Join Lindsay Adler, Fashion and Portrait Photographer, and learn how to create striking beauty imagery using one, two, or three lights in your setups. Lindsay starts building the foundation with just one light, then teaches you how to expand on that with a second light, before getting even more creative with a third. This class is all about taking control of the light, choosing the right modifier, (whether a beauty dish, silver dish, ring flash, or even some unusual light sources you've never tried before), and always making sure your setup meets your end goal.
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Hello, I'm Lindsay Adler and we're here in my studio today and we're going to be talking about fashion lighting 1, 2, 3 and what that means, I'll be discussing different lighting set-ups using one light, two light and three light you don't need a huge production every single time that you do a fashion shot, in fact there's a lot you can do using just a single light, but what I'll talk about is how you can start with one light add a second light to build in and then based on those fundamentals for the first two lights you can expand to three, everything that I do almost everything I can do can be done with three lights and no matter what I'm doing whether it's beauty, whether it's fashion, it's all about taking control of the light choosing the right modifiers and making sure that the setup that you have fits your end goal.First we are going to start with single light setup and I'll talk about how you might use it beauty dish to control the light silver reflector. I'll talk about clampture lighting using reflectors to seal in the lights. I'm also going to then go on to second light, so if you add two lights. How you can use your second light should define the subject from the background or to light the background or you can use those two lights from behind to illuminate your subject or even two lights from the front, so basically you start with that first light, how to control, how to use reflectors to build in the shadows or to add shadows to the image, from there we'll be learning how to use a second light to separate your subject from the background additional illumination and then when you add a third light, what type of creativity can you add into shot, what additional control does give you.But also I'll be covering a few unique modifiers including ring lights, pickle spot projection and even how to turn your strobe into UV lights. So right now I'm going to show you my most commonly use and most popular fashion lighting techniques, so let's get started. I look at a lot of fashion magazines for inspiration, so I'm looking at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar and I'm looking at Blitz Magazine and Zinc magazine and so, I'll look at images that I love, and I'll deconstruct them, and so, this is not just inspiration for lighting, but also, what do I like about the make up, the wardrobe, the posing but right now what I'm going to talk about is deconstructing the lighting of that image, what I'll do is I'll find the images I like, and try to figure out what light modifiers we'll use, where the lights is replaced, and then I'll recreate it on my own I'll try to do it in the studio or on location, and we kind of have three main give-a-ways for how an image was lit.You've the highlights in the image, the direction of the shadows and then also the catch light in the eyes. So what I'm going to do, is I'm going to take a look at a couple of images that I've created and deconstruct, and let you know if I were flipping through a magazine I find this photo that I love, how I would look at that image to figure out how it was lit and then I'll also tell you a couple of pitfalls that you might run into, that will confuse the situation a bit.So first let's look over here. This is a kind of model portfolio shot that I did for this young model, and I wanted something that was kind of soft and glowing light but also showed her nice bone structure, so if you look at this picture the first thing I'm going to look for is where're the highlights in the image.you really on any except for late pushed forward adhores. So there is no highlights on the neck. There is no highlights on the backgrounds. So you know more or less it's just a front lit picture there aren't any additional highlights. The next thing that I said you've is kind of a give away is where're the shadows where're the direction of the shadows.Well, there are too many shadow in cremate. We'll look at another related lots of shadows. And you look kind try if you feel whether these shadows are real. There is just a little bit of shading on the side of the face over here to the left so what that tells you is those two main lights are probably slightly off to the right of the frame.Just going to cast the shadow down to the left. I did the enterprise for this image looks like it wanted to cover her from the background. So far you don't really have and any give aways for how it's lit, it's a little bit off to the right to the lights there aren't any additional highlight but then you look at the cache light and that's what tells the story for this image, so if we look at her eyes we've two main cache lights one in the center and it looks like a circle within a circle and that's the give away for a beauty dish and a beauty Dish is the most commonly used light modifiers in fashion photography.And so you'll see that it's the circle within a circle. If you saw a rectangle you would know that it's probably soft box, if you saw an octagon you know it's going to be an Octo-box you can see and tell me something is an umbrella see you look at it and just start kind of deconstruct. Also tells me a couple of things, it's more or less centered in her eye but slightly off to the right so it's telling you OK, that light is slightly off to the right and center.It also tells you it's up pretty high in the eye because it's not kind of centered