2 lights · natural skin
Natural skin. Teal background.
Separate the face from the color.
1key2background
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this lookA starting point for your next portrait.
Find a useful idea, understand what each light contributes, then make an editable copy for your kit.
10 looks. Filters stay in this browser; they do not create new search pages.
Tested Looks
No verified studio tests have been published here yet. A Tested label requires an actual finished photograph, adequate setup documentation, image rights and editorial verification naming the tester.
Share a documented lighting story →Starting Setups
These are editorial planning experiments. Their diagrams and screen colors are illustrative; none claims a photographed result or verified flash power.
3 lights · natural skin
Amber edge. Cool surroundings.
Put warmth on the outline, not the nose.
1key2rim3background
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look2 lights · natural skin
Restrained pink & lavender
Let a little color carry the mood.
1key2background
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look2 lights · colored skin
Red / blue edges
Two edges, one deliberate silhouette.
1rim2rim
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look2 lights · natural skin
One clean background color
A practical two-light baseline.
1key2background
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look1 light · colored skin
One light. Colored silhouette.
Make the outline tell the story.
1background
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look2 lights · natural skin
A quiet warm maternity portrait
A small accent with gentle separation.
1key2rim
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look2 lights · colored skin
Split-color beauty
Color placement follows the face.
1key2fill
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look1 light · colored skin
The wardrobe color study
Discover what the material reflects.
1key
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this look2 lights · warm skin
Warm key / cool background
Create contrast with a controlled WB experiment.
1key2background
Illustrative setup — not studio-tested.
Use this lookNo looks match all those filters. Try fewer filters or a different light count.
Make color a deliberate choice.
Learn gel types, white balance, natural skin, spill control and repeatable exposure checks.
Read the flash gels & color guide →Sources, evidence & screen previews
These tools propose experiments. Screen colors are appearance targets, not recovered spectra, gel identities or guaranteed camera results. Numeric measurement inputs are supplied by you; publication and studio testing are separate checks.
- Rosco · Guide to Colour Filters ↗
Selective transmission, source spectra and materials. This is technical background, not proof that our starting setups were photographed.
- Rosco · Choreograph Your White Balance ↗
A photographer’s documented example of camera white balance interacting with filtered light; not a universal Kelvin prescription.
- Rosco · White Walls Don’t Have to Be White ↗
Examples of isolating colored contributions and testing the combined result.
- W3C · CSS Color 4, sRGB transfer functions ↗
The linear-light conversion used in our educational RGB display model.
- Learn Studio Lighting · Rim light placement, power & gels ↗
Placement, lens flags, metering methods and a downloadable f/8 reference card.