Portrait photos – lighting.
In general, you can say, that in the case of color portrait photography, the rule of thumb is to use a weak one, diffused lighting from the front is observed only then, if no wrinkles should come out. In other cases, it is better to use side lighting, more plastic. Always avoid backlit portrait photos, because they are especially difficult to make. On colored materials, however, they can sometimes be very effective, especially with blonde hair under golden lighting. In all cases, the face will be illuminated too flatly and a bit too dark in backlit photos. A bright wall behind the photographer can effectively prevent this. A known and effective preventive method is the additional use of a flash that adds some light to the front. If we take a picture of the bride's head against the light in this way, a pretty blonde and use a soft scratch lens or softener cap, color photos that are truly stunning.
The consequence of such photos against the light are undesirable lighting effects, in which the greater part of the face lying in partial shade obtains slightly darker shades of color, while the other side exposed more strongly as a result of overexposure has almost no dye. Taking portraits under artificial light is easier than outdoors, whereby we must have appropriate lighting devices. We need at least two lamps with reflectors for this, but better to have four. Using two lamps in the reflector, which should not be covered, so as not to lose as much light as possible, we expose the photo from a distance 1,5 m at the aperture 3,5 for approx 1/2 seconds, using 17°DIN color film. In addition to the lamps used, the chandelier, e.g. has almost no effect, wherein if suspended preferably, we can leave it lit.
However, we should pay attention to other types of lamps. Normal incandescent lamps produce a noticeable yellowish light, i.e. it's actually not that noticeable to the eye, how much in the picture. We can get the background or even both sides of the face colored in different shades of color. With careful mixing of different types of lights, no difficulties arise, and even using negative material for artificial light (type K) we can use the daylight coming through the window, if the subject is sitting like this, that it can be evenly illuminated by daylight and a bulb at the same time, np. Nitraphot. On a reversible material adapted to artificial light, blue smoke can be obtained in this way, which is difficult to align with the yellow filter, as we cannot assess the intensity of the additional daylight more closely. These compromise solutions are not relevant to a person skilled in the art, however, for an amateur, they can be a help in many troubles. Photos of interiors without artificial light can be taken without much difficulty on T-type negative material, in good lighting conditions. This is difficult for reversible materials, because the dominant shades of light can be different and most often we get filtered portrait photos, indoors with daylight, quite clear green smoke.
A few words should also be said about the background and overhead lighting. A calm brown or even gray background is best for color photos, which has a somewhat calming effect on the image. Such a background can be illuminated in an original and quite strong way, while colored materials very easily reflect their colors on the face. Overhead lighting, It's only meant to lighten your hair, causes too strong unwanted reflections. The photosensitive material is irradiated under the influence of strong, most often colored reflections from the hair, which are invisible to the eye, and which are very disturbing in the photo later.
There is also the following advice for those who take color photos of beautiful ladies - do retouching on the original. Good make-up is always desirable and always comes out well. Retouching a color photo is very difficult and not always possible, therefore it is advisable to use at least lipstick and powder.