Creating Cool Candlelit Portraits Inside the Studio

Candlelit portraits are cool, especially when shot inside the studio in a planned way. With a little imagination and a simple technique, you can create vivid candlelit portraits.

All you need to get started is a model and a bunch of candles to be held in hand. Then it is the vision you have that will kickstart the process. Using candles as the single source of light for the portraits is an exciting idea, but it comes with some problems. Keeping an eye on the exposure, shutter speed, and having enough candles in hand, you will get pretty good shots but they can be made better.

Gavin Hoey from Adorama TV in this video uses a continuous LED light source to create the filling effect from above to take off the Halloween effect which otherwise comes in from candlelight being the only source of light from below. You definitely do not want that. He keeps experimenting with the light setup and it is with the trial-and-error method that you get the perfect lighting. With a bunch of shots that meet the expected standards, he then hops on to Photoshop for a little fine-tuning. You can add filters to create the mood you want to establish. Take a look at the video to get the full picture of the process.

Amar Ramesh's picture

An entrepreneur by profession and a wanderer by nature, Amar Ramesh is a creative photographer based in Chennai, India. Wedding photography being his forte with over 300 weddings under his belt, he also shoots fashion, kids, documentary films, heritage, and lifestyle. And he enjoys sharing his experiences constantly.

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Whenever you involve anything hazardous like fire, it's always paramount to have a fire extinguisher near you in case something happens, because it's the photographer's job to look out for the safety of the model.