| Most people, and especially women, will tell you they | | | | imagination. |
| have a "good" side. | | | | Altering eye sockets |
| Simple cosmetic lighting relies on alterations to the | | | | If the subject has deep eye sockets, lowering the |
| angles of illumination, described in "the basic principles | | | | main light will provide more illumination, and make the |
| of lighting", and " available light portraiture", to flatter | | | | eye sockets appear shallower. |
| the subject and make use of their "good side". | | | | Conversely, shallow eye sockets, or bulging eyes can |
| I have aimed to keep this article simple, and avoid | | | | be altered by raising the main light source, and |
| reference to techniques that require more specialized | | | | moving it further away from the subject/camera axis |
| lighting equipment. | | | | (i.e. more to the side). This needs to be done in |
| Overview | | | | conjunction with making the fill-in light a little brighter, |
| How many times have you heard someone say | | | | and the overall effect will be a flattening of the |
| "that's a terrible photograph of me", or even said it | | | | planes of the face. |
| yourself? | | | | Large noses |
| The point of cosmetic light is avoid unflattering | | | | Large noses can be de-emphasized by moving the |
| lighting and viewpoints. | | | | main light source closer to the subject/camera axis. |
| Modelling and texture is a consequence of lighting. | | | | This will cast a nose shadow on the upper lip, rather |
| Moving the angle of illumination closer to the subject | | | | than the cheek, so making the nose look less large. |
| camera axis generally flattens modelling and reduces | | | | Attractive hair or baldness |
| texture, while increasing the angle increases both. | | | | Hair can be emphasized by raising the main light and |
| Similarly, more directional (intense) lighting produces | | | | the camera view point. The subject will need to be |
| harder shadows, while less directional (soft) lighting | | | | repositioned slightly, so that they look up to the |
| diminishes them. | | | | camera. With a bald subject, this is will have the |
| The following tips describe how to deal with common | | | | opposite effect and further emphasize their baldness. |
| problems by making simple changes. Experimentation | | | | Chins |
| is required to achieve the best results. | | | | If the subject has a weak chin, get them to tilt their |
| Making faces wider or narrower | | | | head back a little, which will make their chin stick out. |
| Very few people have perfectly symmetrical faces. | | | | If they have a strong jaw, have the subject tilt their |
| For example, one side may be slightly wider or flatter | | | | head forward reduce its prominence. |
| than the other. If the subject is illuminated so that | | | | Soft focus |
| the main light falls on the side that is wider, and the | | | | Soft focus reduces and skin blemishes. Soft focus |
| other side is kept in shadow, the viewer's imagination | | | | can be achieved by using the largest lens aperture |
| will lead them to think that the shaded side is equal | | | | possible (however the effect will largely be |
| to the lit side. The overall impression will be that the | | | | determined by the capabilities of your camera lens). |
| face is wider than it really is. Conversely, if the | | | | Briefly, larger apertures have a smaller depth of |
| narrower side of the face is illuminated, the viewer | | | | focus, so any feature beyond the focal point will be |
| will think that the face is narrower than it really is. | | | | very slightly blurred. You should always focus on the |
| This illusion can be varied by changing the angle of | | | | eyes, but this becomes doubly important when |
| lighting, and the maximum effect comes from very | | | | employing any form of soft focus. |
| dark shadows, since this leaves more to the viewer's | | | | |