Continuous Lights in the Studio
Fresnel Lights are the Cornerstone of Cinematic Imagery
Written on the 15th of August, 2022
As you may know from my blog, I love dramatic portraits, which is why I am fond of one-light photography. One-light photography can create a harsh shadow, increasing the image's contrast, which I like to do every once in a while—however, the more lights to add to a photoshoot, the more creative the results.
I invited my friend Saoud AlTurki for this photoshoot. I started with one-light photography using my Nikon SB-5000 Speedlight attached to an octabox positioned at 45 degrees angle above his eye level to get Rembrandt lighting. The following diagram shows the lighting setup of the photoshoot:
I used the following gear:
I love how soft the light is, and with some Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop action, I got the following results:
I recently purchased the Lupo Dayled 650 Dual Color LED Fresnel. In addition to my already own Dayled 1000 Dual Color LED Fresnel, I wanted to create a cinematic two-light setup in the studio. I used Dayled 1000 as a key light positioned at 45 degrees angle above his eye level. I then used the Dayled 650 to add a background light separating him from the background. Because my Dayled 1000 and 650 were dual colors, I could change their colour temperature. I am not entirely sure, but I think I chose 5600 Kelvin for both lights. I was shooting in RAW anyway to change the colour temperature later in post-processing. The following diagram shows the lighting setup of the photoshoot.
I used the following gear:
Here are the results of the continuous two-light setup:
Using Speedlight produced stunning results. However, it needs trial and error to get the perfect exposure. However, with continuous lights, you get what you see.
The images turned out to be excellent. I've always loved natural skin tone and colour. However, in three photos, I added a greenish tone to the highlights, giving the skin tone a nice glow that reminds me of old films.