Lesson - Light and Shadow

Paying attention to light and shadow is essential in capturing a portrait. I am going to show an example of how using the placement of light and shadow on a subject can do wonders for a facial feature or it can do the opposite.

In this example, the subject (who happens to be my oldest son) has one nostril that is larger then the other. Usually this is not very noticable but when taking his portrait the placement of him in relation to the light source is very important.

As you can see in the first example, his nose looks quite curved toward the right. However, when the light source if coming in from the opposite direction, casting the shadow on the other side of his nose, his nose looks straight.

It is important to pay attention to these details when preparing to take a portrait. Look at your subject, find the best angle and figure out the best way to have the light fall on them. Use shadows to flatter them.