Video Blog #2 "Grid Spot Lighting"...

Well it’s been a couple of days since my last blog post but that doesn’t mean that I have been slacking off!

So, once again with the help of my good mate John we have released our second video blog post. In this video I quickly demonstrate three different studio lighting setups; all of which utilise grid spots to really focus the light coming from the flash head.

I really love this style of lighting at the moment. In fact I would have to say that my “favourite” way to light in the studio at the moment is using set-up #2 in the video. Everything is so crisp and clean as far as the lighting is concerned- and you can make this style of set-up as simple or as complicated as you like. Sure, it’s not the kind of lighting that you can use every time you shoot in the studio as it can get a little much sometimes. I guess I just really love the way that it does such a good job of making the subject standout so much more from the backdrop.

Timography Blog - Grid Spot Lighting from Tim Watson on Vimeo.

Ok, I’ll give you all a quick run-down on the three set-ups shown in the video.

1. Single overhead light with beauty dish attachment. This is such a simple arrangement that works well without fail! The key is to make sure that the model always keeps their head tilted slightly up to avoid heavy shadows under their eyes, nose and chin. The light falling on the models nose was metered for about f/8 in this instance. Shutter speed was 1/125th sec @ ISO 100. For digital capture I drop my aperture back to f/7.1 (1/3rd of a stop) just to give the image a little more “punch”.

2. Overhead light is still in place but is augmented by the introduction of a “rim” light coming over the models left shoulder. This light is also metered at f/8, but this is really only a guide as it can be set wherever you like really. At f/5.6 it will be barely noticeable and very soft. At f/11 or f/16 you can start to create some really interesting effects. Just make sure you can still obtain correct exposure on the models face though.

3. Finally, we add a third light onto the backdrop. I didn’t mention in the video but this light was metered to be one stop lower than the key light – so it’s set at f/5.6. Basically the more power you feed the backdrop light the brighter the “spot” becomes on the white backdrop. If you were using say, a red backdrop; f/5.6 would make the spot a wine red colour. At f/8 (the same as the key light) the rule-of-thumb is that the spot will be red. At f/16 the spot will be hot pink, and so on as you vary the power of this third backdrop light.

So there you go; three really simple lighting set-ups that work really well and can be set-up in no time at all. A big thank you to Jodie Edom @ Je Mode Makeup and Styling and also to Tarnee Bidzinski from Metro Modelling.

As I said in the video – if there is anything that you would like to see demonstrated or any techniques that you wanted to see then please let me know. After all, I am making these video blogs for you guys out there…