For decades, color slide film has been the industry standard for commercial and editorial work, and the speed of the film is typically 64 or 100. Standard practice for a portrait photographer is to use flashing lights. High-powered flash to illuminate the subject. Today, digital cameras are able to produce clear images at high ISO settings and allow photographers to ignore flickering lights and instead illuminate subjects with lower wattage continuous luminaires. .
This article will detail three ways that continuous light outperforms strobe light when shooting portraits. This is not to say that continuous light is a better choice than strobe light for portrait photography. Both methods offer unique benefits. An article titled, “3 Ways of Continuous Lighting That Is Bad for Portraits” will be as valuable as the article you are about to read and you will probably find it soon on this website.
Continuous illumination gives subjects brighter, more colorful eyes
In portrait photography, we want to draw attention to the subject’s eyes, and we can use artificial light to do this. Usually, we use the reflection of the light itself in the subject’s eyes to help draw attention to the eye. Many photographers have a preferred method of aligning their light controls to create the type of catchlight they desire in their photos.
Often overlooked by photographers is the relationship between pupil and iris and how we can use this relationship to draw attention to our subject’s eyes. Everyone we photographed has a black pupil that varies in size depending on the ambient light where we are shooting. As the pupil expands or contracts in response to ambient light, the iris contracts or expands in reverse. If the subject has light-colored eyes, this effect can be very noticeable. If we want to draw attention to the eyes, it would be wise to capture the subject with small pupils and large irises. Soft, continuous light is ideal for creating these conditions, and portraits are obtained with an appearance that cannot be reproduced by shooting in a room lit with standard ceiling lighting.
The Westcott flexible set which I use to take close-ups that are noticeably brighter than any ambient light in the room. The lights are so powerful that my lights are usually set between 35-40%. If I raise the power even higher, the subject will have to squint. At my moderate power setting, the light was bright enough to narrow the pupil and widen the iris, helping to create portrait shots where my subject had bright and colorful eyes.
Continuous lighting provides a valuable real-time preview of your final image
When shooting with a modern mirrorless camera and with constant light, you’re viewing the final image in real time. You can see where shadows and highlights appear on the face. If the color temperatures of your different lights are not the same, that should be obvious. If your continuous lighting is properly arranged, your subject will look good, no matter how unflattering the ambient light may be. Conversely, if you set up strobe lights in a typical, dimly-lit corporate office, subjects may appear dramatic green or dark shadows on their faces as you take the shot. You won’t be able to tell when looking at your subject if your lighting is properly positioned. The only way to determine this is to take a picture and review it on your camera or laptop. It can be a bit confusing when the image you are viewing in real time looks completely different from the actual image on your laptop. This is not a big deal, but after years of using both strobe and constant light for portrait photography, I can assure you that it is better to photograph subjects while they are being projected. bright exactly as they will appear in the final photo.
Continuous lighting also makes it easy to make both small and large adjustments to your lighting setup. If the subject moves away from the sweet spot, you’ll notice and it’ll be easier to move the subject back into place or adjust the lighting. When the subject appears to be properly lit, you can shoot with confidence knowing that the final image will be just as beautiful as the scene in front of you.
Flashing cabinets are often equipped with model lights designed to simulate what the subject will look like in the final image. While these lights can be useful when you’re organizing your setup, modeled lights don’t accurately represent what the final image will look like. When using a strobe light, you will need to take a series of test shots to determine if the light is set up correctly. This is time consuming and you won’t know the effect of each adjustment until you take a picture and review it.
Some lights are continuous, such as lights Amaranth 21c, can illuminate the subject in any color you want. Instead of buying gels and placing them on a flash tube on a strobe light, you can simply pick the color (and intensity of that color) of your choice. Some lights can be set to cycle through a range of colors so that each time you photograph the subject or background, it has a different palette. This allows you to easily create dozens of distinctly different images. This is simply not possible using strobe light.
Continuous Lighting Makes It Easier to Capture Natural Expressions
When flashing, there is an audible pop from the flash tube. Multiple beeps flash after each shot to indicate that the strobe light is ready to fire. When I work with strobes, these sounds sometimes help me get into the rhythm as I trigger the strobes with predictable intervals of 1.5 seconds or so. As my triggering became predictable, so did the subject’s posture and it became more difficult to capture the moment realistically. When shooting with continuous light, the mood is calmer and more subtle. Although there is a mental adjustment the subject must make to become comfortable under the relative brightness of my continuous lighting system, I find this only takes a minute and then they feel feel comfortable for the rest of the shoot. Since there is no flash tube to fire when I press the shutter button, the subject is less noticeable when I take the photo. When using continuous light, I found myself talking to the subject more and increasing my chances of capturing a realistic expression.
The constant light also allows for multiple shots to be taken quickly. If the subject is smiling or telling a story, you can shoot at will. Using a program like Photo Mechanic, I can quickly sift through thousands of images to locate an image where the subject’s expression appears to be correct. This is not possible with strobe lights as the lights usually need some time to return to a fully charged state after each turn on. It is also difficult for the subject to feel natural as the strobe lights flash dozens of times in just a few seconds.
If you are an experienced natural light photographer, you are probably familiar with some of the advantages of continuous lighting detailed here. Natural light can certainly be beautiful, but the ever-changing nature of this light means you’ll always have to adjust exposure. It is also difficult to compare exposures to natural light made over a period of hours or days. Using constant light, you can develop consistent form and color in your photos no matter the time of day or the location of your shooting.
If you have a preference between wardrobe and constant lighting, what are some reasons you prefer one over the other?