in the pupil, you know that it's slightly high up. And then the next thing you know is that you see another highlight kind of centered below it and that highlight is a silver reflector which's just usually the basic modifier that comes with more strobes and what's this light is called as you've probably heard it before it's Clamshell Lighting it's a very, very traditional beauty lighting technique.So one main light that shapes the face then the secondary to fill in and to find the shadows and so you'll see the two main lights here, so that's the give away that's all I can tell from this picture, there're two main lights no other ceiling lights no other highlights, now some people actually go in and modify catchlights that's only to be aware of, honestly from most fashion photography you don't and most kind of beauty advertisements or for most fashion editorials they just leave the catchlights the way they're.If you go and look at an enabling add or whatever it maybe in a fashion magazine you'll see this over and over again. Oone main light with another fill light below and again that's beauty light, it's clamshell light, so let's look at when it gets a little bit more complicated. So if you look at this picture it's very, very dramatic, it's very flattering for her facial structure, curves are going to structure out, but there aren't any catch lights, so right away you can't figure out what the light source is because there're no catchlights so you've to deconstruct from other things so the first thing that you've here is going to be where're the highlights?Or where are the images left from? So you've two highlights, you've the highlight from the right hand side of the face, and then also the highlight kind of separating her from the background. Right so you know that there're two lights in this picture, the next thing that I know is both of these lights are really, really harsh.So for the light on her face is it could be a few things, it's not going to be a softbox because that's too soft, it's too wrapping, it wouldn't have those defined shadows. The next more focus light that you'd have it could be a Beauty Dish, maybe with a grid but honestly a Beauty Dish isn't even harsh enough for that light.So then you have to go to the next more contrasty focus light, which is going to be one of those silver reflectors and that's what it was, again I took this image so it's a small, silver reflector dish. If you want the light to be even more focused, you might add a grid to the light, we'll talk about that a little bit later.So from now I know OK it's a contrasting light, it's a silver dish. I also know because there are no catch lights, this is actually a shadow cast by her brow, in order to do that you know that light is really, really high and raised up so I know what the light is, I know roughly the direction and the height.The direction obviously with all these shadows has to be really far off to the right, and so this is called Rembrandt at lighting when you get that triangle highlight on the shadow side of the face. So I've de-constructed that, I know the light source, I know that it's high, I know that it's far off the right, and then finally we want to talk about that second highlight which is kind of defining her from the shadows.Imagine if that light isn't there she just kind of blends in to the darkness so this gives her a little bit of an outline to give you her neck and the side of her face. Because this is really, really, really sharp, you know that has to be a focus light source and so I would go to if I was seeing a picture like this as I would think it's either a strip bank that has some kind of doors on it, or barn doors, so barn doors are going to allow you to close in, and narrow the beam of light, and that is what was used here, so it's going to be barn doors which has to be from the back because that's where the direction of light is coming from this are kind of the highlights from the back 45, and in order for it to be sharp it's close down so in this picture we don't have the catch light as the give away, but we do have the highlights and the direction of light, so that you know how the image was lit.So I'll do this again look at a really dramatic lit image in a magazine and take a look, where are the shadows? Where is the direction of light? How many highlights are there? One other thing that might complicate a little bit is going to be an image like this I'm kind of doing the same thing so let's go through it all right, so I have my highlights, I have the main light which I can tell kind of is coming from a top right angle, so I can see that from the shadows, wher the shadows are cast, I also see I have another highlight on her fingers and on her shoulders on the left so I know there's two lights, but then when I look at the catch lights I can tell that it is a beauty dish just the main light, the other question I have however is you see another highlight beneath your eye that you can't tell what it is.It's not a circle than a circle, it's not a soft box, it's not really defined, and so if your thinking that it's going to definitely be a light modifier, it might trick you up a little bit. What it is in this case is because it's peculiar and in an odd shape, you know that silver reflector. If it was like a dull pale highlight then it might be a white reflector or a white fill card, so when you're looking at the catchlights don't just think OK what type of main lights are like modifiers but different types of reflectors will also play into what you see in the catchlight.When I'm working in the studio I have a variety of different lenses that I'll utilize and I really honestly have 4-5 lenses that are Go2 most times unset I only really work with two to three because I can capture the entire range that I need for example if am shooting a 24-70 and a 70-200, I have from 24 millimeters to 200 at 2.8, but for a second I'm just going to go through my thought process and