Mirjam's Photography Blog: How important is light?

Choosing the right kind of lighting can me tricky if you are just starting out. From my first time i found out that the safest option is a softbox. It does not create harsh shadows on the face but rather spreads the light evenly yet it is not too overpowering with the light so the skin does not shine too bright mking it the perfect light source for beginners.

I tried playing with the light testing out how can i use it for the best outcome. Moving the light the model and finding a good angle. I did not do any extreme shots but you can still see the slight difference in the pictures below. Softbox is pretty fool proof, if you get it really close to the model it does not really ruin the photo with over lighting it. If you move it too far off then it's normal that you loose the intensity of the light. If i were to use a softbox again i would put it around 2-2,5 meters from the model i think that enables the best outcome. It is also important to place items that reflect light on an angle that stops it from reflecting unwanted light for example my model was wearing glasses. But of course there are no certain rules to how you use the light and reflectors it is more of a question of taste.

ISO-400 F/4 1/60 -2 step 38 mm

ISO-400 F/5 1/50 -2 step 19 mm

ISO-400 F/4 1/60 -2 step 28 mm

I heard about the beauty-dish for the first time and it was interesting to try out however i still prefer the softbox more. The beauty-dish leaves the shadow pretty soft as does the softbox, but it can definitely make the face shine. I do not think i quite figured it out how i am supposed to use it as i'm not very pleased how my photos came out with using it. I will have to do more research on the beauty-dish and try it out again, i want to get it right. Every source of light has it's pros and cons.