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Clamshell Portrait 3

A lesson produced by Web Photo School

Here we illustrate a very common lighting approach used by professional fashion photographers called "clamshell" lighting. "Clamshell" lighting is popular because it typically renders a flattering 1:1 lighting ratio.

For this lesson, we scheduled a photo-shoot with a local model to create a classic "clamshell" head and shoulders shot.



(Click on any image below for an enlarged view.)

Topics Covered:

  • Shooting portraits using the "clamshell" lighting set up

Equipment Used:

    Figure 1

    A 5-foot OctoDome3 softbox with a strobe light head was used as our overhead main light.

    This lighting set up was suspended using a boom and boom stand. The weightbag visible in the foreground was used to counter-balance the weight of the strobe and soft box.

    Figure 2

    This is the result of our overhead main light.

    Figure 3

    An oval LiteDisc reflector was placed under the main light to bounce light up into the face of our model.

    This is a common lighting set up known as "clamshell" lighting.

    Figure 4

    This is the result shot. We achieved great results using only one light source and a reflector as the fill.

    Figure 5

    We used another model to demonstrate the same lighting set up.

    Figure 6

    This is the result of using only the 5-foot OctoDome3 as the main light.

    Figure 7

    Again, we used an oval LiteDisc as the reflector fill. This time, however, we used the soft gold side to warm up the shadow areas of our shot.

    Note: This photo shows why the term "clamshell" is used to describe this style of lighting.

    Figure 8

    This is the result of our clamshell lighting set up.

    Related Lessons
    Following are Web Photo School lessons related to this topic.

    Creating a Perfect Portrait, Every Time!
    Learn how to get consistent exposure and lighting results using an old pros studio trick.
    Finessing Soft Light for Fashion
    Learn how to shoot with the "clamshell" style of lighting and how to get a bright, white background.
    Shooting a Basic Head Shot
    Learn how to set up a proven standard lighting solution for portraits.
    Transformations with Portrait Lighting
    We used a large (7-foot) main light to shoot this portrait.

    Equipment Used:

      Recommended Links

      • To learn more about Photoflex equipment, go to www.photoflex.com
      • For more tips and techniques on lighting and cameras, visit www.webphotoschool.com and sign up for access to the Member Lessons.