how I select lenses for my shoot.Let's take a look at this image for example if you take a look, between this photograph and this one I'm going to foot through a couple of times. Notice that in this image her face is wider, now her eyes are also bigger but her face is kind bloated out it looks wider there's less to find bone structure where as is in this image it's more compressed her face is flattened out it's honestly much flattering image.Now the difference between these two is two, it's two images that I took on a Tripod, I moved in so it's the same exact frame. But this image is taken with a 50 millimeter lens on a full frame camera, and this image is taken with 85 millimeter lens on a full frame camera. The longer focal length that you shoot the more that it compresses her face.And so if you're shooting further back and it's a full length, a 50 millimeter fix lens is fine. But if you're trying to fill a frame and you get really close it's going to distort their face. So my recommendation is if you are doing beauty images or tight shots go for longer focal lens. For me I'm going to shoot pretty much from 85 millimeters to about 200 something in that range for my beauty images.one of my go to lenses is the 85 mm 1.4, and I use that for a lot of beauty particularly on location, because I can shot at such a wide aperture. Now in the studio however a lot of times I'm going to shoot with my 70-200 and that gives me the ability to zoom and change my compression. Now if I'm photographing a subject to maybe has more defined features or pick a subject perhaps that has a larger chin, or a larger nose, or a larger forehead something that is kind of exaggerated.Instead of shooting at an 85 I might shoot more towards 200 mm, because what that does is that it compresses those features and it tends to be more flattering. So it's going to be my 7200 right here, 7200 and then my 85 and so that's why also on location a lot of times I'm more going for a 1.4 or an 85 because it is lighter but in the studio it doesn't matter I can just have my equipment out.So you see the difference between those two lenses, I'm going to talk about a couple other lens choices. This image was taken with an 85 mm but honestly if I wanted to go any tighter I have to go for a longer focal length. This image I shot with a 50 mm I don't need to get up close, so I don't have to worry about distortions, you see that those two lens are unacceptable in this situations.For this image I've used a 7, 200 millimeter, [xx] wanted them to get really tight and fill the frame if I try to do this with a 50 or an 85, I feel like it might be a little bit too close for the compression that I wanted. In this photograph I am using 24-70. One of the reasons I'll be doing that is I have this model moving a lot she's dancing and she's changing her body and so if I'm stuck with a full length lens or a fixed light fixed focal length lens and she is jumping and she is moving and she is dancing, I keep cutting off her elbows, or I'll be missing her feet when she was jumping, or it just wouldn't fit within the frame.So when I have a zoom lens I can zoom and recompose that it fits with the composition I wanted, so 2470 tends to give a little more versatility, when I'm shooting with groups I absolutely will bring out the 24-17. Another lens that is a specialty lens but it definitely applies towards fashion photography is the 150 macro and I use the 150 macro for shots like this.I can't focus just on an eye or just on the lips when am shooting the for example the 7200, I can't quite get that close. So I'll pull out something like this which is the 150 macro-lens and it will literally allow me to take the frame and just have the lips, or just have part of the lips or just have the eye and it's really really close, allows me to focus a few inches from the face but it also it really, really tuck sharp lens.So I'll use this a lot for beauty photography which's convenient as well since it is a 150 lens, it gives me the ability if I want to just backup and use it as a portrait lens, so if I only have one lens on that shoe I have the versatility of having macro and a portrait lens. My recommendation is that if you haven't really played with different lenses and you're working on creating fashion images, recommendation would be to actually just test it out.So take a friend or take, it can be a manequin or it can be even a brick wall, so you can see the straight lines and switch out different lenses and you could see the different types of compression. This to me is more important for beauty photography [xx] because the compression is going to make a huge difference.I tend to like a longer lens but maybe you're going something more dramatic and you want it to be a little bit wider so honestly just give it a try bring a couple lenses along, another thing to consider for testing out lenses is when you're doing full length. I like to shoot at a really really bow angle until I might want a wider lens but that also has it's own type of distortion even if you only own a couple of lenses you might want to borrow or rent so figure out which one works best for you, maybe try a 24-70 but then also try a 50 see which one's going to give you the better type of compression so.Get a bunch of lenses give it a try figure out what kit works for you it's going to vary for every different person.
Learn how to add one more flash to your portrait lighting with Scott Kelby! Building on the foundation you gained in Just One Flash, Scott teaches you the why, when, and how of adding a second flash to your Speedlight setup. Whether you want to create separation between your subject and the background, add a fill light to your subject, or change the look of the background itself, you’ll be amazed at all the great things you can do with a second flash. Be sure to re-watch the Just One Flash class first, then you’ll be ready to take it to the next level with the skills you’ll learn here.
