Basics of Lighting Ratios
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- Опубликовано: 2 ноя 2019
- Lighting ratios are a useful tool for establishing the difference between your highlight areas and shadow areas when setting up studio lights. Using the same definitions of “stops” of light, you can easily get your proportions correct through careful and deliberate metering.
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I apprenticed with and assisted top wedding photographer Monte Zucker in the early 70s. He had a very simple approach to lighting ratios he learned from portrait photographer Joe Zeltsman who bounced his fill lighting backwards of his back studio near the ceiling to mimic the appearance of wrap-around skylight.
The first thing to grasp and accept is the fill source needs to be on camera axis to reach every nook and cranny of the face or scene the camera is viewing and high enough above it so the head, nose and other shadows from the fill source fall straight back hidden from the camera. By comparison fill placed on the side opposite key light will be shaded in areas of faces like the smile lines, corners of the mouth and inside the mouth. When key and fill are equal strength shadows in two directions - crossed-shadow lighting - will occur, something that doesn’t occur in nature with sun key light and sky fill.
Start the exposure / ratio process by setting aperture for desired DOF then turning on the fill light and raising it until detail in a black target object is seen in the playback. I use a draped black terry hand towel so I can see visually when the details emerge from the shadows and a white one to judge highlight exposure, which is the next step.
As a starting baseline for understanding how to create the illusion of 3D shape in a 2D photo starting by positioning the key light 45° sideways from the nose and 30-45° higher than the eye line, similar to the angle of the sun in mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Adjust height based on getting key light past the brow into the eyes and how the nose shadow models it’s appearance which will vary with shape of nose. Another tip is the raise POV of the camera above the eye line of the subject if the nostrils of a upturned nose are seen to avoid them becoming a distraction.
With key light placed for eye pleasing 3D modeling just raise it’s power until the white towel exposure target starts to clip and lose detail in the JPG playback of the camera, then for an extra margin of protection of the highlights lower the power until clipping disappears and texture is visible in the brightest parts.
What this fill/key lighting exercise will do is fit the range of the scene exactly to the practical dynamic range of detail the camera sensor can record. Back in the days of color film / prints it was a matter of matching the scene to the limited range of the color print paper which is similar to the range of digital sensors.
When shooting wedding reception photos using two identical flashes with fill centered up over the lens on a bracket and the off camera key light on a rolling stand allowed capturing the full range of detail in both the black suits of the men and the satin and beadwork of the bride’s dress with a very simple technique Mr. Zucker discovered.
Using two identical manual flashes putting the key at a distance so was one-f/stop brighter could be done by using shooting (fill) and key distance rations of 16ft/11ft, 11ft/8ft, 8ft/5.5ft, 5.5ft/4ft with those distances picked because they were the same as f/stop setting and easy to remember, and coordinated with manual aperture adjustments. For example our baseline exposure (determined with testing) was f/8 at 11ft with key at 8ft which produces a 2:1 incident / 3:1 ratio which recorded detail from black to white. If moving closer to 8ft the off camera light would move to 5.5-6ft to maintain the same 3:1 reflected key/fill ratio and the aperture on the twin-lens Rolleiflex 2.8 camera would be changed one stop from f/11 of f/16.
Zucker made a very good living teaching that “run and gun” dual flash technique to hundreds of other pro wedding photographers at venues like PPoA conventions, PPoA schools and private classes back in the days before automatic TTL control of exposure and flash intensity but the physics of light and sensor ranges are similar today.
If using TTL control of lighting ratios you still need to start with the level of fill which will allow the sensor at the selected f/stop to record detail in the deepest shadows using only the fill source (centered so it will reach everywhere the camera sees) then add key light over the top of the fill until the highlights are exposed with detail just below clipping in everything except specular highlights. From that starting baseline of matching scene to sensor with a 3:1 reflected ratio creating lighter or darker shadows for a 2:1 or 4:1 or greater ratio is just a matter of starting the process with more or less fill power than used for the “fit the sensor / average lighting” baseline.
This is a treasure of a comment!
Just want to say, I appreciate all your knowledge and info you share on your channel! It is one of the best film channel's imo.
i was looking for videos on how to do lighting ratios for a studio photography assignment and im glad i came across your video. a smaller channel so i thought id give you some kind words to keep it going. very simple and concise video. after watching another video, i decided to subscribe:)
super informative and easy to understand. thanks a lot for breaking down this concept!
