Hair Light 101. Everything you need to know about hairlights.

[@B-RollBooks]

Tutorials can be tricky because they are either too simplistic or too advanced for the audience. This one hit the sweet spot for me. THANKS SO MUCH for helping this beginner improve!

[@JohnGress]

THanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@jameshall2882]

Thank you for your well-paced delivery of information. Creators who speak like an auctioneer make it hard to absorb information.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@yukonica4560]

John, thank you; again. Over the past year I've noticed every time I'm looking for specific information, hair lights in this instance, I end up on your channel first. (yes, I'm a subscriber).

[@JohnGress]

Excellent! That is great to hear!

[@zecchinon]

Yours videos only gets better! A lot of information that I couldn't online. Congrats! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@JohnGress]

Happy to hear that! Thanks!

[@Mowikan]

Back then we called those portraits “glamour” portraits. With lots of light and if you wanted to go over the top you would put a softar on your lens! I use sometimes a 70cm beauty dish as a hair light with a grid. But I like to keep my portraits as dark as possible and i want only light on something i want to show. Style choice I guess. Thx again. Great work and awesome models!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! Of course after I recorded and edited this video I was watching "Glee" and I realized that a hard hair light looks very theatrical, mostly because they don't have a choice.

[@MarkBennettCameraCrisis]

Thanks for the info - subscribed. I’m far more inclined to watch a video on lighting where the lighting looks great. I’m crazy that way.

[@JohnGress]

Ha! Thanks for the sub!

[@marksilvasilva]

Thanks John, your videos are always full of great, concise information.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks Mark! Glad you like them!

[@RemiManWithVan]

Thanks for this detailed explanation

[@JohnGress]

My pleasure. Thank you!

[@brunoalves3]

So specific, so didactic. Thanks for that! Love your work

[@JohnGress]

Thanks and thanks for watching!

[@NebulaChavez]

Thank you so much for making this video...You ROCK BABY BABY BABY

[@JohnGress]

Thanks Mike! I really appreciate it!

[@KathySierraVideo]

Thank-you for this John. I’ve literally had “hair lights” in my Google search bar this week, but... it turned up a lot of light therapy boxes for hair growth 😜. This was the video I needed!

[@JohnGress]

LOL Too funny. Lets hope this changes the results.

[@jadie1234a]

I had the same problem. Do people really think a light can regrow hair? Hahaha!

[@alexanderpons9246]

Great! Yes, decades ago the style was(as you mentioned in another video)to have the lights show up in this case Hair Light. But also as you mentioned its about giving a hint of separation and detail. Thanks for making and sharing great information through your videos on your great channel!

[@JohnGress]

Thank you Alexander!

[@MichaelFrazierTube]

Love you, love the channel. I'd also kill to see this in process someday. Back in the long-fore days of theatre we'd say 'Show me don't tell me", and for as much as I love your format, I find myself pausing on the still images of your in-progress still shots and poring over the placement of your scrims, lights, models and backgrounds. In any event...keep it up! Here's to a 2021 of gratefulness and education! Call you mom! -m

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much Michael! Those are all good points and that would add a lot of value. I just called and shes doing well and looking into a vaccine. =)

[@MichaelFrazierTube]

@@JohnGress lol, That's wonderful to hear, although I really just wanted to copy my favorite photo mentor; i'd never presume to tell him what to do. Glad she's well tho :)

[@JohnGress]

🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@parthasarathikanaparthi2366]

Well explained sir.... Older photographers say to maintain hair light one or two stops lighter than main light but that style of lighting doesn't work now. True words by John gress loved.... Cool explanation. I sometimes avoid hair light for grey hair people. To get separation I will through some light on background. Thank you❤ Learning a lot from you

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! An edge light works well too. It is the same approach I use for bald people.

[@darcybrown7369]

great tutorial

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much!

[@1f329]

always very helpful

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much!

[@guidetheride2103]

Good solid advice, thanks.

[@JohnGress]

No problem! Thank you!

[@karlweb1]

Thank you love this

[@JohnGress]

You are so welcome! Thank you!!

[@AnthonyToglife]

Good video as always John. Historically I haven't used hair lights often and to be honest I think it's mostly been due to laziness, lol. I've been making a point this year to remove that laziness when I'm shooting. Appreciate the tips/knowledge.

