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Lighting setup to flatter heavy faces


obi-wan-yj

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<p>I need to take some fashion-style head-and-shoulders shots of a middle-aged woman who is a little heavier than normal, but not egregiously so. I need some advice on lighting setups that will appear flattering, especially minimizing wrinkles and heavy spots on the face. She has the attitude that she's not pretty, but I'd like these shots to convince her otherwise (ie, she might be working against me).</p>

<p>She has nice, medium length, medium brown hair and often wears contacts, but eyeglasses may or may not be involved. I've got four remote-triggered flashes as well as a couple umbrellas, stands, and other diffusers at my disposal. No ring lights or soft boxes. Photoshop isn't my specialty, so I'd prefer to do as much of this as possible at exposure time. Any pointers?</p>

<p>On an unrelated note, I'm posting this thread in the "portrait, lighting" category within the "portraits and fashion" forum. However, I can't find any way to browse through the thread in just this category without all the other forum threads. Any pointers?</p>

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<p>Try taking some of the photos outdoors under open shade. The gazebos at parks offer good omni directional lighting which helps soften imperfections. I recently took some under an open walkway at a middle school with the subject in shade but lit by the reflection of sunlight off of the concrete, plus the sky, the walls were an off white the combination offered extremely soft lighting. Try looking for something like that. I think some post processing will still be necessary though. You could always resort to the old trick of stretching a nylon stocking across the lens or smearing vaseline on a filter. Just remember meter off of the subjects face and use a manual exposure setting. Bracket exposures if you aren't sure. Its hard to tell on the small screen of a digital camera and if the background is bright the histogram won't be much help.</p><div>00XIof-281537584.jpg.c03c8a9ad5487df23c387f83f8cdd53d.jpg</div>
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<p>Ben,</p>

<p>The most flattering way to create studio lighting for the heavier face is to use Rembrandt lighting (yes) but at the short side position. If you are not familiar with that term, it simply refers to the fact that with the face slightly turned, the side of the face nearest the camera is the broad side, and the side farther away is the short side. If you measured them side by side, one side is shorter or narrower than the other. Your key or main light may be positioned at anywhere from about 45 degrees to 90 degrees of to the short side and the fill needs to be aligned with the subjects nose to avoid any possible double shadows.</p>

<p>Use the largest modifier you have. That will give you the softest light in the facial lines and give the most delicate texture to the skin overall. A big soft box would really be the ideal, but use what you've got so long as it is big. If your umbrellas are only thirty inches or so, consider using your flash diffused through a white bed sheet. You'll need plenty of power to get the light through, but the diffusion will be very worth while.</p>

<p>Also, instead of the classic 3:1 lighting ratio, go for about a 5:1 which will make the broad side in deeper shadow and even less noticeable. That means that lines and blemishes in the broad/shadowed side of the face will be far less apparent.</p>

<p>After that, consider using a flag (shade) in the light path from the key light which will create a soft shadow on her body beginning at about collar bone range or just below. If she is heavy in the bust area, she may appreciate having the lighting emphasize her face rather than her chest.</p>

<p>The only other hint would be to soften the image either in photo shop or with a soft focus filter on the lens, further reducing the lines in her face. Do not eliminate them. Just tone them down to make them less strong. Eliminating facial lines completely just creates plastic skin instead of character.</p>

<p>If you opt to work out of doors, I have to add to what John says about omni-directional light. He is correct about the softness, but light coming from all directions is quite flat and will actually cause the face to appear more broad. Find an area with a large and low overhang such as a large tree limb and a dark wall (or tree trunk) to one side. That will force a beautiful soft light to enter from the other side. Pose the subject close to the dark wall and well under the overhang with her head slightly turned toward that light to create a short side lighting situation to again, slenderize her face.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the tips, Tim & Co. That gives me a good starting point to work from. I would prefer to do this inside with a plain, solid background to eliminate distractions and allow me as much control over the lighting as possible. Yes, my umbrellas are only 32", but we've got plenty of bedsheets. I'll post examples if this turns out well.</p>

<p>If anybody else has tips or especially example shots, I'd love to see them.</p>

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  • 2 weeks later...
<p>To photograph someone with a chubby face you should have them turn their head 45º to the camera and use <em>narrow lighting</em>. Narrow lighting involves placing the main light on the side of the face facing <em>away</em> from the camera. This is opposed to broad lighting, which lights the side of the face <em>closest</em> to the camera.</p>
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  • 2 weeks later...

<p>This is a good topic. I was thinking about ways to photograph not young and not skinny.<br>

There are many people who are in this category including my own self.<br>

The body is beautiful in all its shapes but somehow the camera is less than forgiving.<br>

Use your portrait lens. All the suggestions above are great. It might be nice to do some<br>

frames by a window. You'll get both soft light and some shade for slendering and also some privacy<br>

which might make your subject more at ease. Other than than a camera angle a little above<br>

is very flattering for women.</p>

 

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