What this setup creates
A female model is lit with a beauty dish as the key light and a snoot as a rim/hair light, a gridded reflector towards towards a seamless white background. A negative fill panel is used to enhance shadows and contrast, creating a dramatic, fashion-forward look.
Light placement
Key light camera-right, 45 degrees to subject. Rim/hair light camera-left, behind subject. Negative fill panel camera-left, opposite key light.
How to build it
The beauty dish with a grid is positioned as the key light to the camera-right and slightly in front of the subject. A light with a snoot is used as a hair/rim light from the camera-left and behind the subject. A black negative fill panel is placed camera-left to deepen shadows and increase contrast on the subject and background. A light with standard reflector and grid pointed at the backdrop to give hard spot on the background.
- Lighting style
- Dramatic and sophisticated lighting with a strong key and rim light, enhanced by negative fill for increased contrast.
- Key light
- 45 degree
- Light quality
- Semi-hard, High contrast
- Shadows
- Dramatic shadows, Moody
- Background
- Gradient background, Spotlight, Seamless backdrop
- Colour
- Neutral
- Visual mood
- Dramatic, Fashion-forward, Premium, Commercial clean
Camera settings
From the tutorial- Aperture
- f/9
- Shutter speed
- 1/160s
- ISO
- 100
- Focal length
- 85mm
- White balance
- 5500K
Inferred standard studio portrait settings for controlled lighting and depth of field.
