Lighting is very important for editorial beauty shoots. Different lighting affects how the skin appears on camera, how bright the eyes are and the colour payoff you see from the make up. There are several different set ups that can be used to take your picture and which you choose depends on a number of things.
- The age of your model and condition of their skin. Softer lighting is more flattering on anyone with problem skin, or someone of an older age. Soft-boxes are great for this. If you know your model has flawless skin then you can get away with using a harsher light.
- Are you shooting close ups, body shots or both? Close ups should be shot with a beauty dish as the light is more concentrated in one area, where as Soft-boxes diffuse the light more so are perfect for full body shots or shooting multiple people.
- Work with your idea's. If your design calls for a harsher/softer lighting then go with it. The lighting is a tool to benefit your design for example if you think that it would look best with very dramatic lighting and half the face in shadow.
As the main thing I wanted to stand out in my images is the glossiness of the make up, I needed lighting that would help emphasise this. I decided as I was shooting close ups and my model had nice skin, I would use a beauty dish directly in front of the model and two soft boxes on either side. This lighting set up insured that whichever way my model turned or moved, there was light coming sideways across the face to catch the gloss on the eye or cheek. I found the shine showed up the most far more when she stood side on or diagonally instead of facing the camera head on.
McKim, J. K. (2013) Secrets to crafting top-quality beauty portraits: Studio lighting. Available at: https://fstoppers.com/studio/secrets-crafting-top-quality-beauty-portraits-studio-lighting-8426 (Accessed: 25 November 2015).
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