Studio lighting basics are simple to learn, but somewhat more difficult to master. Every studio lighting situation produces unexpected variables. Studio lighting must be frequently readjusted to adapt to changing photographic situations. A solid foundation in introductory lighting is the best place to start.
Instructions
1. Start with your key lights. Every subject in your studio should have a key light directly on them. It should ideally hit them in the face or wherever you wish to focus attention. The more important the subject, the more important his or her key light.
2. Define your subjects with back lights. Too much light on the faces of your subjects can blend them into the background. To distinguish them from their surroundings, place a back light behind each subject. The back light is smaller than the key light and is shined either behind the subject or slightly upward. The goal is to make your subjects appear more three-dimensional.
3. Remove shadows with fill lights. When a studio fills up with conflicting light sources, strange shadows can appear. Get rid of them by placing fill lights at angles with the key lights and back lights. You will need to move the fill lights around to get your desired effect. Shadows are unpredictable so be patient and adapt.
4. Brighten the background. Sometimes the background gets lost in all the studio lighting. If the background is important, then light it separately from your subjects using the same rules. When you do this you, can often eliminate the back lights for your subjects since the background will already be lit.
5. Light for the action. Static studio lighting is fine if your subjects don't move. If your studio work involves blocking or other movement, then keeping key lights and back lights on each subject becomes impossible. In that case, light the entire studio as if it were a bright cloudy day. There should be plenty of light everywhere but no shadows. This can be achieved with indirect lighting and gels over the lights.
6. Add or remove lights to fit your desired outcome. Sometimes a special effect is the goal. If you want all the attention to be on a single person, then hit him or her with a key light and a back light, and leave the rest of the studio dark. If you want to shift attention from one subject to another, then shift the lighting or shift the subjects. If you want your subject to be an anonymous shadow then hit them with a bright back light alone.
Tags: your subjects, back light, back lights, fill lights, each subject, lights back, lights back lights