Learn how to add one more flash to your portrait lighting with Scott Kelby! Building on the foundation you gained in Just One Flash, Scott teaches you the why, when, and how of adding a second flash to your Speedlight setup. Whether you want to create separation between your subject and the background, add a fill light to your subject, or change the look of the background itself, you’ll be amazed at all the great things you can do with a second flash. Be sure to re-watch the Just One Flash class first, then you’ll be ready to take it to the next level with the skills you’ll learn here.
Learn how to cultivate beautiful memories for your client families! Join Tracy Sweeney as she shares her years of experience as a family photographer to help you prepare for success in this business. Tracy starts off the class with a focus on planning, preparation, and scouting; all of which will help you get the most out of your session while feeling confident and looking professional. From there you’ll witness Tracy at work with two different families in a park and on the beach. Tracy talks through her approach to lighting, to working with the families, the importance of building a relationship with the family members, and how she poses them as a group and one-on-one. After the shooting is done, you’ll head to the studio where Tracy teaches you her post processing workflow from Lightroom through Photoshop to create the final images that go on to become family treasures for years to come.
Learn how to cultivate beautiful memories for your client families! Join Tracy Sweeney as she shares her years of experience as a family photographer to help you prepare for success in this business. Tracy starts off the class with a focus on planning, preparation, and scouting; all of which will help you get the most out of your session while feeling confident and looking professional. From there you’ll witness Tracy at work with two different families in a park and on the beach. Tracy talks through her approach to lighting, to working with the families, the importance of building a relationship with the family members, and how she poses them as a group and one-on-one. After the shooting is done, you’ll head to the studio where Tracy teaches you her post processing workflow from Lightroom through Photoshop to create the final images that go on to become family treasures for years to come.
You cannot believe all the stuff you can do with just one flash! Join Scott Kelby as he starts from scratch and covers everything you need to know to get the kind of images you’ve always dreamed of when using your flash. You’ve got to love your flash, and in this class Scott shares all the things he’s learned over time to teach you the settings you’ll use, how to control your flash wirelessly, how to diffuse the light, and how to do it all without breaking the bank. This class contains three live shoots that demonstrate how to put all of these concepts and equipment to work for you, both indoors and out. Your flash is a great instrument, and with the right settings, the right accessories, and the right attitude you can fall in love.
You cannot believe all the stuff you can do with just one flash! Join Scott Kelby as he starts from scratch and covers everything you need to know to get the kind of images you’ve always dreamed of when using your flash. You’ve got to love your flash, and in this class Scott shares all the things he’s learned over time to teach you the settings you’ll use, how to control your flash wirelessly, how to diffuse the light, and how to do it all without breaking the bank. This class contains three live shoots that demonstrate how to put all of these concepts and equipment to work for you, both indoors and out. Your flash is a great instrument, and with the right settings, the right accessories, and the right attitude you can fall in love.
Take your photography from flat to flattering! Join Mike Kubeisy as he teaches you a new way to look at light and think about lighting your subjects. We capture images with two dimensional tool, but you can learn how to add a third dimension to your photographs by controlling your lighting to add depth, introduce texture, and make your subjects look fantastic. As Mike takes you through each lighting setup, from in the studio to DIY setups at home, he shares invaluable tips and tricks he’s learned from years of shooting celebrities on Hollywood sets. By the end of the class you’ll have a new set of techniques to apply to your own work.
From Flat to Flattering: Lighting Tricks from a Hollywood Set close
Take your photography from flat to flattering! Join Mike Kubeisy as he teaches you a new way to look at light and think about lighting your subjects. We capture images with two dimensional tool, but you can learn how to add a third dimension to your photographs by controlling your lighting to add depth, introduce texture, and make your subjects look fantastic. As Mike takes you through each lighting setup, from in the studio to DIY setups at home, he shares invaluable tips and tricks he’s learned from years of shooting celebrities on Hollywood sets. By the end of the class you’ll have a new set of techniques to apply to your own work.
Join Rick Sammon for part 2 of his series on how to transform your home into a professional photography studio! Building on his previous class, Rick takes it to the next level by bringing in more advanced accessories, more advanced lighting techniques, and a professional model to show you a whole new set of tips and techniques that are easy to replicate. You'll be surprised to see that without spending a lot of money or time, you can channel your energy and creativity into getting studio quality results in your own home. In each lesson Rick discusses the gear you'll need, how to set it up, how to work with your subject, and then shows you how to get the shot.
