Creating a Dramatic Portrait with Checkerboard Lighting

In today’s Photo Deconstruction I show you how I use a single umbrella and Checkerboard lighting to create a dramatic male portrait.

First of all, what is Checkerboard lighting?

Checkerboard Lighting (as it pertains to portraits) is a common photography term used to describe when a subject has a highlight side of the face against the shadow side of the background, and the shadow side of the face against the highlight side of the background. Whew, that was a mouthful lol.

Basically it’s black, white, black white, hence checkerboard!

For this portrait I opted to go with a large umbrella with diffusion as I wanted soft, beautiful light raking across the subject. If you don’t have a large umbrella, you could also use a 3x4’ softbox or Octabox for similar results.

Alternatively, you don't have to use a soft light source to achieve checkerboard lighting either, you can use a hard light source, bare bulb , beauty dish etc.

As for the position of the light, I feathered it so that very little was hitting the background which would help with that checkerboard effect.

I found that the background wasn’t dark enough and the subject was blending into it so I had to introduce a black v-flat to help flag some of that light from hitting the background.

Here is straight out of camera: (3:39)

For post processing I increased the clarify and contrast a bit, desaturated the image and added some coolness to the shadows for the color version: 5:09

Ultimately, I decided to change the image to black and white to achieve a more dramatic and timeless looking portrait. 5:44

There's really no rule that says your image has to be color or black and white (especially as it pertains to checkerboard lighting) it’s really up to you and what you’re looking to achieve. I just felt that the black and white version worked better.

If you notice too, the subject never blends into the background, so even though there’s a lot of darker tones going on here, the checkerboard lighting helps separate the subject from the background.

The image shown in this Photo Deconstruction was taken during my Studio Lighting Bootcamp. So if you're interested in learning in person how to achieve this, definitely check the link below.

👇 Let me know in the comments below if you've ever tried checkerboard lighting and what you think.

📸 Camera Settings:

✅ Shutter speed: 1/200th
✅ F/stop: F8
✅ ISO: 200
✅ Focal length: 81mm

📸 Gear Used:

Resources mentioned in this video:

----

Some of the links in this description contain affiliate links to partners.

[farahmahbubwanderlust]

You teach with just heart ❤️ that honestly you are the “Queen” of all the teachers out there sharing their experience and knowledge.

[JACLSPhotographyAibonito]

Love that lighting scheme. I usually use it on B&W

[marcelmarcoshierro]

I confess I'm addicted to your videos. Really thanks for your light!

[Senyaotl]

Never knew it was called this! I first learned the technique from Roger Deakins talking scenes. It’s a common technique of his for character conversations.

[TheDoctorwooster]

I'm very excited to have found this video and your tutorials. Thank you!

[josephchan]

I just started get interested in men portrait again. May do some fashion jewelry photos of myself for fun. Thanks for ideas.

[toddstrong]

Wonderfully done, Lindsay! Thank you.

[Phatrinh]

looove your channel and the way you explain your work, learning so much!! thank you Lindsay!

[JANESANTOSPHYSIQUEPRO]

Never mind what a amazing and talent photographer Lindsay is but she is a top educator in the industry in my opinion because she is just complete.

[alexanderpons]

Thanks for the Deconstruction video series Lindsay Adler, it sure helps us see and understand the concepts! Yes, a V-Flat is a major tool/gear to own as so much can be done even with available light. Love the shot in color and b&w.

[giannatheconfidencecoach]

love this portrait! Thanks for the tutorial. I'm going to try this

[luvcre]

So, so good! I actually preferred the color edit. I loved your color toning and how you cooled it down (and I'm somebody who usually tones to the warm side). Thanks for always sharing your process from start to finish. Really appreciate your knowledge!

[Nicosalgadophotography]

This is awesome will start using one light only again😅 …. Thank you for this

[EdwardKilner]

This tutorial was done very well. I enjoyed it greatly. Thank you.

[parthaagt]

Beautifully explained, as always. Thanks a lot Lindsey for such beautiful videos. Following from India.

[Abba_napry]

Morning ma'am i get to know you through adorama TV and you're a good tutor, thanks for your good work in helping us improve our skills

That was a great explanation! Thank you for this video. I'll definitely try it out on my next portraiture photoshoot

[leonjohnson]

great video. simple and understandable.

[RobSajous]

how did you grab a the elbow from a different shot? Blends well

[johnleighdesigns]

Great stuff enjoyed your photo breakdown here especially for this speedlite guy with limited home studio space and I wondered about your notes on adding a cool tone to shadows how are you doing that in photoshop what approach or technique Im interested to see how this looks on one of my shots?