[@JohnGress]

No problem Anthony! I have been thinking about you this week because I have a test shoot tomorrow and I don't really have a plan. Better get on that!

[@AnthonyToglife]

@@JohnGress how did the shoot go? I'm sure even without a plan you still killed it!

[@manoharmgr8235]

Super ,Very Nice ,Congratulations,*** நன்றாக இருக்கிறது👌👌👌❤️❤️❤️வாழ்த்துக்கள் .........by R.MANOHAR- CHENNAI

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much!

[@londonken]

very useful tutorial

[@JohnGress]

Glad to hear it! Thanks!

[@tedsmith_photography]

Hey John - useful tips here as ever. Without wanting to overstep the mark, but could I ask? In a couple of weeks I am shooting some "bridal hair trials" at a local salon near me - basically brides-to-be having their hair styled for their upcoming weddings. The salon is underground in a renovated basement. The max height in the middle is about 6 foot, and its a brick arch, so about 5 feet at the edges, and its about 4m square. There's a couple of fairly dull lights on the ceiling, and some lights around the mirror but no natural light. And the rest of the area is quite small, and there's sinks and things in it too! So not much room!! They have agreed for me to take my Bowens GM750PRO with shoot-though-umbrella (soft box is too big I think), but I'm not sure there will be room for a 2 or 3 light setup. I am proposing having the flash and umbrella fairly high on the stand (which would be a bout 5.5 feet), pointing down at around 45 deg. Or do you think that would be unwise if there's the couple of ceiling lights above already (which are not especially bright)? I'll be using my Blad 501CM which has max sync speed of 1/500th

[@JohnGress]

Hi Ted. Glad to hear it. For your shoot, youl'l always get better light quality with a softbox, but if you're sure it will be too big, then I get it. It would also be really helpful to have your light bounce off of white surfaces too inorder to fill in the shadows. You could place the brides so they are near a white wall and have the light on the side opposite the wall. You could also make your own wall with a small background, white reflector or smll foam boards. Having something similar under the chin would be helpful too. Good luck!

[@tedsmith_photography]

@@JohnGress the legend wise wizard teacher strikes again! Thanks man. Will utilise your advice for sure. Thank you 🙏🏻

[@tedsmith_photography]

@@JohnGress Hey John - you likely will not have time, but I tried to implement what I could from your teachings and have the results here if you're interested in taking a look. not too long I hope. Hardly to your standard but a good try for me. kzbin.info/www/bejne/poOzdpmJjcx-hrs

[@normielovesalot3538]

I’m wondering how you did the strip of red light on that one model’s face tho… super cool!

[@JohnGress]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIOViZiGjJyVsLM ;)

[@AndreiRoman]

Something seems off about this video. I think it's the lack of suit or turtleneck! Great stuff John!

[@JohnGress]

I think so too!;) Thanks!

[@Petramojomusic]

I hope you can please tell me before I buy which is the best Elinchrom-Litemotiv direct 120 or Rotalux 175 regarding the quality of light for fashion and beauty for women?Amazing video thank you!Subscribed

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! This video may help = kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZOqgqZ3pNqHfMU

[@cyber-r]

Thanks for the video! I was wondering in which direction you point your lightmeter when measuring a hairlight (or any other light that is just brushing edges)? Toward the light source or towards the camera? And with the light dome out or retracted? Thanks for your answer :)

[@JohnGress]

Thank you! I point the meter towards the light. if I’m only firing one light it doesn’t matter if the dome is retracted or not. If I am firing multiple lights at once and only trying to meter one light, then I will retract it, but more likely than not what I would cup my hand over the dome so that only one light can hit the meter because I don’t think the recession is enough to be effective all the time.

[@switchunboxing]

Ahh that’s probably my problem. It needs to be above, right? Just behind you and to an angle isn’t gonna cut it?

[@JohnGress]

It needs to be above and behind them, generally angled at the top or back of their head.

[@switchunboxing]

@@JohnGress Thanks honestly it may not be for me. Still trying to play with it. Another light source means more shadows I think more detail on my face which might mean more wrinkles and stuff? And making my black shirt brighter meant that it looked more washed out instead of that rich black but it really did pull me closer to the camera I think

[@andersnordquist431]

Than you very much for the video! But I have one question: how about photographing bald guys? Should I avoid hair light for them, or just turn the effect down a bit?

