Generally inexpensive, sometimes free, and always important, lighting can dynamically change an image. At it's most basic photography is inherently the capturing of light, and as such it's immensely important for photographers to understand how to use it, shape it, and make it work for them.
No need to shell out hundreds of dollars for profoto equipment or brand-proprietary gear, a cheap speedlite, a pocket LED panel, or even just natural sunlight, when used properly, can evoke a specific mood, inspire a certain emotion, or just make your photos sharper and more appealing. Photographic lighting often relies on 3 distinct light sources for an "ideal" image, however this is far from a requirement for good photos. These types of lights generally fall into one of three categories; on-camera, off-camera, and natural; there is also environmental and ambient light, but we'll cover those in another post. On-camera and off-camera are exactly what they sound like, the light source is either mounted directly on, or off of the camera. My personal favorite off-camera light is the LED panel as the continuous lighting allows me to leave it on as I play around and decide exactly what angle looks best; however the tradeoff is that they are not as powerful as a strobe flash. Strobes will provide significantly more light to work with, but deciding where to place them may require you to pop the flash multiple times while you dial it in; off-camera flashes will also require a wireless transceiver or some other form of trigger to sync them with your shutter. Natural lighting can be found all around you, essentially any light coming from the sun is "natural" lighting, and it's the foundation upon which many lighting setups can be built. While single-light photography is certainly possible, and can be quite artistic, the on-board flash many cameras have should often be a last resort. Some cameras do allow the built-in flash to be adjusted, but even still it's usually overpowering, and due to the head-on directionality, has a tendency to blow out your subject creating that "snapshot" style typical of instant cameras. Single-light photography is best created using off-camera or natural lighting to curate a "flow" to the image as the eye drifts from highlights to shadows. Try placing a light just above your subject between 45° and 60° to the side, taking time to carefully decide where you want the shadows to fall. This can be often be achieved simply by placing your subject next to a window to create a nice laminar direction to the sunlight.
curate a "flow" to the image as the eye drifts from highlights to shadows
Two-light photography is a great way to get nice, evenly exposed images, and it can be one of the simplest to shoot. We're working on an article about how this can be accomplished with no additional flashes or lights, just natural lighting and a reflector. You can use your two light sources as a key (main light source) and a fill to remove any harsh shadows, but remember if your fill light is too powerful or placed too low it can create upwards shadows on the face which is almost never flattering. My favorite two-light setup places emphasis on the backlight or rim light with a fill to prevent the subject from becoming underexposed. For a more artistic two-light image experiment with placing natural or environmental lighting directly behind your subjects head and use an on or off camera light to fill in shadows on their face. You can also create a dramatic silhouette by placing two equally powered lights behind your subject, slightly above and about 45° to either side. If the lights are too powerful you will begin to see it bleed onto the front of the subject, but find your settings and you should get a pure black subject with a highlight which perfectly traces their outline.
Now for the Mack Daddy of all lighting setups, the 3-point studio configuration. We're in the process of writing an entire article devoted to a deep dive on this topic, but the basics are fairly straightforward. Picture the floor as an analog clock with your subject right in the center, and your camera at 6 o'clock; I promise this is an easier explanation than trying to use degrees, because it gets complicated quick. The majority of the light on your subject will come from the Key light, which should be slightly elevated and placed near either 4 or 8 o'clock (isn't that simpler than "offset by 20-60° angled 15° below the horizon"). Your Fill light is used just like before to soften the harsh shadows created by the Key light. This usually means it needs to be about half as powerful as your Key and should also be placed near 4 or 8 o'clock, almost perpendicular to the Key (so if the Key is at 8 o'clock, Fill is at 4 o'clock and vice versa). And lastly is your Rim light or back light which needs the least power, sometimes at little as 20% of the Key. This is used to create a pop which outlines one side of your subject and helps separate them from the background. The Rim light should always be almost exactly opposite either your Key or Fill lights; so about 10 or 2 o'clock. I like to place my Rim opposite of my Key so the highlight occurs on the darker side of the face where the Fill is, however depending on the stylization you're going for, placing your Rim opposite the Fill to allow it to accentuate the Key light can also create engaging imagery.
There are many other principles which dictate the interactions between light and camera which we didn't cover here, but we hope to have given you some base knowledge to play with. Which is exactly what you should do; take these ideas and go experiment with them! If you are interested in a hands-on approach to the principles of lighting consider booking a class with us, but until then just get out there and shoot! You can understand every concept and mathematical equation involving light, but the more practical knowledge, and time you spend having fun with your lighting the more quickly and cohesively you'll be able to bring it all together. The secret to great photos is to just keep taking them, so grab your camera, grab whatever other light you've got, even the flash from your phone, and start taking some shots!