DIY Network

Family Portraiture: Lighting From "The Whole Picture" episode DTWP-107

Three-point lighting consists of key light augmented by fill and background lighting to eliminate shadows and separate the background from the subject.

The Whole Picture host Erin Manning offers advice and techniques on location, lighting and composition to take professional looking family portraits. Having covered how to select a good location to provide a suitable background, she now moves on to lighting your subjects.

Materials used in this episode:

Digital camera with the self-timer function
Camera owner's manual
Tripod
Clip lights
Reflector boards

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	Figure A
	Figure B

Before making your final location decision, check out the lighting. Natural light in the scene will help make your home look warm and inviting and help eliminate the need for a flash. That light coming through a window treatment can further help highlight your family's taste and lifestyle. Before you start to light the area where your portrait will be, position the furniture. Remove any conspicuous objects that might be distracting or end up appearing as if it's "sprouting" out of someone's head.

• To augment natural or available light, it may be beneficial to light your subject(s) using clip-on lights and natural-light bulbs (figure A). The natural-light bulbs (available from photography suppliers or home centers) will help ensure truer colors and avoid the yellowish or orange-ish light that can result from ordinary incandescent bulbs.

• As with all portrait photography, three-point lighting is typically considered best. Key light is the primary source of light, and illuminates the subject from the front. Fill light helps fill in and eliminate shadows. Back light helps separate your subject from the background.

• Position clip-on lights so that they are out of the scene (figure B), using lambs, furniture-edges or other stationary objects to hold them in place.
  

  	Figure C
  	Figure D
  	Figure E
  	Shutter speed: 1/9 sec Aperture: f2.8 ISO: 100 No flash.
  	Shutter speed: 1/11 sec Aperture: f2.8 ISO: 100 No flash.

  
  
• If you position your family in front of a window, the light coming through the window will act as a backlight, separating your subjects from their surroundings.

• You can also use reflector boards to reflect the outside light toward your subjects (figure C) and help give them a warmer look.

• Play around with the lighting before you call in your family. Then confirm that the shot is close to what you want by looking through the LCD on your camera (figures D and E). With point and shoot cameras, it's going to give you the best idea of how your picture will look once you snap the shutter.

• Bring the light in from both sides of where your subjects will be and then direct the light so that when your family sits, it will highlight their faces and bodies. You'll need to adjust the lights when everyone is in place, so just get them in the general vicinity of where your family will be. You can even add extension cord dimmers to get further control of your lighting.

• To help make your portrait look more professional, make sure that your subjects' eyes will be well lit. This will also help to bring out your families personality.

• You can utilize the lighting from around your home to help accentuate the scene. Just make sure that you change out the bulbs with daylight bulbs. This will help you avoid ending up with pictures that have odd tints or colors to them.

RESOURCES :

PC Photo magazine
Website: www.pcphotomag.com
Online version of the magazine devoted to digital photography and related technologies.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Digital Photography
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Author: Steven Greenberg
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Prentice Hall
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Hungry Minds, Inc.

Complete Digital Photography
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Charles River Media
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