Creating A Dynamic Portrait/Headshot With Just 2 Lights!

So I've been extremely busy over the past few months and my blog has kind of taken a backseat to my shooting.  Fear not, I am back and I've got a lot of content that I can't wait to share!  Don't worry, I will start with something pretty simple and quick for my first post back.

The other day I was shooting my friend Collin and I wanted to try out some different lighting techniques that I believed could take a headshot to the next level...
The technique I want to share with you is really quite simple and the end result is awesome!

I call this the Yin Yang technique because it splits the background into a dark side and a light side and at the same time splits your subjects face into two distinct halves for dramatic effect...

The great thing about this technique is that you can create it with just two lights! see the digram below...

I will explain from camera left to right...

On camera left, at approximately a 45 degree angle I had a Westcott Apollo Orb shooting at my subject.  I personally used the egg crate grid attachment to make sure the light didn't bleed onto the background.  You can achieve the same look without the grid, I just like to shape the light a little more and the grid allows me to do that.  

For this particular shot I was shooting with my Sony a7ii and the Rokinon 85mm 1.4 lens wide open at f/ 1.4 to get that really creamy shallow depth of field.

On Camera right, almost parallel to the main light, I had a black flag and a single speedlite aimed at the background.  The flag, or card, allows the light to shine on just part of the background while not bleeding onto your subject.  for this shot I just clamped a piece of foam core to the flash itself but you can also use a V-flat if you have one laying around.  Depending on where your subject stands, you will have to slightly move the angle of the flash and flag to get the light to fall on the background exactly how you want.

For the Background I just used a grey seamless but you can use different colors to get different effects.  You can also put colored gels on the background light in order to give your image a pop of color!

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and if you want to see more be sure to subscribe and also follow us on Instagram @ReadylightMedia and "like" us on Facebook!

Until next time,

Jeff C.