Beauty-Style Advertising Photography

Learn how to create a classic beauty shot.

Unlike portrait photography, which typically requires soft lighting, classic beauty/makeup images need hard light. In this class, you’ll discover three important considerations for making these shots work, before getting to grips with two different lighting setups.

For the first setup, you’ll use a couple of lights as Karl walks you through the necessary modifiers and accessories. You’ll also learn how to use fill light to control shadow density. In the second setup, you’ll need nothing more than a single bare bulb as you learn how to create striking hard shadows across the model’s face.

In this class:

  • How to photograph beauty images
  • Creating hard light
  • Lighting setups for beauty images
  • How to control shadows

Want to learn about retouching beauty images? Check out Beauty-Style Photography Retouch: Getting Started.

If you enjoy this class, you may like to watch Introduction and Beauty Lighting and Beauty Lighting Techniques.

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. Charliestephens

    What are your thoughts on using a fresnel instead of the magnum reflector. Also i didn’t catch the aperture setting. PS love the beauty series….

    1. Hi, if you look at a magnum reflector from the side you will recognise that it is basically a parabolic reflector (just a small one) but the light source is not inverted on a rod like the large parabolic reflectors so what you get is also the point light source directing light as a harder light source in the centre as well as the reflected light source from the sides of the mini parabolic shape. Essentially this will give you mostly directional light but very hard because it is small but not quite as hard as say a P70 reflector which is much the same just smaller. A fresnel such as the flooter will collimate light a little better but will still have a harder central portion but the ability to zoom the light from flood to spot. Interestingly with the Flooter it’s harder sharper shadows in the flood position rather than the spot because the centre portion of the ‘bare bulb’ is now stronger. Anyway they’ll be much of a muchness, I think I’d probably prefer the flooter and if you use our app you’ll be able to see some comparisons of it against the P70: https://visualeducation.com/lighting-comparison-tool/

  5. Hi Karl,

    Great tutorial . Would this shot be possible with a dslr camera with max shutter of 200 as you had yours at 500? I’m guessing it would have been a case of increasing aperture and flash power?

    Many thanks
    Craig

    1. Hi Craig, yes absolutely. Remember not to confuse shutter speed with exposure when using flash, in this instance i could have used 1/60th or 1/200th or 1/500th and it wouldn’t make any difference on exposure because I was using studio flash. Please watch the first 15 chapters on studio lighting theory in the ‘Portrait’ section on the course ‘Light Source’ this gives you the solid grounding you need for everything to do with studio flash.

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