Do not light the subject evenly
Do not light the subject evenly | ||
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When people look at a photo, their eye is first drawn to the brightest thing in the photo. We want the brightest light falling where we want them to look. So, if you're shooting a portrait, do you want the person viewing the portrait to look at your subject's face or their folded arms? Right. But most people light the entire portrait with the same exact light throughout, where the subject's hands at their sides have the same approximate light as the subject's face. If you want to create portraits that really lead the viewer to where you want them to focus, light your subject so the light is brightest on their face, and it gradually falls off the lower down their body it goes. This adds interest, drama, and a visual focus that you'll find so often in high-end portraits. By the way, this is another case for feathering your light, so that the edges of the light are what light your subject's face, and below that the light falls off pretty rapidly. But don't let it get too dark—it should still have light, and detail, just not as much as their face. Don't Let Too Much Light Fall on Their Ears If there's a part of your subject that doesn't need to be well-lit, it's their ears. Ears are often distracting because they're poking out of what is usually a darker area, a person's hair. So they catch enough light to draw your attention. Since a person's ears are rarely their best feature, you don't want your viewer's eyes stopping on them first, so just be careful to not have some really bright ears in your portraits. | ||