Fine Art Photography Lighting Tips For Your Portraits

What’s up, everyone? My name is Sal Cincotta. Today we are going to cover fine art portrait photography. Before we even get started, what is fine art photography? Well, the answer is different depending on who you talk to. For certain people, they say certain elements must happen for something to be considered fine art. But for others they say, “Well, as the photographer, as the creative, you get to determine what is fine art photography.” Well, that’s not very helpful. At the end of the day, this is just my spin on what I like to do for fine art photography. It’s a combination of lighting, it’s a combination of styling. But ultimately, you are the artist, you are the photographer, and you have to determine what fine art is.

Now, with all that being said, I’m going to give you some tips and tricks that I like, but some things to consider here, all the gear that we’re using, I’m going to list down in the description. So go down in the comments of the video on YouTube and I’ll have everything listed, because I am using some new equipment from Westcott that I’ve never used before in my shoots, so I think you’re going to like the way it looks. For the main light, I’m using the Mega JS Apollo by Westcott. This creates a super huge light source. And then for the light above, I’m using the Standard Umbrella – Silver Bounce 7’ with a large diffusion fabric underneath, both utilizing the Westcott FJ200 strobes. So we’re just using two light sources here, and it’s supposed to be soft. By the way, with both of these light sources, the light is indirect, meaning the strobe, the FJ200, is firing back into the umbrella, creating a very large light source before it comes straight down, versus a lot of softboxes will fire that light directly at your subject. Even through diffusion material, it’s a much harsher light.

And so that’s one of the things I like about this light setup. It creates this big soft, light source. So here are some simple rules to follow. 

1. Keep the background simple because you want to focus on your subject, not the background. I like to use grays or blacks, master style backgrounds with a subtle texture on it. 
2. Incorporate inanimate objects like flowers, jewelry, books, headpieces. 
3. Be creative with hair and makeup. This should not look like a standard portrait. Keep in mind, I believe with fine art and beauty portraits, there’s absolutely a fine line between the difference. It’s very close. 
4. Wardrobe has to be something unique, but feel somewhat vintage in my opinion.
5. Watch expression. Again, in my opinion, subjects should not be smiling at the camera. Expression matters, so they should be somewhat neutral in their expression. I don’t want them looking happy. They’re just sitting there looking off into never, never land. Again, these are my personal preferences when I’m creating something that’s fine art. 
6. I like to use soft light. That’s why I have this setup here. I don’t like harsh light or just beauty portrait light for fine art, so I like big, soft light sources. 
7. Create your own work of art. You do you. Understand the rules, season to taste, and make something that feels right, so let’s get to shooting on this.