with 1 reflector
Commercial Photography Lighting Techniques: Example 3
* Early morning sun backlight
* Porch acting as gobo (go between) blocking light from above
* White reflector with thin silver and gold lines for front fill
Make sure that the sunlight is bouncing off of the reflector, for this lighting style the brighter the better so you have good detail in the product without blowing out the background. The reflector with thin gold and silver lines adds more pop than a plain white reflector without the harshness of 100% silver or gold.
Outdoor light plus 1 strobe
Commercial Photography Lighting Techniques: Example 4
* Studio light 90° to the right of camera feathered to wrap light around subjects
* Direct sunlight provides light for hair and separation of subjects from background
* Ambient daylight is fill
By feathering the light across the front of the subjects you will receive a very nice quality of light. In this case the background was in the shade so I had to be careful, I wanted to make sure the studio light matched the sunlight without turning the background black in the final image.
Simple on location studio with single umbrella
Commercial Photography Lighting Techniques: Example 5
* Umbrella 45° to right of camera
* White reflector fill to left of subject
These images are from a trade show I participate in, the portraits are of average northern Colorado citizens concerned about their community who agree to have their picture taken and to sign a model release. The challenge for this is that I only have about 2 minutes with each subject and my space is limited to a 6′-8′ square space! That is why the lighting is set up very simply.
NOTES: The images from these shoots license frequently as stock photography. If you are going to use 2 or more umbrellas at the same time they need to be the exact same brand and style. If they are different there will be noticeable color shifts in the light from each umbrella.
Lighting interiors on location
Commercial Photography Lighting Techniques: Example 6
* Main studio light through window to emulate outdoor light (car driving by since it is at night, or sunlight in day)
* 2 fill lights to left
* Bracketed exposure time to get right mood from ambient light
When using multiple lights either keep them all pointed in the same direction or have them at exact opposite angles, one side as main other side as fill, do this so you do not have multiple shadows. When working with artificial ambient light there are many challenges to deal with. Different types of light bulbs have different color casts, some lights are brighter then others, balancing the outdoor light with the interior lights, etc…I believe this example balances each of these factors well.
