Best Face Light Placement
One of the challenges photographers have is getting the light right for the face. Here are a few simple and quick ways to approach that.
The ideal placement is to get the light into the eye, yet also have it fall across the face nicely. Now if you are going for a rugged, against the grain look, then your approach is different.
To start, position your light facing your subject at about 45 degrees to the subjects face. Raise the light up about 30 degrees. It’s the same angle that you would put your hand up in if the sun was shining into your eyes. If your light is too high, the brow ridge will cast a shadow into the eye, if its really high the shadow will completely cover the eye.
If it’s too low it gives the cheeks an odd shadow while the under part of the eye casts a shadow up into it.
When it’s just right, it illuminates the iris, really popping the eye in the photograph.
For glamour you want the light to fall evenly on the 5 planes. The forehead, the nose, the chin and each cheek, so turn the subject’s face into the light. Your camera position can move around so you get full face, profiles or 3 quarters.
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