How to Create Effective Rim Lighting for the Body

Rim lighting can be one of the most important aspects of creating a professionally lit shot, and it is something that can be easy to overlook when you are new to artificial lighting and focused on your key light. This fantastic video will show you how to create proper rim lighting for someone's body.

Coming to you from Fstoppers alum Michael Woloszynowicz, this great video demonstrates the idea of rim lighting. If you are new to artificial lighting, a rim light is a backlight pointed at your subject. This has the effect of creating a thin edge of light around your subject (thus the name). While this can make for an awesome aesthetic effect, it also is a very practical thing, as it allows you to create distinct separation between your subject and the background. The problem is that often, the edges of your subject may not have enough contrast with the background, which can make them seem to blend together. This is the situation in which a rim light can make all the difference. Check out the video above to see a great example of the technique, along with Woloszynowicz' settings and post-processing to get to the final image.