Clackers Beginners Tip 72: Flat Lighting in Portraits

**clackers** · 05-04-2023, 05:21 PM - **16 Likes**

Good morning all. I think we all have a weird friend. One of mine has covered his body in tattoos of Star Wars characters.

You should see the Luke on his face.

I also have a lousy mechanic.

I picked up my car from a service, and he told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."

This week I want to talk about beauty lighting.

If we angle or cut light to create shadows, that's great for additional drama but can be cruel on people with unkind facial features or skin textures, because it enhances them.

The opposite principle is to light from all directions filling in the shadows. It is flattering to our older subjects because wrinkles disappear. It is very common when showcasing makeup products or artistry, and for headshots in the acting profession. Overexposure is common, too, to further obliterate blemishes and make the image more two dimensional, but I haven't done that in the example below.

You can achieve this flat lighting with a very large light source in front, or something like a ring light (Youtube vloggers often go for that one), or one light from slightly above paired with a reflector from below ... the goal is the same, you can see my example with the K-1 and Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro.

To finish with, there's the story of the elderly man who walks into a parish confessional.

The man tells the priest: 'I am 92 years old, have a wonderful wife of 70 years, many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Yesterday, I picked up two college girls, hitchhiking. We went to a motel, where I had sex with each of them three times.'

'Are you sorry for your sins?' the priest asked.

The old man said, 'What sins? '

The astounded priest asked, 'What kind of a Catholic are you?'

'Oh, I'm Jewish.' the old man replied.

'So what are you doing here, and why are you telling me all this?'

'Buddy, I'm 92 years old ... and I'm telling everybody.'

Find the rest of the series here: Clackers' Beginners Tips (Collected) - PentaxForums.com

swanlefitte · 05-04-2023, 06:57 PM - **8 Likes**

Nice example.
And a Star Wars joke. May the 4th be with you.

Roadboat24 · 05-04-2023, 08:06 PM - **3 Likes**

Nice tips. I went to confession once, ya, took all day...

biz-engineer · 05-05-2023, 03:20 AM

Which naturally leads to the next tip about Rembrandt lighting for portraits.

**clackers** · 05-07-2023, 03:50 AM

Originally posted by biz-engineer

Which naturally leads to the next tip about Rembrandt lighting for portraits.

Good suggestion, but the next one will be the same topic, but for those without flashes or strobes. Can definitely be done!

lesmore49 · 05-15-2023, 04:10 PM - **1 Like**

Good tips and your jokes alone are worth the price of admission.

My favourite shadowing lighting tip...is holding a flashlight under my chin...to get that '30's Boris Karloff Frankenstein 'look'. I know, not much of a trick...

**clackers** · 05-15-2023, 04:18 PM

Originally posted by lesmore49

Good tips and your jokes alone are worth the price of admission.

My favourite shadowing lighting tip...is holding a flashlight under my chin...to get that '30's Boris Karloff Frankenstein 'look'. I know, not much of a trick...

Yep, it's good for drama or melodrama, all depends on us with arranging our shot!

05-04-2023, 05:21 PM - 16 Likes	#1
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Clackers Beginners Tip 72: Flat Lighting in Portraits Good morning all. I think we all have a weird friend. One of mine has covered his body in tattoos of Star Wars characters. You should see the Luke on his face. I also have a lousy mechanic. I picked up my car from a service, and he told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder." This week I want to talk about beauty lighting. If we angle or cut light to create shadows, that's great for additional drama but can be cruel on people with unkind facial features or skin textures, because it enhances them. The opposite principle is to light from all directions filling in the shadows. It is flattering to our older subjects because wrinkles disappear. It is very common when showcasing makeup products or artistry, and for headshots in the acting profession. Overexposure is common, too, to further obliterate blemishes and make the image more two dimensional, but I haven't done that in the example below. You can achieve this flat lighting with a very large light source in front, or something like a ring light (Youtube vloggers often go for that one), or one light from slightly above paired with a reflector from below ... the goal is the same, you can see my example with the K-1 and Tamron 90mm f2.8 Macro. To finish with, there's the story of the elderly man who walks into a parish confessional. The man tells the priest: 'I am 92 years old, have a wonderful wife of 70 years, many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Yesterday, I picked up two college girls, hitchhiking. We went to a motel, where I had sex with each of them three times.' 'Are you sorry for your sins?' the priest asked. The old man said, 'What sins? ' The astounded priest asked, 'What kind of a Catholic are you?' 'Oh, I'm Jewish.' the old man replied. 'So what are you doing here, and why are you telling me all this?' 'Buddy, I'm 92 years old ... and I'm telling everybody.' Find the rest of the series here: Clackers' Beginners Tips (Collected) - PentaxForums.com

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05-04-2023, 06:57 PM - 8 Likes	#2
swanlefitte Pentaxian Join Date: May 2015 Location: Minneapolis Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,068	Nice example. And a Star Wars joke. May the 4th be with you.

05-04-2023, 08:06 PM - 3 Likes	#3
Roadboat24 Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 491	Nice tips. I went to confession once, ya, took all day...

05-05-2023, 03:20 AM	#4
biz-engineer Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2015 Photos: Gallery Posts: 12,253	Which naturally leads to the next tip about Rembrandt lighting for portraits.

05-07-2023, 03:50 AM	#5
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397 Original Poster	Originally posted by biz-engineer Which naturally leads to the next tip about Rembrandt lighting for portraits. Good suggestion, but the next one will be the same topic, but for those without flashes or strobes. Can definitely be done!

05-15-2023, 04:10 PM - 1 Like	#6
lesmore49 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 12,350	Good tips and your jokes alone are worth the price of admission. My favourite shadowing lighting tip...is holding a flashlight under my chin...to get that '30's Boris Karloff Frankenstein 'look'. I know, not much of a trick...

05-15-2023, 04:18 PM	#7
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397 Original Poster	Originally posted by lesmore49 Good tips and your jokes alone are worth the price of admission. My favourite shadowing lighting tip...is holding a flashlight under my chin...to get that '30's Boris Karloff Frankenstein 'look'. I know, not much of a trick... Yep, it's good for drama or melodrama, all depends on us with arranging our shot!