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! I avoid them on bald people. Often times their skin doesn’t blend into the background as much as darker hair will.

[@andersnordquist431]

@@JohnGress Thank you very much for taking your time!

[@RealtorMartin]

Really enjoy your vids John! How would you compensate for a group with light and dark hair? Luckily, the members of the group @3:10 have all dark hair.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks Martin, Good question. I guess I would try to keep the blonds and the bald people from standing in the back row. But some times you just have to triage and do what you've got to do and chose a level of brightness that will do something for the dark haired people and not blow out the light haired people. I will also put people with a darker skin tone close to the main light if I can.

[@paigeburris2935]

What is the modifier at 40 seconds in?

[@xxMike462]

Hello and thanks for your informative Video! One question: Hairlight would also work with other colors, not just white right?

[@JohnGress]

Skin tones?

[@xxMike462]

@@JohnGress nono sorry i meant, could i use RED light instead of white, in a very dark Cinematic kinda setup or you think this will not work very well, will try it anyways but would like to know your opinion on it (its a Video Setup) not for Photography)

[@JohnGress]

Oh, you can you colored lights in any position in any set-up.

[@xxMike462]

thanks Sir!@@JohnGress

[@MrDro1128]

6:06 is a great shot. Do you recall the light setup for that?

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! It was lit with an Elinchrom DRX 1200 with an action zoom head in a Litemotiv 120, passing through an Advantage Gripware 8x8 silk. The there was also a subtle hair light coming from a ELC 500 in a small strip softbox. You can find images from that shoot on my IG too.

[@MrDro1128]

@@JohnGress Thank you

[@publiogarcia7529]

What lighting should I place so that shine can be seen on white hair

[@JohnGress]

It’ll be trickier with white hair because it will require just a hint of light.

[@thumpz99]

I'm guessing that for bald heads you would keep the same fstop as the face?

[@JohnGress]

I normally wouldn't use one on a bald person.

[@guyphoto9437]

I'm a people photographer, in studio and on location. I pretty much always use a strip box with a grid for my hairlight. I've not seen all of your videos but the ones I have seen you feature all male subjects, which is odd to me because after being in this business for over 30 years I'd have to say about 99% of my clients are female. I don't agree about the hair light being 2 or more stops less than the light on the subject's face, but that's probably personal taste as far as the lighting I like versus the lighting you like.

[@JohnGress]

In most cases your clients are what you show.

[@raymondcauilan1175]

thank you for this. question on one of the pics shown with the red backdrop is that a hand painted canvas? or a savage paper backdrop(if so, what shade of red is that? :) )

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much! The red backdrop is a hand painted canvass from Gravity Backdrops.

[@threeminuteshate]

John! Where does one find that recessed diffuser for the 35x90?

[@JohnGress]

Hello! amzn.to/2LGkS17

[@catali18]

Hello, what brand of backdrop do you use is very nice.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks. They are from Gravity Backdrops

[@jonl9013]

Great video! One quick question. Do you use a strobe in the hair light softbox? Or are you using a constant light source? Thank you!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks Jon! I’m Using a strobe. On rare occasions I will use constant lights.

[@lightsonwalden7780]

@@JohnGress Thank you so much for the reply. I picked up a softbox and will be purchasing another strobe to add the hairlight option. I appreciate the great video and reply!

[@rainbluephotographystudio4283]

Hi, John, do you recommend to get a light meter for portrait? I have a second hand POLARIS, it is a old one but seems it donot works very well. thanks.

[@JohnGress]

I do! Here is a video I made about this topic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3XOgqNtqtSteck

[@rainbluephotographystudio4283]

Cool, Thanks a million

[@JohnGress]

You’re welcome!🙏🏼

[@LucianaCalvin]

Hi John, what would you suggest a hair/separation light for a very small space with a ceiling 8ft high? I cant find a slim enough strip box for the sides...Is my best option a LED/constant light?

[@JohnGress]

I guess you could use some 4’ tubes but i like to just put a 35x90cm on a stand behind the backdrop, raised up all of the way to the ceiling and then have it just peek over the top of the backdrop.

[@rorynoke5612]

Which video light do you like to put into your strip box for hair, and why?

[@JohnGress]

I use Nanlite FS-150s when shooting video and strobes when shooting photos.

