Laws of Light: Placing a softbox to achieve the desired portrait results

 

 

By only slightly moving the position of a softbox, you can dramatically change the overall look and feel of an image. In the newest episode of Laws of Light, an ongoing video series by The Slanted Lens, photographer Jay P. Morgan shows how to place your softbox to achieve the desired results.

You don't need to aim your softbox directly at your model. In fact, by angling it up or down or rotating it from side to side, you can change not only how the light falls on the face of your subject, but also how the light hits the background or the subject's attire. By combining a single softbox and some form of reflection, you can fill in the shadows and achieve very nice results even without the use of additional lights.

While a softbox is often used to create a large, soft light source, there are times when you might want to cut down on the amount of light spilling from the softbox. You can use a grid to control the output of light and narrow the angle of view of the softbox. To see other ways you can control the look of your image using softbox placement and additional accessories, watch the full video below.

For more Laws of Light videos, click here. Topics covered so far include how light conveys emotion, what determines the quality of light, basic three-point lighting and much more.

(Via The Slanted Lens)