The use for me: shooting a feature film with a particular character to the look of the scene for drama I can quickly use that ratio across maybe several scenes that might be shot over many days with other scenes shot in between at different ratios. It provides a shorthand consistency for nonlinear screen time.
That's a GREAT note. Thanks!
Thanks for the concise and very clear explanation.
Very helpful. I'm glad that I found your channel!
Funny intro and great explanation glad I stumbled on your video!
This has been helpful.
Many thanks really appreciated
Thats another thing I haven't messed with a lot is flash or studio lighting. This video was very insightful on how its supposed to be done. Lol. I've always just eyeballed my lights and it turned out ok. But I've noticed that the more I dig the more I find that there is an exact science to get your art in photography.
So many aspiring photographers miss your point. Photography is part science and part art. And, like other creative arts, once you have a command of the science, the art can flow unimpeded. Without that command, your art faces impediments that you can't understand.
Thank you!! This was a great intro to understanding ratios! Easier than my professors haha
Cool music man.
This was a way more laid back talk on ratios than a Dean Collins presentation. I was happy to hear you talk about 2:1 and not just calling it 1:2. What is next Chromazones® ?
Just wish the channel was bigger so I could binge watch some more.
It takes time. I can only do one a week I’m afraid
Then I shall wait until the next video patiently. :) And shoot some film.
@@TheNakedPhotographer
What if your key light is 600 watts and the the full light is 200 watts how do you measure ratio on different wattage systems?
Excellent video as always. There has been a bit controversial discuss between if one should meter a main light with light meter towards the light source or towards a camera. Which way would you do and any reasons for that?
Everyone has their preference, but I will meter the lights separately as I demonstrated to get a reading of the difference, then I will extend the dome and point toward the camera to get the final reading.
You would measure your ratios with the retracted dome toward your main/fill light sources. Because light is additive, you would then measure your overall exposure toward the camera and with the dome extended. However, you would never give more exposure than the reading from your main light source.
LOL!! Funny intro my guy!!!
Thak you for this video. What kind of light led do you use?
Neewer 660
what is the ratio for 1 and a half of a stop difference
What I'm interested in knowing is how to calculate the final taking aperture. Say I want to shoot at f/11, 100 ISO at 1/125s. What do my main and fill lights need to be for a 2:1 ratio to get my desired f/11? I know how to play with my lights until I get what I want but I want to know the math. Can you help?
The fill is easy: half the power of the main/key light. Formulas for calculating the key light exist, but honestly by the time you do the math you could have just used a light meter.
@@TheNakedPhotographer I have a very old Minolta IVF light meter.
Hi, Any way to measure the contrast ratio withou a flash meter when using speed light?
Not really
You can use your camera. Make an exposure for each light independently. Then compare them. Not sure it’s worth the work.
Great video for someone who wants to do studio work.
Have you ever did this test with film like portra and any b&w. I know you shoot film and I wonder what the difference is. Digital and film act differently to light.
In this case film and digital response in the same way, I mean in ratios. Film has reprocity failure, but not in exposure times for normal studio shots, only in LONG exposure times.
Light is light and stops are stops.
Thank for your responses guys. I get that light is light but wouldn’t light read differently on film to digital? So for instance as Fuji fp100c is now discontinued could you test in a digital camera for a ratio you was looking for and the outcome be the same give the iso of film and digital setting are the same?
A lighting ratio has nothing to do with the medium you are shooting on, it is only the ratio of light between your key and your fill.
soulstart89 I think you are mixing light sensibility with light ratios. As the naked photographer said, lights ratio is about the power relation between two light sources.
Your last question is about mediums sensibility, I recommend you to see her video about ISO ruclips.net/video/H3CT9_Xv0gQ/видео.html
I didn't understand by what you mean 15th of a second or 30th of a second. What are those numbers? Plus how come the f stop stays the same regardless of changing the exposure of the light on the side?? Am a bit confussed of how light meter works. Can you pleaseeeeeee explain that to me?????????????
