Lighting for Proper Exposure & Raito with Proper White Balance

Published on July 12, 2017

The defining characteristics of a beautiful portrait:

  • It is properly exposed
  • It has good highlight to shadow ratio
  • It has good catch-lights
  • It has appropriate lighting pattern
  • It has proper white balance

We are now going to learn how to set our lights in a studio setting to achieve these desired characteristics!

See the lighting set-ups for Large, Medium and Small rooms.  You’ll want to start with the configuration that you think will work best depending on the room size and shape.

The lighting power will vary from set-up to set-up, but this is a formula you can start with that should be pretty close!

Baseline Studio Lighting Set up new
After completing the physical setup of the lights, you are ready to adjust the set lighting to achieve the proper exposure on your camera. At this point, the lights should be positioned where you want them and the radio trigger system should be operational.

Starting with the lights off, adjust the lights to the following powers (this is simply a starting point as the powers will need to be adjusted depending on your individual room
setup):

  1. Main: 1/2 power
    • Should be at 90 degrees from the subject (unless using as a fill and a main)
    • Height should follow the “Unicorn” Principal (if your subject had a unicorn, it would be pointing to the middle of the main light.  (This ensures that your catch-lights are at  10 or 2 o’clock.
  2. Fill: 1/4 power
    • Umbrella should have a scrim or baffle on it
    • The farther the umbrella is away from the light the larger area  will be illuminated (and less directional).
  3. Separation: 1/3 power (line between 1/4 and 1/2)
    • Should be pointed slightly down (especially if you have a very tall ceiling)

Camera Settings

  1. Aperture: F8
  2. Shutter Speed: 1/160
    • NOTE: The Canon 6D will not sync to strobe lights at shutter speeds quicker than 1/160.  If you try, you’ll see part of your image has a black band on it.  This is where you shutter closes too quickly and the entire image is not exposed.
  3. ISO: 200
  4. File Quality: Medium Raw
  5. White Balance: Custom
  6. Camera Mode M (Manual)
  7. Aperture: F8
  8. AF Point Selection: Multi Point  (for f8 and above)
  9. AF Point Selection: Single Point (for f5.6 and below)

Confirming Exposure with Light Meter

  • Turn ONLY the main light on.
  • Adjust your light meter to “non-cord” mode, ISO 200 (or ISO you are using) and shutter speed 160
  • Hold the light meter so that the white dome is positioned where your subject’s nose will be
  • Your flash exposure on the light meter should read 5.6
  • Turn on the fill light, your combined light meter reading should be f8.
  • If your highlight to shadow ratio is too high (too much contrast … highlight side is too bright and shadow side is too dark) adjust fill light to taste.

Histogram

To understand how to check your exposure with a white balance target, you must first understand what a histogram is.

The histogram is a graph that represents colors that are in your image.  The data on the right of the histogram represents the dark colors (with pure black being to the far left) and pure white being to the far right.  Every other tone is in between.

histogram

If the image is too dark, the histogram will show that by clipping off the light values on the left, or, if too light, by clipping on the right.

NOTE: You can see each image’s histogram; after you display the image on the back of your camera, cycling through the “info” button menu until you see the histogram.

Confirming Exposure with a White Balance Target and Histogram and Setting White Balance

  • Set lights as prescribed by baseline recipe above.
  • Put White-balance target where your in the hula-hoop sweet spot.
  • From the photographer position, zoom as closely in as you can, only photographing the target and make an exposure.
  • View histogram for the exposure,  you should have one in the middle (mid-tones); a spike for the whites  and a spike for the blacks.
  • Each of the three spikes should be evenly spaced and with no data running of either side of the graph like shown below.
  • If you have proper exposure, set your custom white balance by using this image.
    • Set your white balance to “Custom”
    • Navigating to Custom WB within the menu, click “Select”
    • Select Custom WB then press the set button (in the middle of the circular Quick Control Dial).
    • The menu on the camera will display the following message: Use WB data from this image for Custom WB for your white balance.
    • Select OK. You have now successfully customized the white balance for the lighting on your set.
  •  Complete this step only after your lights are in place and you have achieved a correct exposure. If you move the lights or adjust their settings,
    your white balance will change.

White balance target histogram white balance target

Confirming Exposure with a Expo Disc and Histogram and Setting White Balance

  • Set lights as prescribed by baseline recipe above.
  • Expose expo disc or White-balance target
    • For Expo disc- stand in the hula-hoop sweet spot.
    • With the Expo disc on your lens, point your camera towards the photographer position and click exposure.
      • Find something to focus on and press the shutter release button halfway down. Continue to hold the shutter release button halfway down while placing the white balance filter over the lens. (The camera will not auto-focus with the expo disc on the lens b/c there is not enough contrast). You can change the focus on your lens to “Manual” or use the method described below:
      • Press the shutter release button the rest of the way down.
      • You will see an image that looks gray (this is the picture you just took with the white balance filter over the lens).
    • View histogram for the exposure, a properly exposed image will have one spike in the center of the histogram.
    • If properly exposed, use this image to set your custom white balance setting
      • Set your white balance to “Custom”
      • Navigating to Custom WB within the menu, click “Select”
      • Select Custom WB then press the set button (in the middle of the circular Quick Control Dial).
      • The menu on the camera will display the following message: Use WB data from this image for Custom WB for your white balance.
      • Select OK. You have now successfully customized the white balance for the lighting on your set.
    •  Complete this step only after your lights are in place and you have achieved a correct exposure. If you move the lights or adjust their settings,
      your white balance will change.

Adjusting for darker skin subjects
The lighting exposure for the set is adjusted for a Caucasian subject.  When a subject arrives that has darker skin, the first adjustment to make is to increase the ISO by 1 stop. Snap a few test shots to see if this adjustment lets in enough light to properly expose the child’s features. If the lighting is still too dark, then try turning down the aperture on your camera by one-half stop. Remember to turn your settings back to normal after this session.
GOOD IDEA!  Move the Lock switch to “Lock” so you will not accidentally adjust the aperture setting.

Canon 6D back lock setting

Troubleshooting Lighting Issues

  1. Shadow on Backdrop – Subject too close to backdrop or fill light to powerful and too directional.
  2. Flat Lighting
    • Your Main and Fill lights are powered so they give the same amount of light on both sides of the face.
    • You are too close to the main light.  The closer you are to the main light the flatter you lighting will be.
    • Your light is positioned incorrectly (usually directly in front of subject). (Remember to photograph into the shadow side for short light).
  3. Light not firing when you use remote strobe transmitter
    • Make sure your Transmitter/Receiver are on the same channel.
    • Transmitter or Receiver could need new battery.
    • Strobe bulb has been damaged and bulb needs replacing
    • Strobe bulb has come un-seated from the light and needs to be pushed back in.
  4. Slaved Lights (lights that do not have a strobe radio receiver) Not firing
    •  Slave sensor not sensing the flash. Re-position lights or cord them.

 

TIP:  If your lighting is not correct and you are having trouble determining the problem, turn on the main only… get your proper exposure and lighting pattern, then the fill and then the hair light. This will help isolate your problem, so you will know how to solve it.