ABSTRACT
Good lighting is one of the most important aspects of portrait making. A single light is adequate for most portraits; the rest are optional. However, even one light needs to be used well. Otherwise, no amount of additional lighting will salvage the picture. The size of the lights also influences the amount of texture we can see in the skin. Skin texture appears as microscopic shadows in the photograph. Such shadows may be either hard or soft, just as the shadows of the general features may be. The most common placement of the portrait main light is about where have it in the sphere illustration. Faces, however, are more complex than abstract balls. They have noses, mouths, wrinkles, creases, and all the other irregularities that come as part of the human form. The proper placement of this triangular highlight is the basis of much good portrait lighting. Using the key triangle as a guide to good lighting is simplicity itself.
