Notice too how the direction of the sunlight is from the side, not directly in front or even directly behind. Though when working outdoors, you have to consider the Sunny 16 Rule and in this case, during this time of day when the sunlight is less intense, the rule brings us down to an f/8 or f/11 aperture value, hence why the model’s hair is highlighted from the Sun. While this technique was outdoors, it’s just as easily accomplished in your photography studio. Basically, a combination of natural sunlight that provided side and fill light, a studio strobe that provided the main light for the face and reflected light for the kick. Here I used the sunlight, a studio light and a SUNBOUNCE PRO reflector. The photo above is a great example of using a kick light, plus natural light and artificial light. This placement also reflects, or redirects, the lower light rays of your artificial light source. There are times however were an assistant is not available and during these times, I simply place the reflector underneath the main light source and support it using the light stand that the main source is mounted upon. The easiest method for using a reflective kick light is to have an assistant hold a SUNBOUNCE PRO or MINI photography reflector near the subject’s face, but out of camera frame. In this lighting set-up we use a SUNBOUNCE PRO reflector as a “kicker fill light” that allows us to combine three forms of light quality, reflected, ambient sunlight, and artificial. Obviously the larger the light modifier and the closer it’s placed to your subject, the softer the shadows, but there are times that the opposite occurs and this is where a reflected kick light comes to play. And if the outdoor sunlight is coming through a window, low-E or double pane windows will reduce this value too. Many photographers and even videographers think of kick lights as accent or rim lights, but in the case of making a reflector a kick light, it isn’t meant to act as a prominent light accent, it’s meant to soften the shadows under the chin and sometimes as a soft fill of your subject that will add a brilliance in their eyes.įor example, while photographing a subject with a simple soft box or beauty dish, depending on the distance a light modifier is placed from the subject, and the light modifier’s relative size to the subject, shadows underneath the chin and or around the nose, can either be harsh or soft. There are a few things to take into account, if it’s early or late in the day, the sun will have less intensity so your aperture drops to a lower value, anywhere from F/4 to F/11, it all depends on the time of day. This photo is illuminated with a studio strobe pointed into a SUNBOUNCE PRO reflector fitted with a ZEBRA fabric screen.įirst, to help you better understand this requirement for soften shadows, let’s look at the Sunny 16 Rule which states, that on a normal, sunny day, if you set your shutter speed to the equivalent of your ISO (film speed in the old days), then your aperture, or F/stop, will be F/16.
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