Helping lighting this headshot

I need help on a basic headshot set up so I thought I'll ask the lighting experts. It look pretty basic but what size softbox would you use. I have a 28" and a 50" and a few umbrellas. Do I need a rim light?

Link since I didn't know the rules of sharing another photographers work.
https://scontent.xx.fb​cdn.net …24_o.jpg?efg=ey​JpIjoidCJ9

looks like one large softbox.

+1 to one large softbox. Just to the left and above camera axis.

Not a headshot, it's a 3/4 length portrait. But yes, one softbox camera left and slightly above the subject.

A rim light is 'needed' in order to SEPARATE the subject's head from the background in tonality.

If you light the background suitably bright/dark vs. the light on subject's hair, you do not 'have to' have a rim light!

Thanks, looks like everyone agree. so no rim light to separate him from the background?

since we all agree on the light source, can we talk about terminology of portraits?

I've always used the term head shot to mean portrait of anything waist and above. There are tight head shots and loose head shots. Also half body head shots and head and shoulders head shots.

once you go below the waist it becomes a 3/4 portrait and then of course full body portrait.

they are all portraits.

all that said, i'm not a professional portrait shooter.

I don't think it is 'just' one light.

Problems with 'just one light'
- there is a dark spot on the top of his head that would be lit
- he has lit skin above his left eyebrow which should be dark if the hair overhanging this area is dark - it isn't
- there is no shadow under the tip of his nose at all

If it is 'one-light' there is reflective fill going on somewhere

In addition, there is a bunch of PS work going on to create what you see

It might be just one light. The box looks to me like a stripbox used horizontally, placed not 'just above his head' but higher –I'd say at a ≤75° tilt angle and 45° to the subject's right (the 45-75 position)—just look at the long nose's shadow (yes, there is a nose shadow, if faint); this high angle accounts for the hair being lighter than what you'd get with the light lower and at a 45° angle, and making it possible to skip the rim light.

There's quite a bit of fill on the opposite side of the light, probably a large panel at the 90-0 position, because it's not reflected in the subject's eyes (unless it was digitally removed).

The portrait lighting pattern is Open Loop.

The box might be lighting the background as well, although the lighting on the background looks more like a spot to me, if so then there's indeed more than one light being used.

Another vote for softbox/stripbox. Only one light, no need for a second due to how close he is to the background (spill from SB providing separation). Possibly fill card/v-flat on the right, or even just a white wall. There's a fair bit of post work involved as well.

bumpintheroad wrote in post #17555139
Not a headshot, it's a 3/4 length portrait. But yes, one softbox camera left and slightly above the subject.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17555151
since we all agree on the light source, can we talk about terminology of portraits?

I've always used the term head shot to mean portrait of anything waist and above. There are tight head shots and loose head shots. Also half body head shots and head and shoulders head shots.

once you go below the waist it becomes a 3/4 portrait and then of course full body portrait.

they are all portraits.

all that said, i'm not a professional portrait shooter.

My understanding as well. 1/2 is waist and 3/4 is mid thigh.

Oops, yes. The different commercial styles of portraits are headshot, head-and-shoulders or bust, 1/2 length (subjectively more than bust but no lower than waist), 3/4 length and full length. Each of these terms have specific commercial meaning. For example, if an actor, model, realtor, or business executive is looking for a headshot they are looking specifically for a posed portrait in which the head is the dominant feature. A traditional headshot is from the collar up to and including the top of the subject's hair and front-facing to at most 1/4 turned away from the lens. There is certainly some stylistic variation here, such as landscape vs portrait orientation, centered vs off-center composition, cropping the top of the head, angle of the face to the camera, etc.

I'm probably being pedantic, perhaps even OCD, but in the industry these are very different styles of portraiture. It's the main reason why I don't comment in any of the headshot threads here. I'll admit there is often confusion on this, not only among members here but with customers themselves. I shot tens of thousands of portraits when I worked in studio. Some customers have the same misunderstanding about what a headshot is supposed to be, but most clients know exactly what it is and have a specific need for that type of portrait.

Back to the lighting it is almost certainly a single, large, diffuse light source up and camera left. Could be a softbox or a large Kino, Flolight or similar continuous light source. It's possible that a second light was used for the background and flagged to prevent spill on the model, but I don't think so. The dark spot at the top of the head is caused by the way hair -- particularly dark colored hair -- reflects this type of diffuse light and is not due to any fill light or reflectors. No rim light was used or needed because the position of the key light, hair color and background color/lighting provides excellent natural separation.

Thanks everyone. Some of her other images have two catch lights and one is at the bottom front of the eyes, so she doesn't remove them. I find it amazing how you all can know exactly how it was lit by the shadows and catch light. Now the editing would be a different story but that really doesn't matter to me.

Edit: also thanks for the correct term, something I never knew since this is the first time trying or interested in this. 3/4 shot since it's just below his waist. Correct?

i'd call it 1/2 with 3/4 showing the full arm and hand.

keep in mind what someone already mentioned, the size of the room and the color of the walls and ceiling make a huge impact. In my small studio, i would not be able to pull this off without putting a bit of black seamless on the ceiling. That is something i do fairly regularly with either black or mid grey seamless on either or both the floor and ceiling. I also have a piece of white for the floor that cuts color casts from the nasty 1970"s mustard colored flooring.

two good exercises: photograph an egg to see how the light hits it and photograph a "8 ball" pool/billiards ball to see the reflections/shadoows of the light.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17556023
two good exercises: photograph an egg to see how the light hits it and photograph a "8 ball" pool/billiards ball to see the reflections/shadoows of the light.

The first thing for any lighting beginner to do is to take a halogen desktop lamp with a reflector on it, and

1. move it around someone's head and study the shadowing and the highlights that result from various positions of a 'hard' Main light.
   
2. THEN, add the conceptual understanding that Fill light (if used) simply reduces contrast, is typically/often larger area (so 'softer') than the Main.