Lighting Techniques in Studio Photography
Having proper lighting is essential when it comes to studio photography. Depending on the subject and the location of the photo shoot, there are a variety of lighting techniques that a photographer will use in order to get the best possible shots.
Camera Format
Before choosing the lighting, it is important that the photographer decide which camera format will be used. Typically larger cameras require smaller openings in order to get sufficient field depth. The size of the subject will also play a role in camera format. For instance, photographing a vehicle would require more light than shooting a head-and-shoulders portrait.
Sunlight
Sometimes a photographer will use the natural lighting from the studio windows to take photographs. These photos are usually taken in early morning, at high-noon and at sunset. These are the times when sunlight is most abundant. After these times, clouds or shades will cause photos to appear with a bluish tint or hue to them. For this reason, many photographers with studio windows will use darkening blinds or heavy drapery.
Hot Lights
Hot lights refer to the traditional tungsten or metal halide iodide lights that burn continuously. Photographers seem to be split on the usage of hot lights. Some photographers like the fact that it allows more time to view the subject and less adjustment of the camera. Hot lights also can be used with movie, video and scanning for digital cameras.
There are other photographers, however, that do not like how the heat causes excessive sweating of the models being photographed. The extreme heat can also be dangerous when using various props, so it is important to keep these out of the way of the hot lights until the items need to be used.