You may want to watch my series on basic exposure. Light meters read the amount of light and recommend a camera setting for two different factors: f/stops and shutter speeds. Shutter speeds are the amount of time that the film or sensor is exposed to light and are measured in fractions of a second. The f/stop stayed the same in my case because the meter I used can be set to change either shutter speed (leaving the first/stop the same), or f/stop (leaving the shutter speed the same). I would recommend learning basic exposure before trying more advanced concepts such as lighting ratios.
@@TheNakedPhotographer ok thank you man!
@@mentaeamare3888 as you can change exposure by using fstop, time exposure or iso, to down or up a stop of light, you can just use one of them. If you want for exemple a portrait with a bokeh you will keep your aperture at 1.4 and set your light by shutter speed or iso. Hope you'll understand
what light meter do use in this vid?
Sekonic L-758DR
Its not cheap ...
@@TheNakedPhotographer any chance you could do a video on correct use of Light Meters and what all the info means? 🙏
Yes, I have one planned for the Spring
Couldn’t you just increase the power of the key more and expose for that, so that you can get darker fill side stops?
You can, but typically you choose your key light power to use whatever aperture gives you the depth of field you want and then leave those settings alone.
@@TheNakedPhotographer so the lower the key the higher the aperture number?
Opposite. The lower the key, the larger the aperture must be, but that means it is a lower number f/stop
I wish you said what the f stop readings were on all of them not just the 1st two.
F stops are standardized. The scale is f/1, 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, and 64. Whichever stop I listed second would be followed by the next in this list and so on.
@@TheNakedPhotographer Thanks
I lowered the brightness of the light. One light remained constant the entire time, the other was lowered for each ratio. The f/stop provided is what the meter was reading should I want to set the exposure based on the dimmer light. My actual exposure remained constant since the brighter light (key light) remained constant. This made the brightness difference apparent. If I had changed my camera settings then the “shadow” side would remain constant and the other side would get more and more overexposed (brighter).
The main and the fill are both 500w let's say. The fill is moved back to read half the brightness of the main light or 250w. The main covers half the face, while the fill light covers the entire face. So the dark side is 250w while the brighter side is 500 plus the 250 from the fill. 250 + 250 for the main light, + 250 for the fill. The difference on the bright side of the face is 3X that of the darker side or a 3:1 ratio. Even though both lights are 500w, the fill light is moved back to read only half the brightness or 250w But if you moved the fill back to read 125w, Then the ratio would be 1:5...NOT 1:4 125+125 +125+ 125 = 500 for the main light + 125 for the fill also on the main light side. Remember, the fill in light covers the entire face, while the main light covers a portion to create a shadow. Do you get it? If not, think about it.
Shocking how many togs out there photograph on guess work. 🤦♂️ Knowing your lightning does not make you technical photographer, it makes you understand light. Every beginner studio photographer should watch your video; it should be the first thing they watch before walking into a studio.
😂😂😂
lol
This might be o.k. for video but useless for flash photography where the shutter speed is constant and the aperture is changed relative to the subject brightness.
Lighting ratios are used in studio flash all the time. The power of the fill strobe is reduced proportionally to the key. Studio lightings textbooks have included this at least back to the 1970’s.
I had my meter set to keep the aperture constant, but I could easily change that to keep the shutter speed constant. But in a strobe situation it doesn’t matter, because I would adjust the light output, not the camera.
This is not about camera settings it's about lighting set up and it's the same for flash photography.
mamiyapress no it isn’t. The principal is the same. You just set your stutter speed on your light meter to stay constant. say your key light is 5.6 and you wanted a ratio of 2:1 your full light would be set at f4.
These things make sense when you use a incident light meter.
You've got to get a better audio setup.
That video is nearly three years old, I’ve gone through a few equipment upgrades since then.
What kind of -stupid- photographer didn't know lighting ratios?
New ones. As far as I am aware, nobody is injected with knowledge of lighting ratios the moment they first touch a camera. But as you demonstrate, arrogance doesn’t need to be taught
True but lighting ratios is kind of a basic concept when it comes to studio photography don't you think? Any book you pick up about portrait and studio photography will mention light ratios.
@@ggivensjr True, but nowadays there are loads of people who will never pick up a book to study photography (or any other subject) basics. Instead, they go find their educational material on RUclips.
And....tell me....please tell me...where did those non-stupid photographers learn about ratios? Oh...they all had to learn somewhere right? Nice try at trying to make others look foolish while letting your arrogance reflect the fool that you are.