When taking acting headshots (torso up), and using all natural light, is there a general rule for using reflectors to keep the image looking realistic? Such as using a reflector slightly below the subject to redirect light upward? Or should it be used higher up and direct the light more downward?
Assuming that your main light source is a window (or if you're outdoors and the source is an area of open sky),
begin by positioning your subject to face almost toward the light and try to have the source somewhat above them.
If you are using that kind of a classic pattern, then a reflector could be positioned a bit below face level to throw light into the eye sockets and neck shadows.
The type of reflector, angle, and closeness to subject will determine how strong your shadow fill is. If it's not too strong, it won't be obvious in the final result.
Watch out for the kind of catch lights you create, which can look great or look odd. The nice thing about natural light is that you'll see exactly what you're doing.
Sometimes you can position a reflector on the side of camera opposite the side of the light source, but you'll usually get a more natural look if it's near camera position, and it can even be on the same side as the source.
Photon wrote:
Assuming that your main light source is a window (or if you're outdoors and the source is an area of open sky), begin by positioning your subject to face almost toward the light and try to have the source somewhat above them.
Unless you are shooting outside in full sun... In that case, turn your subjects face (somewhat) away from the sun and use the reflector to bounce some fill back into the shadows. Be aware that even under these conditions the bounced light can still be very powerful... enough to make your models eyes squint (depending on angle, distance, reflective material, etc).
To the OP:
Reflectors come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. For round catchlights use a round reflector. Experiment with different materials: silver, gold, zebra, white, etc. These will influence the color temperature.
In this headshot I used three big windows (overcast sky) to the right and bounced some fill into the left side by a zebra reflector (Sunbounce). The reflector was close to the model:
There are no rules, just cause and effect. If you want "natural" light just observe where the light comes from it nature and how it models the 3D shape of faces. Outdoors in natural light there are actually two sources, direct sun and indirect light reflected off the sky. Both come from overhead so photographic lighting scenarios will look more "natural" when key and fill come from overhead.
The "key" light defines the 3D shape of the face with highlights. On a perceptual level our brains recognize faces in person and photos by pattern recognition and respond quicker when the highlights create a "mask" pattern which looks like a face even if blurred.
The mask pattern consists of highlights on the top portion of the raised surfaces on front of the face: forehead, ridge of nose, tops of cheeks under the eyes, mouth and chin. That pattern of highlights guides the eye to the face in the same way landing lights on a runway guide an airplane. The dynamic is created by precise highlight placement (a function of key light position relative to the face) and controlling the relative contrast of highlight and shadow ( a function of fill placement and intensity).
The goal in a portrait is to attract the viewer to the face. That's done by contrasting the mask highlight pattern created by the key light with the other shaded parts of the face. The classic conventional patterns of butterfly lighting for full-face views (i.e. lights centered with the nose) and short lighting for oblique views (i.e. key light 45 degrees from NOSE and side of the face in shadow) became conventions in part because they create highlight patterns which both define the "mask" we immediately recognize as a human face and create the contrast dynamic which pulls the viewer into the front of the face to make and hold eye contact. Contrast with the tone established by the background leads the eye. Eye motion studies have shown that people who look at photos will seek out the eyes first, just as they do when meeting people in person. In a photo what you control with the shadows created with the fill is where their eyes will wander next. In a H&S portrait if want the viewer to stay on the face you need to make everything else contrast less. So in terms of goals for the lighting strategy think holistically and ask first "How can I make the front of the face contrast more than anything else?"
How does this relate to fill position? Fill needs to be placed in a way that doesn't fight and defeat the way the key light pattern attracts the viewer and holds them on the front of the face. The pitfalls to avoid with fill are: crossed shadows, shaded fill, and creating shadows which are brighter on the side of the head than those on the shaded side of the front of the face.