[@SofiaRibeiroPhotography]

For people with low ceilings, say not even 8 feet, is there an LED stick light or something else very low profile that could achieve a hair light result?

[@JohnGress]

Oh! A Nanlite Pavo tube might do the trick.

[@sharadsingh635]

Hello John...love your videos...would like to know from you whether lights such as profoto b10 plus would be a better choice in terms of filling a softbox evenly..i read one of your articles where you compared d1 and pro heads and explained the shortcomings of profoto for filling a large modifier evenly with light...i am seriously thinking of buying a b10 plus due to its flexibility as an outdoor/indoor light and use it with elinchrom deep octa 39"...i would also like to know how the 2500 lumen modelling light on b10 plus fares against the 20w bulb on elc 500...

[@JohnGress]

Hi Sharad thanks for your kind words and for reading that blog post. I think Elinchrom lights are a better choice when it come to filling a variety of modifiers. But as I showed in that post the flat Profoto heads work well with the Elinchrom 100 deep octa and the 190cm indirect octa.

[@sharadsingh635]

@@JohnGress Thank you for the prompt reply...having a beam angle of 68deg as opposed to 77deg on the d1's , the B10 plus should be able to fill the 150cm in-direct rotalux as well ?... would love to know your opinion...unlike d1, there is no glass dome available for the B10 plus...but,i guess that should not be a deal breaker...

[@sharadsingh635]

The only reason why i am inclined towards this profoto light is because it is wire less...therefore making it so so convenient to use it anywhere....but before making an investment into this expensive system, i wanted to be sure about its efficiency and efficacy with elinchrom modifiers...and hence thought it would only be appropriate to ask some real professional and lighting expert such as you...i do not want to regret at a later time in future...for all these years i was hoping elinchrom would come out with something like the b10 that does not require wires or a battery pack...alas...it didn't...

[@JohnGress]

No problem. I don’t know about that modifier because I only owned the indirect 190 and 100 deep octa when I owned the D1s.

[@JohnGress]

I hear your concern. I love my ELB 500s. One of the great advantages is that the pack acts as a sandbag and when you boom a light in a softbox, plus the small head greatly reduces the load on the boom.

[@badsshorts4955]

what about color? I use my window diffused with a white sheet as my key and have been playing with a hair light that's 55k but is noticeably amber on my hair and shoulders vs a very cold light on my face. I can't tell if it looks wrong or not. Are our minds smart enough to conclude its a window vs artificial or is this off putting visually

[@JohnGress]

My guess is that your window light may be 7000k. So unless you cool down your hairlight, with a 1/2 or 1/4 CTB gel it will be off.

[@badsshorts4955]

@@JohnGress right ok. I was curious about gels actually and tried a few for fun (purple, red, green). My light blue is missing somehow. Maybe I'll grab one of those, if the not matching light look is weird, that is

[@JohnGress]

Cool if you do buy something, look for CTB (color temperature blue) in 1/2 or 1/4 strength. It's a color correction gel and made to fix problems like this.

[@DutchUltra]

You didn't mention snoots???

[@orangejjay]

Nice models. 😂

[@xonx209]

Not everything I need to know. Hair light is dependent on the hairstyle of the talent. For example, a bald person should have a different hairlight than a person with full hair. A woman with long straight hair should get a different hair light than someone with perm curly hair (or not?) Should you light up the shoulder or try not to? Is hair light purely done for separation? Does the technique differs if you don't need separation but want to make the hair more attractive? ...

[@JohnGress]

You would not use a hair light on a person who doesn't have hair.

[@smackdaddy9802]

When you call your mom and she TOO recommends John Gress. :D

[@JohnGress]

Ha! Thanks!

[@camera-support-rentals]

How far behind the subject should the back light be? I have a large shooting area so I can put it anywhere I want. Love the videos thanks

[@JohnGress]

Thanks!! Mine is usually pointed town about 45 degrees and close enough to almost be in the way. So about 1m /3’.

[@camera-support-rentals]

Thanks John. I guess my hair lights are too far back. I have them about 7 feet behind the talent. Thanks! and please let me know if you ever do a seminar in Los Angeles

[@JohnGress]

Sure thing. I may be in LA next year. But I will come close this year when I teach a class in San Diego on April 23 johngress.com/events/san-diego/