portrait shots

[stupar]

Hi folks,

I am keen to try and up my game on the potrait front.
I have seen alot of portrait examples on here where the background is black/dark and the subjects face appears to be half lit but in a non harsh sense, and usually in B&W if that makes sense

How do you guys go about achieving such a shot?

 

[tiler65]

Forget the background for a minute, just think of a face looking through a daylight window.

Now imagine the face turned a little away from the window, some of the face will be in shadow. So if you expose for the bright side of the face the shadows will be more prevalent.

You are better off buying a book on portraits really so you get a good understanding of how light & shadows work.

 

[HoppyUK]

The key to it is usually to have a little distance between the subject and the background, so that you can light the two separately. Or with a black background, ensure that no light from the subject spills over. Obviously use as dark a background as possible - black velvet is the thing.

Once you've got the background sorted, you can light the subject any way you like. Sounds like you need a softbox from the side, maybe with a grid to help reduce the inevitable small amount of spill, unless you've got loads of space.