shadows would be cast in the corner of the eye and along the smile furrow. The intensity of the fill light
should not reduce the rim effect of the main light.
The hair light again is used from a high angle and is placed opposite the fill light.
The background must be lighted with care so as not to destroy the profile outline effect produced by the
main light.
14.
Lighting Accessories.
Many accessories are available for use with studio lighting units. Accessories are important tools that
make your portrait lighting units either more dependable or more versatile. They aid in creating the
exact lighting effect you want. If accessories were not available, compromises in the lighting that would
alter the effect you want and the quality of your portraits might have to be made.
a. Diffusers. You use diffusers when you want to change specular light to a softer, more
diffused light. Diffusers are made of translucent or mesh materials that, when placed in the light beam,
break up or diffuse and soften the light. The finer the mesh, the more pronounced is the effect. If only a
small amount of diffusion is needed, a wide mesh material such as gray window screen works well. For
more diffusion, two pieces of screen can be placed together and slightly out of alignment, or a finer mesh
material such as white cheesecloth can be used. Diffusers are most often used with spotlights.
Floodlights initially produce a fairly diffused light but diffusers can also be used with them. Diffusers
can be mounted on the light unit or placed somewhere between the light unit and your subject.
There are many reasons for using a diffuser instead of a light that already produces diffused light. A
diffuser may be needed if you do not have a soft light to begin with. A softness that is in-between,
produced by two different lights, may be needed, or you may want to produce a small, controlled area of
light that can only come from a spotlight and yet want the light to be a softer quality.
b. Barndoors. Barndoors look and operate much like miniatures of their namesake. They are
made from opaque material, usually metal painted black, and are attached and hinged to the front of a
light unit. They can be positioned to block or feather a selected portion of the light produced by the unit.
Barndoors are made for both spotlights and floodlights. They are good accessories for controlling spill
light.
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