Portrait Lighting Terms Beginners Need to Know in the Studio!

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.
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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

[@kirkdarling4120]

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

[@JohnGress]

Maybe he was old school then 🤣

[@TheHeadshotPhotographer]

All the detalis you need to know and informative. Thank you!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@yanafridabinaev]

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

[@JohnGress]

Wow, thanks!

[@Retouchlikeaproacademy]

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

[@JohnGress]

My pleasure! I hope it helps!

[@kayayasar6730]

Beautifully prepared teaching video. Thank you ❤

[@JohnGress]

You are very welcome! Thank you!

[@alexanderpons9246]

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!

[@JohnGress]

My pleasure! Thank you

[@HariSinghphoto]

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

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! I hope it was helpful!

[@reynaldomusic9203]

i appreciate your efforts!

[@JohnGress]

It's my pleasure! Thank you!

[@luissalazar2021]

Great job, thanks for sharing

[@JohnGress]

Thanks and thanks for watching!

[@martinsmith6049]

Thank you John, greetings from London.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks mate! I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment!

[@londonschoolofwigmaking5793]

Another great video John.

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much!

[@user-ss8ip8zm9j]

AH HA moment for me! Thank you for sharing John!

[@JohnGress]

My pleasure! Thats great to hear🙏🏼

[@CreatedbyZyaire]

Quality content.. thanks for sharing!

[@JohnGress]

Thank you and thanks for watching!

[@LensShark]

Great info as always, brother.

[@JohnGress]

Thanks Sharky!

[@veselinvasilev9362]

Thank you!

[@JohnGress]

You're welcome!

[@stupendously_creative]

Love the different setups

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much!

[@stupendously_creative]

@@JohnGress you’re most welcome

[@GRHoustonJack]

Love this and great advice about the boom stands. I've had a few close calls in the past. Changed my life. 😂

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! I know of at least two occasions where I didn't sand bag something so bagged it incorrectly and then broke a light!

[@GeorgeAllanPortraits]

John- Very Refreshing and informative!! - some might call this "old school" _ to me it's Classic studio lighting and Love it! - Rock On!

[@JohnGress]

Thanks George. I hope it helps people understand the content they consume in the future and improve their skills.

[@GeorgeAllanPortraits]

@@JohnGress Right on! I'm in my 43 year as a studio /commercial photographer and employ the lighting your teaching- your a great teacher and this new generation hopefully feels grateful for your willingness to share your knowledge- all pro techniques - doesn't get any better

[@JohnGress]

Thank you so much George. That is a huge complement! It's an honor and a privilege to hopefully provide photographers the guidance I always wish I had when I was coming up.

[@jarrellelee]

You should do voiceover your voice is amazing bro

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! Maybe someday if AI ends photography! Then again it will end voice overs too 🤣🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@Theaaronchris]

Great content! Do you use stones or continuous lighting?

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! I use both but mostly strobes.

[@Theaaronchris]

@@JohnGress okay, thanks!

[@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?

[@JohnGress]

Thanks! You would need to turn the 800WS flashed down considerably because speed lights are about 60-100WS.

[@mordavian]

@@JohnGress thank you for the information.

[@mordavian]

@@JohnGress 300W enough?

[@Retouchlikeaproacademy]

You said something about the flag. Could you please make a video about it and how it affects the lighting setup?

[@JohnGress]

Here is a video all about flags kzbin.info/www/bejne/m57Hk4Cip9-aj7s

[@dab7963]

John what diffuser is the one that you are using as a hair light

[@JohnGress]

I typically use this one Elinchrom Rotalux Stripbox 35x90cm
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[@dab7963]

@@JohnGress thanks John. I like the hood on it as well.

[@JohnGress]

They sell that separately and I think it's called a hooded diffuser.

[@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.

[@JohnGress]

This kit is a great place to start. Elinchrom Lighting Kit D-LITE RX 4/4 SOFTBOX TO GO, Black (EL20839.2) amzn.to/35XZhbm If budget allows you could buy two elinchrom Threes and individual softboxes. Elinchrom THREE Adorama howl.me/ckOHJkaLdm0 B&H bhpho.to/46Sg90q I would be happy to build out a kit for you and send you links. What kind of things do you want to shoot and will you be shooting on location outside or only inside in a studio like environment?

[@edumerloph]

@@JohnGress I am a portrait photographer, I don't have a studio, but in the process of building one. Saludos from Argentina.

[@JohnGress]

Hola! What's your current budget and are amazon links ok?

[@edumerloph]

@@JohnGress My budget is about us$1500. Amazon links are ok.

[@JohnGress]

Ok then I would still start with this. amzn.to/35XZhbm Then the next things I would add are and Elinchrom Three amzn.to/4dgoPl8 and this softbox amzn.to/3fRG5AH and this ring amzn.to/3p8ySEe plus the trigger dedicated to your camera brand amzn.to/3rPCubN

[@steelehousephotography8524]

My light position name... Somewhere about here 😂

[@JohnGress]

Right!

[@stevenabakiss4394]

Are you talking about static lights or flash lights or both? Tbh the info wasn't that clear and I certainly do not feel I got a good understanding.

[@JohnGress]

It doesn’t matter if you’re using continuous lights or flash lighting, the names will be the same.