Learn This Great Three-Light Setup in Just a Few Minutes

It is always best to start out with one light when you are first learning how to use artificial light, but once you have mastered the basics, you can enter an entirely new world of creativity when you start working with multi-light setups. This fantastic video tutorial will show you a dynamic and professional three-light setup for creating compelling portraits. 

Coming to you from Manny Ortiz, this great video tutorial will show you one of his favorite three-light setups for portraits. It is definitely important to start out with one-light setups when you are new to the pursuit, as this allows you to build a feel for properties like fall-off, relative size, and the like, but once you feel comfortable with that, expanding into multi-light setups can really open up your creative possibilities, especially since you can start lighting individual elements in distinct ways, allowing you to do things like separate the exposure of your background from that of your subject. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Ortiz.

And if you would like to learn more about lighting portraits, be sure to check out "Illuminating The Face: Lighting for Headshots and Portraits With Peter Hurley!"

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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