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Originally Posted by Carpe Imago
Here's a question for you Jimmy...and I would be curious to here your thoughts as well Eldor...when looking at a 2-light or 3-light setup, how much does that third light add? I was going to do the Hensel two light kit, but having had time to digest Jimmy's comments I'm wondering if I should just suck it up and drop the coin for a third head right off the bat. Or, is there something else that I should be looking at as a third light? Any preferences on "hair lights"?
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The thing about lighting is this: If you have 2 lights, you want 3. If you've got 3, then 4 would be just about perfect. If you have 7, then 8 is the magic number. No matter how many lights you have, you always want more.
There are only three types of lights: (1) main (or key) light, (2) fill light, and (3) technical lights. Technical lights are any other light you use to solve a problem: light the hair, light the background, light the shoes, light the prop, etc. Technical lights give you a great deal of flexibility. Attached is an image that used three lights: Main light to image left, fill light to image right, and technical light overhead that solved three issues - (1) Put highlights in the hair, (2) Place a circle of light on the backdrop to separate the model from it, (3) Keep the top edge of the fabric she's holding white.
As to the question of buying a 3rd. light, three lights will solve 90% of your fashion/glamour/portrait lighting issues. If you can afford it, I'd recommend buying three lights. The biggest problem then is learning how to use them. The temptation is to throw all three at every situation when you can get by with less. Always build up your lighting solution by starting with a single light and then figuring out what, if any, problem you need to solve next.
-Chip