Portrait Lighting Terms Beginners Need to Know in the Studio!

Types of studio lighting in photography: Each light on set plays a specific role and each of those roles has a name. Today’s video covers portrait lighting for beginners/ I’m going to break down common vocabulary that I'm sure you've heard like main light, kicker, fill, rim, hair light, background light and edge lights. Plus I am going to give an overview of grip gear including flags, C-stands, booms, grip heads and grip arms.That way when you hear people use these terms you wont be in the dark and you can also get an idea how you might use lighting during your next studio photography session. And even if you feel like you have got this stuff down, I’m sure you'll find several really good portrait photography tips in this video!

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Welcome back everyone I hope that you're having a great day. As you look at this behind the scenes image of Jeff you will notice a lot of gear! Each one of these lights is playing a specific role and each of those roles has a name. In today’s video I’m gonna break down for you some common vocabulary that I'm sure you've heard like main light, kicker, fill, rim, hair light, background light and edge lights. Plus I am going to give an overview of grip gear including flags C-stands, booms, grip heads and grip arms.That way when you hear people like me use these terms you wont be in the dark and you can also get an idea how you might use lighting during your next portrait session. And even if you feel like you have got this stuff down, I’m sure you'll find several really good tips in this video!

Everyone has a name for every position where they place a flash on set, wether they are on location on in the studio. And to make things even more confusing there are often multiple names for the same thing! But don’t worry, you will have all of this down by the end of the video.

For the purpose of this discussion, we’re going to talk about lighting positions as hours on a clock with the photographer standing at 6 o’clock and the subject in the middle.

If you want want to check out any of the gear I use in my work there will be links below and on screen and clicking on them will help support me to make more videos like this. You could also leave a super thanks below and don’t forget to like, subscribe and sign up for the bell.

The key light or main light probably got its name because it’s the key or main light in your set up. It’s normally going to be the light hitting your subject’s face and its brightness is going to predominantly determine your exposure. Often times people will use a softbox, umbrella or beauty dish for this type of light.

The key light is usually going to be somewhere between four and 8 o’clock and if you’re using a beauty dish it doesn’t have to be at 6 o’clock, it can be wherever you wanna put it. Dont let people try to tell you that a beauty dish has to be at 6 o'clock, you can use any modifier any place that you want so long as it looks good to you and it speaks to your creative vision.

Side Light
If you place your key light at 3 o’clock or 9 o’clock, it will be referred to as a side light, or split lighting, which will typically cause only half of your subjects face is illuminated. I’m personally not a fan of this type of lighting, so you won’t see it very often on my timeline, mostly because I want there to be light on both of my subjects eyes. Side lighting can also be very unflattering for people with bad skin, because it will show all the texture in their complexion.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:53 - Key Light or Main Light
02:33 - Side Light
03:02 - FIll Light
03:37 - High Key Lighting
03:59 - Low Key Lighting
04:12 - Reflections
04:57 - Rim Light
05:22 - Kicker & Edge Light
06:25 - Background Light
07:46 - hair light
09:39 - Flags
10:01 - Recap

[CompleteProducer]

this video helped me a lot! thank you!!

[kenneth]

This is the 101 that I totally needed. As someone who has just started shooting indoors for portfolio purposes, I had never imagine how crazy the whole set can pile up before looking at the set at the end.

Your generosity is hugely appreciated.

[ProphecyProductions]

By the time the intro rolled I knew I had to subscribe. This is Excellent color in your studio, editing and the flow of the teaching is perfect!

[Akash-ooox]

This is so helpful. Thank you for posting. Subscribed ✅

[earledeblonville]

Very generous of you, and inspirational to one who knoweth nowt but torch and candle.

[MarcieHill]

John, this vid is such a blessing! This is what I needed at this time.

[WhisperingForestSpirit]

The quality is on point, well-produced

[alexanderpons]

Great video John Gress, the clock placement concept is fantastic visual to have. Thank you for your generosity and sharing so much in this great channel of yours!

[yanafridabinaev]

Great video! Really helpful! One of the best light breakdown videos I've seen.

[Retouchlikeapro]

Hi John. Thank you for your effort in making such vids for us❤

[kayayasar]

Beautifully prepared teaching video. Thank you ❤

[jimwlouavl]

Good primer on light terms. I could have used this when I started learning lighting. Thanks for making g this.

[HariSinghPhoto]

Great video. Very informative. Thank you for sharing this.

[kirkdarling]

"Back in the day" we sometimes _did_ use a hair light directly on dark hair from the front.

[SymonTemplah]

Very informative! As a newbie, I learnt so much

[martinsmith]

Thank you John, greetings from London.

[unclejay]

appreciate it! it's really informative.
we only need to choose either rim light or edge light. we don't need to put rim light and edge light at the same time, is it right?

[mordavian]

Great setups. Thank you. I have two 800W lights and i am using them as main light and back light. Can i use extra 2 speedlight with two stripbox in this setup at 6:53? Do 800W flashes overpower speedlights?

[mikel]

Hi. amazing as always. Do you have any videos explaining the ration of how to meter your strobes or constant light?what are stops of diffusion ?

[edumerloph]

Could you do a video about a beginners elinchrom kit? Lights, modificators, stands, just something to start on, and build a more comprehensive rig later.