Backlighting is great for creating a soft effect that also has a lot of contrast. When I first started photography this was one of my favourite techniques when capturing natural light portraits, so it's great to revisit this process using studio strobes. Below I have included lighting set ups for two different situations (single strobe and two strobes), to create similar lighting as demonstrated in these recent beauty photographs I shot with Sophie (pictured).
Model : Sophie @ London mgt group
Photographer : Marissa Alden
Set up one : Two Strobes - This diagram depicts the set up used to create the beauty images pictured above. The model was posed in front of the octobox (standing approximately 20cm in front of the modifier). This strobe was set to a medium power, always ensuring the back light was stronger than the fill light. The fill light (with small soft box) was set to the lowest possible power, creating a subtle highlight on the side of the models face while still maintaing some shadow.
Camera settings : ISO - 100
Aperture : F9
Shutter speed : 1/160
Set up Two : Single Strobe - If you only have access to one strobe, you can easily recreate the above lighting set up using one Octobox and a silver or white reflector. Try setting your aperture to a slightly lower f-stop, to allow more light into your frame. Use the reflector to mimic the fill light, softening the shadows on the subject.
Nikon DLSR
Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens
90cm Octobox
2 x Bowens 400 Gemini strobes
Softbox
I am hoping to start posting more informative posts such as lighting diagrams, behind the scenes insights and more, so please feel free to let me know what you would like to see in upcoming posts.
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