Lighting Techniques That Will Improve Your Photography

Every photographer knows that lighting plays a crucial role in creating a successful image. Lighting affects not only the brightness of the photograph but it can have an impact on its dramatism and atmosphere. Knowing how to efficiently use the potential of lighting will add more power to your photos. With these 5 simple tips from New York leading photographer Araman you will learn how even a potentially simple image can be turned into a masterpiece.

Loop lighting

Let’s start with one of the most common techniques which is loop lighting. It is a portrait lighting technique where the person is lit from about 45 degrees in front of them and above. This creates a loop-shaped shadow under their nose. You need to remember to position the lighting slightly above you subject’s eye level.

Short lighting

In short lighting, one side of your subject’s face is directed towards the camera. The main light focuses on the side of the face turned away from the camera. This makes your subject’s face look slimmer. Most of the subject’s face should remain in the shadow.

Broad lighting

In contrast, to the short lighting technique, in broad lighting most of your subject’s face should be lighted. Thanks to that, their face will appear broader. Most of the subject’s face needs to be turned away from the main source of light.

Split Lighting

To make your portrait look more dramatic you can use split lighting. As the name suggests, split lighting is a technique where the subject’s face is divided into halves, where one half is lighted and the other remains in the shadow. In order to achieve this result, the light should hit your subject at a 90 degree angle.

Side Lighting

Another technique worth introducing in your photography is the side lighting technique. When the light comes from the side, it allows for longer shadows and creates more depth to the image.