Hairline Highlight Portrait

[Mattj]

So I wanted to try to work on my studio lighting this past weekend, and I got a friend to pose for a two light shot. The idea was to get a nice glow from behind (hairline lighting) and some dramatic lighting on the front. I have softbox in the front of him and a spot from behind with a barn door and a blue gel. I also added a white board below him to give a fillt fill light and some sparkle to his eyes. I would love feedback on the lighting and the overall composition. Was I trying to get to much out of too few lights? Should I have used a reflector or another light from behind? I also did a little post production to sharpen the image.


You can view the larger file here LARGE FILE

Here are the details
Exposure 1/80
f 5.0
ISO 400
No Flash

[RexK_Cozumel]

shadows look pretty hard for a soft box. Also the reflector below really did nothing to open up the shadows. Anyways really does not matter if you are going for dramatic lighting hard shadows and high contrast work. My question is why you used a softbox and a reflector at all?

[Mattj]

I used the softbox and reflector because it was so dark I would have had nothing on his face, and that was the only other lighting setup I had around. The softbox is a constant, and only functions as a softbox. Do you think a ring light would have worked better or do you have any other suggestions?

[mandyatm]

The bright spot behind him is distracting to me, I would clone it out. I think a little less sharpening would be nice. The hard edges work with the mood of the shot.