This document provides an overview of portrait photography and studio lighting techniques. It discusses the genres of portrait photography, the effects of direct and diffused light, common studio lighting setups like Rembrandt lighting, and camera settings for DSLRs and smartphones for portrait photography. Key equipment used in a studio is also mentioned, along with single and dual lighting studio techniques.

1. SESSION 9
Portraits and Studio
Lighting Techniques
Ali J Vastani

2. Topics of Discussion
01 “Portrait” Genre of Photography
02 Lighting in Portraits
03 Effect of Direct & Diffused Sunlight
04 Equipment used in Studio
05 Studio Single Lighting Techniques
06 Studio Dual Lighting Techniques
07 Camera Settings for DSLR
08 Camera Settings for Smartphone

3. “PORTRAIT” GENRE OF PHOTOGRAPHY
• Word “Genre” comes from a French word which means “A kind of work”.
• History of Portraits goes way back beyond the invention of Photography.
• The Portrait genre has 2 basic ranges; Historical and Contemporary.
• Further concepts of Portraits within these 2 ranges are; The Family Portraits, The Business
Head Shot, The Portrait of a Family Dog, The Fashion Portrait, The Group Portrait etc

4. LIGHTING IN PORTRAITS
• There are 2 basic kinds of lights for Portraits in general;
Hard (Direct Light) and Soft (Diffused Light)
• Direct Light and Diffused Light can further have 2 kinds of light sources;
Natural Light or Artificial Light

5. EFFECT OF DIRECT & DIFFUSED SUNLIGHT IN PORTRATS
DIRECT SUNLIGHT DIFFUSED SUNLIGHT DIFFUSED SUNLIGHT
WITH FLASH

6. Equipment used in Studio

7. Single Lighting Techniques in Studio

9. REMBRANDT

11. SPLIT

13. SPLIT WITH FILL

15. BUTTERFLY

16. BUTTERFLY WITH
FILL

17. Dual Lighting Techniques in Studio

19. FLAT LIGHT

21. BADGER

23. LOOP WITH A
BACKGROUND LIGHT

25. LOOP WITH A RIM
LIGHT

26. CAMERA SETTINGS
FOR DSLR
1. Aperture between F5.6 till F8, Shutter Speed not slower than 1/125 if hand held,
lowest ISO possible to obtain good exposure. Camera light source to be set on
direct daylight or as per the lighting environment.
2. Zoom your lens to get the desired frame and take all photos using basic kit lens
such as 18-55 mm.
3. Focus on the eye of your subject using one point focus and adjust as per desire to
capture closeup, half length or full length.

27. CAMERA SETTINGS
FOR SMARTPHONE
1. Use Adobe Lightroom App for smartphones and capture in Professional mode.
2. Shutter Speed not slower than 1/125 if hand held, lowest ISO possible to obtain
good exposure. Camera light source to be set on direct daylight or as per the
lighting environment.
3. Do not zoom on your screen and take all photos in wide angle.
4. Use timer settings to avoid shaking your phone.
5. For Artificial Lighting, use continuous lights such as lamps, torches etc

28. Thank You