Click here for a full list of all the gear I use in the studio –
V-FLAT WORLD Foldable V-Flat, Set of 2, Black/White
Adorama
V-Flat World
Whether you’re new to lighting or you have been doing it for over 20 years, everybody started off in the same place and everybody made a bunch of mistakes. So if you’re just starting out and you do any of the things I’m about to talk about I’m not mentioning these things to make you feel bad and I’ve made all of these mistakes and occasionally I still make them.
1. Raccoon eyes
One of the most common mistakes that you can make is placing your light too high. As a result you won’t see any illumination on the top sides of your subjects eyelids and if you’re really high you won’t see any illumination on their eyes whatsoever. Lowering the light just slightly will really has your images to come to life but make sure you don’t go so low that lit is striking the underside of your subjects nose.
2. Catch lights
Once you’ve lowered your light enough so that you see illumination on the top sides of your subjects eyelids, you also want to make sure that you see catch lights in their eyes. Simply put, catch flights are reflections of your light. If you don’t see them, just lower the light ever so slightly until they show up, because almost every image it can benefit from a little sparkle.
3. No Fill
A lot of times people take a single flash and they put it off to one side and it creates a lot of shadows which go jet black and there’s absolutely no detail. So what you want to do is use what’s called fill to, well, fill in the shadows.
4. Using green tinted continuous lights
Beginners always like to use continuous lights because a lot of the times they’re quite affordable. But the continuous light kits that are often found online use either a compact fluorescent lightbulbs or cheap LED lightbulbs, like the bulbs you would use in your house. The problem comes from the fact that these lightbulbs may have a green or magenta bias which will lead to your skin tones being the wrong color.
5. You’re Too Flat
Normally the first light anybody uses is a camera mounted flash. You could point it directly at your subject but if you do you’re going to get very very ugly light. Thats why is it far more common for people to bounce it off of a white ceiling. The only problem with this sort of lighting is that often times the light doesn’t really have a direction or a shape to it and you’re just simply getting the job done. If you’re able to move the flash a few feet to the left or right from your camera either using wireless technology or a hard cable it before you bounce it, you will greatly improve your results.
6. You have to bounce off something
I see this one every time I go to a graduation. Some one in a Gian room or outdoors has their bounce flash point towards a distant black ceiling or the sky. In order to bounce light you have to have a nearby surface that reflects light.
7. Too close to a white backdrop
Most photographers have shot on a lit white backdrop and most beginners have had a problem where their images look really hazy, because the backdrop is too bright. If this happens you need to reduce the brightness of your background lights so that the background is just barely brighter than your subjects face.
8. No Separation
Once the person has lit their subject the background in the recorded photo may be the same color or brightness as their hair or their clothing and then what happens is that the subject blends into the background. So there are a few ways that you can solve this. You could move the subject closer to the background and this will make the background brighter. You could move the subject further away from the background and this will make the background darker.
9. Red Wall
A common problem that everyone runs into when shooting on location are color casts from objects or walls, referred to as color contamination. You want to make sure that where you position your subject is not adjacent to let’s say an orange accent wall because your shadows could be orange. And you also want to make sure that if you are trying to get a white background that there isn’t a brown floor in front of it that will kick yellow light back into the shot. This is part of the reason why you often will see a white backdrop swept under and in front of the subject.
10. Subtly
Good Lighting for the most part is all about subtly. You don’t have to show your work with the force of a hammer all of the time.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
00:57 Raccoon eyes
00:29 Catch lights
01:56 No Fill
02:36 Using green tinted continuous lights
03:20 You’re Too Flat
03:59 You have to bounce off something
04:40 Too close to a white backdrop
05:13 Red Wall
07:00 No Separation
08:07 Subtly
08:44 Conclusion
Music: Evolution by Bensound
Comments
34 responses to “The 10 portrait lighting mistakes that every new photographer makes”
Great tips.
A lot of thanks for making and sharing your video!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. New sub here.
Nice job John! Thank you! 😉 T
I feel like this hurt you to make
Thank alot, good explanation
Are you saying im bad?
well said!
Very informative video. One of the best tips you gave: call your mom…
Your tips are amazing! I’m really learning from you!
Maybe use a light meter on the background????
But are they really mistakes? Photography is like art, it is very subjective. Just because someone else's OPINION says it is a mistake, doesn't mean that it is! I find there are way too many PIXEL PEEPERS in photography, who say light should be this way, shadows should be that way, blah blah blah. Just because that is THEIR opinion, doesn't mean that is universally that way it should be. Bottom line, Take these videos with a grain of salt, and do what YOU think is best for you@!
Continuous led:s don't have problems with color accuracy, this is dated advice.
Thanks! I was having my key light a little bit too high. This really helps.
Great tips!
Good one John
Brilliant tutorial! You can’t buy experience! 👍
which do you recommend for outdoor portratis, Elincrom sb-500 or Elincrom 500 monolights w/external plug in battery pack (Paul C. Buff)?
superful helpful john. thank you.!
Your video made me feel.. what a fool i am..
That was great , thank you
Very Cool…
I dont know why but you have Malkovich vibe in the way you speak 😀
Guilty on #6 😅😅😅
All tips are good but listen to it on 1.25
After watching 20+ videos in 7 days my mom has said "enough with the phone calls"
You on point thanks for sharing
Cheers 🙂
Thank you!
How high over the subject and how far » feet » should i place my strobe light for a soft and nice exposure ?
U make amazing photos and would also please create a tutorial on editing please
I'm really enjoying these videos. Thank you for the content!
A good review of tips..thank you.
Really helpful video. Valuable tips. The best part: you’re easy to listen to. Enunciation and pace make for a calm learning experience. A mistake I see too often. Imagine being a newbie like me and feeling anxiety because the pace is so rushed. So thank you. 🙏🏼
P.S. – I’ve never seen a YouTuber with such thorough description notes. Amazing channel.