Portrait lighting helps to judge shades well, and as a result, it can be easy to overlook finer details that degrade the overall quality of the image. If you want to improve your portrait lighting, check out this helpful video tutorial. This video covers common mistakes and how you can fix them to improve the quality of your portraits.
Coming to you from John Gress, this great video tutorial discusses the subject of shadows in portrait photography. As you will see, you can use both passive and active fills. The advantage of passive filling is that it is cheaper and simpler; After all, most new photographers start with just a single light, and that really helps, as it will help you learn light more easily and simply. On the other hand, the advantage of active fill mode (which uses other lighting) is that you have full control over the strength and appearance of the shadows, allowing you to finely sculpt the rendering of your subject with with the rest of the frame. Both are perfectly valid methods; It is important that you pay attention to the shadow filling and make deliberate decisions about it. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Gress.
If you want to continue learning about portrait lighting, be sure to check out “Face Lighting: Illumination for close-ups and portraits With Peter Hurley!”
