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How to shoot stylized beauty portraits with just one light and a reflector

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Keeping the amount of kit you use at a low level can sometimes be down to simply a lack of availability. But it could also be that you’re simply limited in what you’re able to carry with you to shoot at a client’s location. Or, maybe you just want to bring things right back down to the bare minimum to really understand light and how your gear works.

Whatever the reason, Lindsay Adler is here to help. Using just a single strobe with a big softbox and a big reflector (in this case, a white v-flat) she creates a very effective and dramatic portrait. That’s the key word here, though. Big. Big light sources produce beautiful light for portraits as Lindsay demonstrates in this shot breakdown.

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Ring light: You’re using it wrong

At some point during the history of the influencer, the ring light became an accessory de rigueur, fueled by the availability of cheap Chinese-made devices. The original ring light was invented for dentistry by Lester A. Dine in 1952 because of its ability to cast an even light with diffuse shadows in a confined space. An ideal solution for photographing teeth and gums.

The same concept can be found in make-up mirrors, which surround a magnifying mirror with a ring of light. This combination provides a pleasing contrast to overhead lighting that tends to exaggerate lines, wrinkles, and sunken eyes. The advantage of a circular design is that the subject is equidistant from the light source, providing even illumination.

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How to shoot overhead butterfly beauty lighting in a confined space

Butterfly lighting is a common technique in beauty and portrait photography. It’s so-called because of the butterfly-shaped shadow it creates underneath the subject’s nose. Typically, a softbox or beauty dish is used on-axis above the model, just low enough to light up the eyes and produce a catchlight, but high enough that it creates a lot of shadow and depth on the nose, cheekbones and to define the jawline.

In a confined space, though, this can be a difficult setup to replicate. In this video from The Photographer Academy, Elinchrom ambassador Simon Burfoot walks us through a slightly unconventional way to be able to shoot this look.

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DIY Florescent Tube Light Beauty Light Thingy

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One thing about photography is that from time to time you have creative dry spells and you need some inspiration to keep you going. One place I love to go to when I have my dry spells, or just need some inspiration, is rught here – DIYP, and lucky for me after a while I became a writer here, so… what a coincidence. I had just made my Kick Ass 4 Feet Ringlight and got the DIY itch to create something else. Looking around the blog, I stumbled on this article about beauty florecent lighting.

It “only” took me 3 months of thinking and planning and jut wondering about if I was going to build it. Until I just did.

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