What Is Good Lighting?

Good lighting depends on what you’re trying to achieve. You might want an image that is big, bold, and bright. Or perhaps you prefer a sun-washed and more broadly lit image. You might possibly want the portrait to be sharp and finely modeled, or half lit, or back lit, or dark and deeply shadowed. What you want to achieve is completely up to you and what you’re going for in terms of the feel of the image.

When I’m controlling the light in the studio, I adjust my lighting setup as often as needed, but mostly I try to keep everything as uncomplicated as possible. Why? I choose to spend an inordinate amount of my focus on interaction, because it’s my intention to stay exceptionally connected to my subjects throughout the shoot. That means I want to start with a setup I know I can move on the fly and not have to stress about it and have it constantly distract me as we move through the session.