Executive Headshot Light Setup and Diagram

It's always good practice to plan and prepare lighting setups for client work. Here's a breakdown of the lighting for a recent Executive Headshot. The main light was a Paul C. Buff Einstein with a 4ft by 2.5 ft softbox placed approximately 3 feet away from the subject. Opposite that was a white reflector for fill. Main light registered at F8 with fill side at F5.6. An Alien Bee 800 with a grided 12x48 stripbox was used back right corner for hair and rim light. Another Alien Bee 800 was used for the background (Savage Thundergray) with a 20' grid to provide a circle and contain the light. Placement is key to get the soft edge of the light showing and not the harsh middle spot. This adds nice separation. Another reflector was used in front and below the chin to fill in some shadows underneath.  Shot with a Nikon D750 and Nikon 70-200 f4. Exposure was F8, 1/125, 112mm, ISO 200. 

Executive Headshot Exec Headshot

Exec Headshot

Exec Headshot