For example while it might seem logical to place a reflector on the shady side of the face or below the chin, if it is moved back beyond the front of the subject's nose the nose and cheekbone on the shadow side will begin to shade it on some areas of the front of the face that the side of the face and ear (if showing) will wind up brighter and than the shadow side of the front of the face. The brightness on the side of the face will sooner or later pull the viewer off the front to go see what is brighter and in a worst case scenario their last impression of the photo will be of a brightly fill-lit ear popping out of the shadows.
When fill is place below the face the cheekbones will shade it and create shaded fill on the tops of the cheeks and dark eye sockets which in natural overhead lighting are the brightest areas of contrast when the face is lifted into the light enough to reach the recessed eyes.
That's not to say fill can't be placed there, only that it will cause shaded fill when moved too far from the camera axis. How much is too much? That's a subjective judgement you need to train your eyes and brain to recognize and make based on your preferences. But you can't do that until you understand the cause and effect of fill placement.
When a reflector or fill light moves down or back relative to the raised cheekbone the cheekbone will cause the fill to be shaded, which is not a good thing because shadow from fill which cross key light shadows create dark distracting unfilled voids in the lighting pattern. If you look at "one light" portraits filled with reflectors placed to the side you'll often notice a very dark and distracting crescent shaped shadow at the base of the nose on the shadow side or a nose shadow that is two-toned with a darker tip. Those dark areas are places where the raised cheek blocked and shaded the fill. The same thing happens in the corners and insides of the mouth and teeth for the same reason: no fill reaching there.
If using two artificial lights for key and fill its very easy to turn off the key light, using just the fill to see where it is creating shadows which will cause the problems mentioned above. But in natural lighting you need to train your eye to spot those potential unflattering distractions as you move the reflector or fill light. The role of fill photographically is primarily technical. The range of color film and digital sensors is less than the eye can perceive and a digital photo exposed correctly for the highlights will look darker than normal (i.e. as by eye) in a photo in conditions other than flat lighting. The most important property of fill is that is illuminate the front of the face where the "key" light hits evenly without creating shadows of its own in places on the face which will cross those of the key light. Natural fill from the sky outdoors wraps around the face on all sides. Artificial fill, either from a reflector or flash comes from one direction and the ideal place technically above the camera or directly in front of the face (in an oblique pose) the only places it can illuminate the face evenly and lift all the shadows the camera sees.
The dilemma of using reflectors are that it first must be positioned in a way which will catch and reflect the primary source of light and put above and in front of the face where they will effectively fill the shadows without creating cross shadow voids. Outdoors with the sun at the back of subject its very easy to position a big reflector above the face of the subject where it actually acts as the key light on the front of the face. But if using natural window light or a reflector with a single strobe its far more difficult to place the fill where it needs to be - IN FRONT OF THE FACE - and have it be able to catch can reflect the source of the light and stay out of the photo. Usually the solution to the dilemma results if sub-optimal fill placement.
What is optimal fill? Let your own eyes decide. If you have two lights set up a short lit full face short lit view of a subject starting with the fill directly over or next to the camera (which itself should be slightly above eye level of the subject to hide the nose holes). The key light 45 from the nose for a short lit pattern.
Then without changing anything else rotate the fill around to the side of the head in 15 degree increments, keeping the distance to the front of the face constant using a string with a knot on it. As the fill move from "neutral" around to the side at 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 degrees to the front of the face take a shot and compare how the character of the lighting changes. As I said at the beginning there are no rules, just cause and effect and that simple exercise you can do in about 15 minutes will teach you the cause and effect of fill placement. The same cause and effect will apply regardless of whether a light or reflector is used.
Daan B wrote:
Unless you are shooting outside in full sun... In that case, turn your subjects face (somewhat) away from the sun and use the reflector to bounce some fill back into the shadows. Be aware that even under these conditions the bounced light can still be very powerful... enough to make your models eyes squint (depending on angle, distance, reflective material, etc).
To the OP:
Reflectors come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. For round catchlights use a round reflector. Experiment with different materials: silver, gold, zebra, white, etc. These will influence the color temperature.
