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John Denton's Lighting Lab - part 2 of 1 2

Published 01/12/2014

You can see that the reflector softens the shadows under the chin but doesn't totally eliminate them. If you want a stronger light underneath then why not add a second light? For this light I like to use a strip soft-box angled upwards. You don't want the power of this light to be stronger than that coming from above as that would lead to shadows going upwards which is never attractive. Instead play around with the output of this light and see the different effects you can generate but always keep it weaker than the main. If your subject poses with their stomach touching the edge of this light then they are bathed in a pool of beautiful light and you have a small gap between the two modifiers in which to shoot. (PICS C)

For a variation on the theme then have your subject step backwards. Angle the bottom light towards them to add light at the bottom of the frame and make sure the top light is hitting their faces. This gives a great high key lighting set-up that lights evenly from top to toe. (PIC D)

Finally we introduced a three-light one-reflector set with a strip-box either side of Kat and the beauty dish from the front with reflector under the chin. A fan was used to give some movement in the hair. (PIC E) So there is an instant guide to Clamshell lighting, experiment, have fun and let me know your results.

Catch lights

This set-up gives great catch lights in the eyes, watch out for them and control their appearance. Classically you'd be looking to have only one in each eye and at the 11 o'clock or 1 o'clock positions. If you get the bottom light or reflector appearing in the eye, you can drop it down out of shot, or remove later in post-production

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1st Published 01/12/2014
last update 09/12/2022 14:55:54

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