Feathering the Light
Tuesday, October 20th 2009 @ 1:35 PM (not yet rated)
Using a studio light to light a group of people? How do you get the whole group evenly lit?
Nearly any studio light you will use puts out more light at its center than at the edges, even a large soft box with diffusion panels on the front. The amount of light falls off as you move farther from the center. You can use this characteristic to light a group of people evenly, for instance, by aiming the center of the light at the person farthest from the light or even beyond the edge of the group. The light gradually falls off as you get closer to the light because you are using more of the edge of the light rather than the center. This is called “feathering”. If you position and aim your light correctly, you will have the same amount of light on the person nearest the light as you do on the person farthest away. Be sure to use your meter to check how much light is going to be illuminating each section of the image.
Feathering- The center of the light is more intense but has a farther distance to travel. The amount of light gradually falls off as you get closer to the edge of the light so the amount of light on each person is the same.