What this setup creates
A female subject is lit with a large parabolic beauty dish with diffuser as the key light, positioned at 45 degrees to her left. A continuous light with barn doors and a blue gel acts as a backlight, pointed towards a white backdrop to create a blue gradient. This setup results in soft, minimal shadows and a cool, bright, and energetic mood.
Light placement
Key light 45 degrees left, Opposite that a white fill, backlight behind subject towards backdrop.
How to build it
Key light is a large parabolic beauty dish with a diffuser. Opposite that a white fill. Backlight is a light with barn doors and a blue gel. The background is a plain white wall illuminated by the blue gel, creating a blue-to-white gradient.
- Lighting style
- Two-light setup with diffused key and gelled backlight on white seamless.
- Key light
- 45 degree
- Light quality
- Soft light, Diffused, Low contrast
- Shadows
- Clean shadows, Flat lighting
- Background
- Gradient background, Colored gel, Seamless backdrop
- Colour
- Cool tones
- Visual mood
- Natural, Premium, Commercial clean, Energetic
Camera settings
Suggested starting point- Aperture
- f/8
- Shutter speed
- 1/160s
- ISO
- 100
- Focal length
- 85mm
- White balance
- 5500K
Inferred standard studio portrait settings for a clean, sharp image with good depth of field and correct color.