In this headshot I used three big windows (overcast sky) to the right and bounced some fill into the left side by a zebra reflector (Sunbounce). The reflector was close to the model:
Thanks for the feeback! What height was the center of the reflector? I'm trying to figure out if going below the subject (redirecting light up and into eye sockets) looks unnatural.
michael_antoi wrote:
Fill can be achieved using flash. Is flash better than a reflector or vice-versa?
I currently have a shoot through and reflective umbrella and plan to use that on outdoor as a fill light. Will this suffice?
I have a dual-flash off-camera setup and have used that before, but it definitely feels different than using all-natural light. The majority of headshot-for-actor photographers say that they only use natural light in their outdoor shots. It seems to me that the skin reacts differently to flash, than it does with all natural lighting.
Photon wrote:
Assuming that your main light source is a window (or if you're outdoors and the source is an area of open sky),
begin by positioning your subject to face almost toward the light and try to have the source somewhat above them.
If you are using that kind of a classic pattern, then a reflector could be positioned a bit below face level to throw light into the eye sockets and neck shadows.
The type of reflector, angle, and closeness to subject will determine how strong your shadow fill is. If it's not too strong, it won't be obvious in the final result.
Watch out for the kind of catch lights you create, which can look great or look odd. The nice thing about natural light is that you'll see exactly what you're doing.
Sometimes you can position a reflector on the side of camera opposite the side of the light source, but you'll usually get a more natural look if it's near camera position, and it can even be on the same side as the source....Show more →
I'm definitely going to have do some test shots and experiment with different a couple of different reflector shapes, although my budget is limited right now in splurging on a good reflector. For just a piece of fabric on a cheap frame, they seem pretty expensive. But then again, so is everything in photography.
Nowhere Man wrote:
Thanks for the feeback! What height was the center of the reflector? I'm trying to figure out if going below the subject (redirecting light up and into eye sockets) looks unnatural.
I used a 125x90cm reflector directly to the side of her shoulders/head... so, parallel to the body. The center of the reflector must have been around her shoulders IIRC.
It is not the angle that will make the bounced light unnatural or not... but rather the intensity (strength) and/or at what ratio to the key light.
This portrait had the key light coming in from above (window). I placed a reflector at his waiste and bounced the light back up towards his face - you can still see the reflector in the lower bottom of the eyes:
What color reflector would best reflect light without changing it's color? Silver?
The difference between white and silver is primarily the tendency for silver to create specular refections on the high points within the shadows the reflector fills, which can be distracting for a portrait, but add dimension to a shot of a pet (hair needs specular reflections to look 3D) or a "wet look" glamor shot.
It all depends on the look you want and goes to what I said about cause and effect. Every tool is ideally suited for some tasks and less suited for others. The technical stuff might be boring, but using the tools creatively (in a predicable way) starts with understanding their characteristics.
You just want to put the reflector where it looks the best. End of story. Learning how to recognize when the light is right, or right for you shot is what takes experience. I don't do too many headshots, but here's one I did fairly recently for an actor/singer here in L.A. While it's not "natural" light, it was available light - lit with the makeup lights in the backstage green room at Fais Do Do. There was way too much contrast so I had an assistant with a fomecore reflector (about 4' x 5') almost right up against her, camera left. The four inch bulbs were just out of frame on the right and the reflector just out of frame on the right. Shot ISO800 handheld only because there was no room for sticks.
Peter Figen wrote:
You just want to put the reflector where it looks the best. End of story. Learning how to recognize when the light is right, or right for you shot is what takes experience.
Lovely photo Peter. You reinforce what I tell my students, all the fancy equipment out there won't help you take a nicely lit photo if you can't "see" the light. In class I take one Lowell light and a big sheet of foamcore and demonstrate all the standard lighting types. They are surprised at what can be done with minimal equipment.
Simply is usually better. It was the damned ball, cube, and cylinder assignment, all white on white, back in school, that forced me to be really conscious of highlight, shadow, fill, core, separation of tones and edges and how the light models your subject. Applies equally to people, product, landscape, or anything in between.
