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Side Lighting
Full-Length Photographs

Photography (Basic) - Introduction to photography and other graphic techniques
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PHC Carl Hinkle 302.314 Figure  7-10.–Butterfly  lighting. very close to the camera lens axis and about the subject's eye level. This creates a flat lighting, and facial feature characteristics can be lost. By moving the main light higher, you can create a certain amount of modeling. The light now creates a little modeling and is still very flattering  and  almost  foolproof.  This  lighting  is considered flattering because it does not emphasize lines or crowfeet around the eyes, wrinkles on the forehead, or  shadows  around  the  mouth.  It  does,  however, emphasize  eyes  and  eyelashes,  especially  in  females. The main light should be just high enough to cast a shadow of the nose about a third of the distance from the nose to the top edge of the upper lip (fig. 7-10). Each subject's face and nose is different, so the correct height for the main light varies slightly. When the subject has a long nose, the light should be low to shorten the shadow. When the subject has a short nose, raise the main light to lengthen the shadow. This has a secondary effect as well. It adds form below the eyebrow and accentuates  any  slight  hollowness  in  the  cheeks,  giving a  more  provocative  look. When making a portrait of a person smiling, you must shorten the nose shadow because the upper lip draws up and the shadow goes over the lip. The nose 7-14 shadow should not extend over or touch the edge of the lip. When it does, the lip form is destroyed and it appears unnaturally  small. The   main   light-to-subject   distance   is   again determined  using  the  forehead  highlight  test. The fill-in light is positioned directly below the main light-close to the camera lens axis and slightly above the subject’s eye level. The intensity of this light should be about one f/stop less than the main light. The lighting  ratio  is  established  by  moving  the  fill  light closer to or farther away from the subject to increase or decrease its effect. Balance also can be controlled by using  diffusion  screens  over  the  fill-in  light. Although not as flexible as three-quarter lighting, frontlighting does have some flexibility. The subject's head can be posed from full face to profile. However, the nose shadow must always remain under the nose. Therefore, the main light must be moved with the head; and as the head moves to the three-quarter or profile position, the hair light also must be moved. The fill light is not moved. RIM  LIGHTING Rim lighting is often used when making profile portraits.  Rim  lighting  is  the  same  as  backlighting, where the subject is lighted from behind causing the facial features of the profile to be highlighted (fig. 7-11). Some suggestions to use when taking profile portraits are as follows: In a profile portrait, when a person looks straight ahead, only the whites of the eyes are seen by the camera.  This  causes  an  undesirable  effect. Instead have the eyes cheat-turn the eyes slightly toward the camera, without turning the head, to show enough of the iris so the eye can be seen as an eye, not a white ball. Have the subject's head tipped back slightly. This separates the chin from the far shoulder, gives a better  neckline,  and  reduces  the  appearance  of  a double chin. Allow more space on the side of the picture toward which the eyes are looking. This allows the subject to “look” beyond the frame. If you are interested in learning more about rim lighting, refer to the reference list in appendix III.







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