Quite recently I have been approached by several photographers seeking one-on-one tuition, particularity in the sphere of portraiture photography. I thought it would be interesting and helpful to post a handy guide to one of my most common lighting setups for portraiture.

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Simple Portraiture Setup

Most of my portraits are shot with one light and I often use this simple setup to create some great shots. The photo of model Claire Leatherbarrow was taken with this handy one light setup.

Portraiture Lighting Setup

For this kind of portraiture I almost always use my favourite portrait lens, the Nikkor 50 mm/1.8. It gives me nice results every time, and the closer I go, the better it gets.

During this session I shot ordinary headshots, half-length portraits and everything in-between. Going further away than that, I think the lens loses a bit of its magic. And a portrait should be pretty close-up, I’m not that interested in knees or feet.

Using only one light is a great way to see how just the smallest adjustments can create a very different picture. Turn the head a little bit, change the angle of the camera or just take a step left. Try and have a crack at this one light setup and let me know how you get on!