Anyone have some examples?

Lighting directly over head pointing down .. not at an angle but just down?

I will like to see what kind of lighting will I get ..

Thanks

RiKaN HaVoK wrote in post #8683950
Lighting directly over head pointing down .. not at an angle but just down?

I will like to see what kind of lighting will I get ..

Thanks

You will get 'poor lighting' ! just have someone sit under one of the downlighting spot lights or flood light fixtures in a home to see! Good to read under, poor to have one's portrait taken under.

I don't think you're going to get any examples. It's not a very desirable style of lighting.

If the light is close you're going to get rapid falloff from the top of the head going down and if you place the light far above you'll get a more gradual falloff, neither of which will be flattering or interesting.

TMR Design wrote in post #8684202
I don't think you're going to get any examples. It's not a very desirable style of lighting.

If the light is close you're going to get rapid falloff from the top of the head going down and if you place the light far above you'll get a more gradual falloff, neither of which will be flattering or interesting.

In all due respect, I disagree. I think any type of lighting setup can be "flattering or interesting" dependent on what the photographer is trying to achieve. We normally wouldn't use a flash directly below a subject, but if you're going for a horror type look then it's perfect.

My advice is to try it and see what you can make of it. Heck, you might start a revolution

OneStrobe wrote in post #8684399
In all due respect, I disagree. I think any type of lighting setup can be "flattering or interesting" dependent on what the photographer is trying to achieve. We normally wouldn't use a flash directly below a subject, but if you're going for a horror type look then it's perfect.

My advice is to try it and see what you can make of it. Heck, you might start a revolution

I suppose if you want to do portraiture of hardened killers in prison, it could be very complementary. But I doubt that it works for glamour shots!

OneStrobe wrote in post #8684399
In all due respect, I disagree. I think any type of lighting setup can be "flattering or interesting" dependent on what the photographer is trying to achieve. We normally wouldn't use a flash directly below a subject, but if you're going for a horror type look then it's perfect.

My advice is to try it and see what you can make of it. Heck, you might start a revolution

OK, I won't dispute that. I suppose someone may find it flattering or interesting but it's not typical of what most photographers do or want to do. There's certainly nothing wrong with giving it a try but I stand by my comment.

Personally I don't think it offers anything interesting for portraits of humans. If it did I think we'd be seeing a ton of portraiture with that type of lighting and we'd be seeing examples posted for the OP to check out.

I don't think the OP is going to be starting any revolutions.

No No - No revolution starter here ..

I actually seen Nigel Baker use this type of lighting in one of his shoot I also seen it used by another photographer during a shoot in a movie .. I just never seen the results ..

Here is one I did recently. I used 2 60" diffused lights directly overhead, I was fortunate to have the wall as a reflector. I do have other images of just the bike with the same light source but without a person.

TMR Design wrote in post #8684202
I don't think you're going to get any examples. It's not a very desirable style of lighting.

Why would you say that? It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. That is exactly the kind of lighting I needed to get this shot for my client.

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redbutt wrote in post #8686531
Why would you say that? It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. That is exactly the kind of lighting I needed to get this shot for my client.

Are you sure the light is not somewhat angled?
Seems like the shadow is pushing on the left side of the picture

tonykieuphotography wrote in post #8686537
Are you sure the light is not somewhat angled?
Seems like the shadow is pushing on the left side of the picture

Yup...light is straight down through a large translucent panel that was like a roof over the models head. It was off center which is what you are seeing...but it was pointed straight down. I tried angling the light first, but it didn't quite give the same result as this.

The subject's position under the light is apparent from the shadows cast...it is very slightly in front and somewhat to subject left. Combined with the upward orientation of the subject's face and the very dramatic and very contrasty lighting, this shot works because we can envision a dramatic performance on stage during a play, where we might expect a very dramatic scene in such a presence. But the shadowing of the eye sockets certainly would almost never be used for 'a portrait', which is the context in which Robert had made his prior comment. Certainly it is what I was thinking, too!

The biker shot similarly has the large light source somewhat in front. In this environmental portrait, again it works but the eye sockets are well lit and the subject in is somewhat low contrast ratio lighting, as evidenced by the relative intensities of the shadows vs. highlights on the face. We can see the contrastiness of the bike's shadow on the ground, and the penumbra gives away the large apparent size of the light source.

This proves the "never say 'never' " axiom, because someone will almost always want to disprove the statement with a corner case!

It's a type of lighting that highlights facial shape and features very boldly. I use it quite often on fashion models as it distinguishes a good bone structure, small nose, high cheekbones e.t.c. and because it casts very directional light and dramatic shadows over the body which can really pick up the details and contours in fabrics.

Partially shaded eye sockets (shadow going from the browbone to the eyelid) are a staple of fashion and of classic glamour. In black & white mediums with plenty of contrast you will get a much stronger image of a face than if the shadows were filled in.

A model has to tilt their head pretty far back to get this sort of lighting from a source directly overhead so a lot of the time it will be placed slightly in front of them.

Hermes wrote in post #8687619
It's a type of lighting that highlights facial shape and features very boldly. I use it quite often on fashion models as it distinguishes a good bone structure, small nose, high cheekbones e.t.c. and because it casts very directional light and dramatic shadows over the body which can really pick up the details and contours in fabrics.

Partially shaded eye sockets (shadow going from the browbone to the eyelid) are a staple of fashion and of classic glamour. In black & white mediums with plenty of contrast you will get a much stronger image of a face than if the shadows were filled in.

A model has to tilt their head pretty far back to get this sort of lighting from a source directly overhead so a lot of the time it will be placed slightly in front of them.

You pretty much stated everything I'm trying to accomplish in my next shoot hence the reason why I'm asking for pictures .. I guess I'll try it anyways and post pictures ...

P.S. Guys I didn't think of this myself and like I mentioned I seen a couple of photographers do it and I heard others tell me about it before ...