Transform Your Home into a Professional Photography Studio, Part 2 close
Join Rick Sammon for part 2 of his series on how to transform your home into a professional photography studio! Building on his previous class, Rick takes it to the next level by bringing in more advanced accessories, more advanced lighting techniques, and a professional model to show you a whole new set of tips and techniques that are easy to replicate. You'll be surprised to see that without spending a lot of money or time, you can channel your energy and creativity into getting studio quality results in your own home. In each lesson Rick discusses the gear you'll need, how to set it up, how to work with your subject, and then shows you how to get the shot.
Take your photos from flat to fabulous with Scott Kelby! If you've ever experienced being let down by how a photo can look right out of the camera then this class is for you. Join Scott as he takes you from start to finish through his entire post-processing workflow on a wide variety of photos, with an even wider range of problems. You'll learn how to use Camera Raw to do the basics, how to use Photoshop's suite of tools for magically removing unwanted objects from the scene, how to crop, how to convert to black and white, how to do whatever it takes to make your photos look fantastic. Pull up a seat and watch over Scott's shoulder as he shares his thought process, his tips, and his techniques for dealing with landscapes, portraits, collages, cityscapes, panoramas, and more. By the end of the class you're sure to be thinking differently about some of those photos you were ready to delete, and you may uncover areas of Photoshop that you've never seen before.
Take your photos from flat to fabulous with Scott Kelby! If you've ever experienced being let down by how a photo can look right out of the camera then this class is for you. Join Scott as he takes you from start to finish through his entire post-processing workflow on a wide variety of photos, with an even wider range of problems. You'll learn how to use Camera Raw to do the basics, how to use Photoshop's suite of tools for magically removing unwanted objects from the scene, how to crop, how to convert to black and white, how to do whatever it takes to make your photos look fantastic. Pull up a seat and watch over Scott's shoulder as he shares his thought process, his tips, and his techniques for dealing with landscapes, portraits, collages, cityscapes, panoramas, and more. By the end of the class you're sure to be thinking differently about some of those photos you were ready to delete, and you may uncover areas of Photoshop that you've never seen before.
The Photo Recipes series continues with a focus on fashion lighting! Join Scott as he takes you through three different fashion lighting setups, from start to finish, to show you everything you need to know to recreate these fantastic looks. A lot of fashion photography is done with just one light, so whether you are using studio strobes or speedlights, you'll learn how to position the light, which lighting modifiers to use, and how to direct your subject to get each shot. The differences in each look can be subtle, but knowing how to craft each one will give you the tools to perfect the one you like best as you practice it on your own. Once the shooting is done Scott demonstrates key steps in his post-processing workflow to finish the photos for delivery to a client.
The Photo Recipes series continues with a focus on fashion lighting! Join Scott as he takes you through three different fashion lighting setups, from start to finish, to show you everything you need to know to recreate these fantastic looks. A lot of fashion photography is done with just one light, so whether you are using studio strobes or speedlights, you'll learn how to position the light, which lighting modifiers to use, and how to direct your subject to get each shot. The differences in each look can be subtle, but knowing how to craft each one will give you the tools to perfect the one you like best as you practice it on your own. Once the shooting is done Scott demonstrates key steps in his post-processing workflow to finish the photos for delivery to a client.
Join Scott Kelby for the second installment in his Photo Recipes series with a focus on beauty headshots! Scott takes you through the entire process, from discussing his gear to setting up the lights, and from getting the shots to retouching the final images. This very popular beauty lighting look is easy to pull off and it works for both men and women. Whether you are using studio strobes or speedlights, Scott shows the light modifiers you’ll need, how to position them, and how to work with your subjects to nail the shots you need. Scott wraps up the class by showing you his approach to processing the photos from the shoot along with a demonstration of some of his favorite finishing moves to make the photos look their best.
Join Scott Kelby for the second installment in his Photo Recipes series with a focus on beauty headshots! Scott takes you through the entire process, from discussing his gear to setting up the lights, and from getting the shots to retouching the final images. This very popular beauty lighting look is easy to pull off and it works for both men and women. Whether you are using studio strobes or speedlights, Scott shows the light modifiers you’ll need, how to position them, and how to work with your subjects to nail the shots you need. Scott wraps up the class by showing you his approach to processing the photos from the shoot along with a demonstration of some of his favorite finishing moves to make the photos look their best.
