A basic photography studio lighting rig

As mentioned before, there are numerous ways to control the lighting for photography. One typical lighting scheme consists of three strobe lights with a forth strobe used as a hair light when needed. First, the key light is the main light source in the lighting scheme and is used to contour the face and add depth and interest to the subject. Many photographers use the key light as the only strobe in their setup that is repositioned during the course of a photo shoot.

Many photography studio lighting tutorials will stress that during the photo shoot, the illumination of the subject will remain constant when you reposition the key light, as long as the distance between the key light and the subject remains constant. This simple fact is useful to keep in mind for one reason. It enables you to quickly relocate your key light for different desired effects without re-metering everything. A good lighting tip to use is to visualize your subject being at the hub of a wheel, the radius of the wheel being equal to the distance (between the key light and your subject) that gave you f11. The key light may be relocated to any position around the perimeter of the imaginary wheel, with the illumination on your subject remaining a constant f11.

When looking at a typical studio lighting rig, the fill light serves as contrast control by filling in the "sockets and pockets" of your subject. A good lighting tip is to place the fill light at a permanent position about 15 feet from the subject, directly out in front of the set. It is best to keep it elevated to a height of about ten to eleven feet above the floor, so you are able to shoot from directly underneath the fill light if necessary.

The example photography lighting rig has a third strobe serving as the background light. The background photography light may be mounted on a short stand positioned directly behind the subject, and angled upward to illuminate the backdrop and eliminate any shadows behind the subject. Positioning the subject at least six feet from the background also helps to eliminate shadows on the background. A great studio lighting tip to achieve a vignette effect on a low key back ground is to use a small parabolic reflector and possibly a grid spot or barn doors to direct and focus the light where you want it. This is a matter of preference depending on the desired effect. Using this setup can easily create nice low to mid key portraits.

The forth strobe often used in the example studio lighting setup, is the hair light. It is used to separate the subject from the background and to accentuate the subject's hair and shoulders. The hair light may be positioned low or high behind the subject depending on the desired effect, and modifiers such as a snoot or a grid spot may be used to direct and focus the light as desired. A good lighting tip to remember when unsure of whether or not the hair light should be us used is to remember the relationship between the subject's hair color and how it is relative to the backdrop and what type of effect you are desiring. These are just a few basic tips to photography studio lighting. Other resources such as tutorials and internships will offer you more tips. But remember that beyond posing your subject in a flattering way, properly lighting your subject is the single greatest skill you must master in order to create exceptional photography in the studio. You must develop a basic understanding of light contrast ratio and how to control the light, in order to masterfully create elegant and beautiful portraits. The lighting setup described above may be a good starting point. It is very simple to understand and easy to use, generally, only the key light is repositioned during the course of a photo shoot. From there, experiment and practice to achieve the results that you imagine.
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