Understanding and manipulating light is a crucial skill for photographers. Having mastered single light setups, you may be wondering how to effectively utilize more lights in your compositions. In this article, we’ll discuss two and three light setups, offering advice on positioning and technique to achieve dynamic and intriguing results.
Two Light Setups
The addition of a second light in your setup allows you to introduce a ‘fill light’ to your compositions. The fill light, as the name suggests, ‘fills’ in the shadows created by your main light source, the ‘key light’. This provides more detail in the darker areas of your image without creating new, harsh shadows.
The beauty of the fill light is that it allows for precise control over the shadow depth on your subject. Further, you can experiment with different modifiers on the fill light to subtly change the appearance of these shadows, offering a further level of control over your image’s aesthetic.
When you start with two-light setups, use a soft fill light. This won’t introduce new shadows but instead, will merely control the intensity of existing ones.
The interplay between the key light and fill light is known as the ‘lighting ratio’, and it significantly impacts the overall mood of your image. A higher lighting ratio means your key light is much brighter than your fill light, resulting in pronounced shadows and a dramatic, textured image. A lower lighting ratio, where the fill light is closer in intensity to the key light, results in a flatter image with less shadow depth. A commonly used lighting ratio is 2:1, where the key light is twice as intense as the fill light.
Three Light Setup
When introducing a third light to your setup, it is commonly used as a ‘hair light’ or ‘rim light’. The hair light, positioned behind your subject, adds highlights to their hair and shoulders, providing separation from the background. This is particularly useful when your subject has a similar color or tone to the backdrop, and you want to prevent them from blending in.
Typically, you place the hair light about 45 degrees behind the subject and aim it towards the shoulders, creating an attractive glow. It’s often on the same side as the key light for consistency in lighting direction.
If you wish to create a more defined separation between your subject and the background, you can convert the hair light into a rim light. The rim light creates a thin line of light that traces the edge of your subject. For this effect, the flash should occur behind the subject and be completely hidden from view, only casting light on the outline of your subject.
Another effective technique in a three-light setup is using a ‘kicker’ or ‘kick light’. This type of light helps to further distinguish the subject from the background by adding a highlight to the fill side of the face. You position your kick light 180 degrees off the key light. The aim isn’t to illuminate the fill side of the subject directly, but rather to ‘skip’ or ‘kick’ light off the side of the subject and into the camera lens.
When using a kick light, start with a low power setting and aim to make the flash as narrow as possible. Be careful to avoid letting light from the kick light enter the camera directly, as this could result in lens flare. In some situations, it might be beneficial to reduce the intensity of the fill light to allow the kick light’s effects to be more pronounced.
Conclusion
Expanding from one to two or three light setups opens up a new world of creative possibilities in your photography. By manipulating the position, intensity, and quality of multiple light sources, you can control the mood, texture, and depth of your images. As with any new technique, experimentation is key – so don’t be afraid to play around with these setups and see the amazing results you can achieve.