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Mastering the Art of the One-Light Portrait - 7/6/09

Who says portrait lighting has to be complex?

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Browsing around the Internet it’s easy to get the impression that the only way to make a great portrait is to use a multi-dimensional, über-difficult lighting scenario. Whether it’s natural light or strobe, you may have the impression that if you don’t go big you might as well go home. In fact, not only is a one-light portrait an equally viable approach to photographing people, sometimes it’s the best way to do it. After all, there’s only one sun.

With natural light, the best way to make a one-light portrait is to use window light. Choose a window that doesn’t have bright, direct sunlight shining in; open shade from a  north-facing window is ideal. Know that shaded sunlight is a little cooler than direct light, and warmth often is preferable for portraits. So first, be sure to account for the color temperature by setting a custom white balance or utilizing the open shade setting on the camera.

Position the subject so that the window is at their side—90 degrees from the camera. This will make a strong directional light and showcase the dimension of the face. For a softer look, stand with the window at your back and the subject looking into the camera (and therefore, looking into the window light source as well). This will create a softer effect, particularly helpful for minimizing texture and smoothing uneven skin.

Whether the window light is coming from the side or from the camera position, the closer the subject is to the window, the more contrasty the scene will be. As the subject moves farther from the window, the difference between highlight and shadow will decrease. Experiment with the perfect position—or use a fill card to help minimize distracting deep shadows if the subject is close to the window.

That same distance principle works if you’re using strobes, too. For portraits, soft lighting is often the best place to start because it’s so forgiving. With strobes, that means bouncing the light off a white wall or through a sheet of diffusion. For studio setups, pros accomplish this with a softbox or umbrella to soften the light and make it more flattering for most types of faces.

As important as the type of source you’re using, positioning of that light is equally critical. A light from the front will flatten the face—minimizing shadow, shape and texture. This can be beneficial in some cases, but for the most part it’s not particularly flattering. A more generally pleasing light position would be above the subject’s eye level, at a roughly 45-degree angle. As you move the light around, watch what it does to the shadows on the face. The main thing to keep an eye on—pun intended—is the eyes. Particularly important is to ensure that deep-set eyes aren’t completely shadowed. A higher light position is more likely to shade the eyes, so lower it toward eye level as necessary to show highlights in bright eyes. Watch for the catchlight; it’s critical.

Wherever you position that light, perhaps the biggest variable is then where you put the fill. A white wall, white card, silver reflector or even a gold foil reflector is crucial to lighten dark shadows on the subject’s face. Position it close for more fill, farther for less. On almost every portrait the reflector’s position will be different, so put everything in position and adjust the reflector to watch its effect on the subject.

In general, positioning the subject far from the background allows you to light the two planes separately. With a single light source, however, the one light has to do double duty. For a dark background, position the subject very far from the background, and the light very close to the subject. For a lighter background, position the subject closer to the background, and the light very far away. This approach is utilizing the “depth of light” principle, and while it may sound counterintuitive, trust me: It works. Try it and you’ll see you can have amazing control over the background lighting even in a simple one-light setup.

One reason that simple lighting schemes work well? They put the influence on the person in the picture—rather than the light and the technique used to create the shot. One approach appeals to everyone, and that’s making the subject look good. Making the light look good at the subject’s expense, however, usually only appeals to photographers.

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