Creative Portrait Lighting 2.0

Looking to shoot creative portrait photography on a budget? Check out these tips.

In this live workshop, Karl Taylor demonstrates how to create this impactful portrait using just three studio lights, including a Godox projection attachment and further DIY modifiers.

As part of this shoot, Karl shows two different methods that can be used to achieve even illumination on a colourful background with clean, crisp lighting on the subject.

Building on this setup, Karl demonstrates numerous creative techniques, including how to create rim lighting, control shadow depth and colour, and make controlled pockets of light.

In this class:

  • Creative portrait lighting ideas
  • Indirect lighting for even illumination on a background
  • Creating and controlling rim lighting
  • Controlling shadow depth & colour
  • DIY modifiers for portrait photography

For further portrait photography ideas, watch our first creative portrait lighting live show or take a look at our 40+ portrait photography lighting setups.

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

Comments

  1. You said in the video that ” The V flat illuminate the light like a huge softbox” Then can we use softbox 120×180 instead? And should we “box” the model like the second method? Thank you so much.

    1. Hi, you can use 2 x 120×180 as background lights but 2 sheets of 4ftx8ft polyboards making a ‘V’ is a bigger light that a 120×180 softbox and it’s easier to put a lid on the top to stop bounce around the studio. For your second question about boxing the model in black fabric, this is only necessary if you are trying to block any bounced light around your studio hitting your model and making the shadows lighter, if you don’t have that problem then it isn’t necessary.

  2. Excellent lesson. If it helps those interested in finding a good optical spot attachment, I recently purchased this one that has adapters to fit most brands of strobes and it has the blades that you can adjust the shape, as well as the gobo inserts. It works quite well and I’m pleased with it. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/3GDlrlx

  3. Alexis

    Hi Karl, I have a AD300pro and I was thinking if 300J was enough to use a project attachment or it will be not powerfull enough.

    1. Hi Alexis, it depends how you look at it. A 300J light at 100ISO but used at 200ISO instead would be the same equivalent exposure/power as a 600J light used at 100ISO.

      1. Alexis

        Yes your right, but I want to maximise to a lower ISO due to my camera because she don’t handle very well ISO. I was thinking the feeling you have by using it if it was enough or not.
        Thank you a lot for your advises you are the best teacher I’ve ever had in photography. Basically I learned every studio aspect thanks to your classes 🙂

    1. Hi Ty, yes the best way to light green screen is evenly as possible for a uniform green. This method is one of the best ways to do that and to ensure minimal if any kick back of green back on to your subject.

  5. Hi Karl,

    I have this pixapro snoot, the shutter blades and diaphragm had to be bought separately, but then you get that higher level of control you need.

      1. If the green screen was twice as big as this yellow background, would you make your V-flats twice as big? To keep it “boxed in” it seems that you’d have to. The bigger the background, the bigger the V-flats?

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