Photography Lighting Problem Solver
Start with your own readings. Calculate the change, verify a frame, and save what works.
Solve a real shoot
Choose your genre and lighting problem. Get a practical, measured plan.
Start with the photograph
What are you trying to fix?
Choose a portrait genre and a concrete lighting problem. Work from source distances or isolated meter readings to get a shooting plan, then verify it in camera.
Boudoir
- Face brighter; chest three stops lower — Keep the face lit. Let the chest go darker. Find a starting placement, then check both with your meter.
- Keep shape without losing shadow detail — Build an editable key/fill contribution difference at a chosen combined flash aperture.
Family
- Light every row and keep eyes in focus — Plan source distance and a focus position while testing your aperture, room and power limits.
- Darker sky; normally exposed faces — Start from separate background and subject ambient readings, then solve camera settings and key flash.
Portraits
- Separate a portrait from a darker backdrop — Solve a finite illumination difference using source angle and actual subject-to-background separation.
- Give the key more presence than the fill — Calculate isolated key/fill targets that add up to your chosen camera aperture.
Maternity
- Keep face and bump within half a stop — Test a gentle distance-only difference and identify when room or modifier geometry makes it impractical.
- Lower an overpowering rim by one stop — Reduce only the separately metered rim; preserve key and fill, then inspect fabric and spill.
Headshots
- Make the fill one stop below the key — Design a modest independent contribution difference without confusing it with a final facial contrast ratio.
- Reach a measured face-exposure target — Translate a flash-only meter reading into the power adjustment for your chosen target aperture; camera-check important highlights.
Goals such as a darker backdrop or softer fill are creative choices. Example readings do not describe your scene. Use the same ISO, isolate each flash and confirm capture before following a power estimate.
Boudoir lighting guides.
Start with the look you want. Each guide gives you a setup to try, what to meter, and one useful adjustment.
Light the face. Let the body fall into shadow.
Choose a darker chest target, then shape the beam and check spill.
Read the guide Plan the roomMake a bedroom or hotel room work.
Find space for one light, control white bedding and avoid mirror reflections.
Read the guide Balance the lightMix window light and flash with confidence.
Keep the daylight mood while deciding how much light the flash should add.
Read the guide Control the backgroundKeep the background dark in a small room.
Find out whether daylight, flash spill or reflected light is lifting the background.
Read the guideMaternity lighting guides.
Light the face, give the bump shape, and keep important fabric detail. These guides turn the look into a few practical steps.
Build a dramatic maternity portrait.
Start with one light and decide where the highlights and shadows belong.
Read the guide Face + bumpKeep the face and bump beautifully lit.
Choose the difference you want and fix a bump that is darker than planned.
Read the guide Rim + silhouetteShape the outline. Keep the fabric detail.
Add a controlled rim or build a silhouette without washing out the frame.
Read the guide Take it outdoorsBalance your subject with a brighter sky.
Set the background first, then calculate the flash contribution at the subject.
Read the guideLearn more: examples, explanations & common questions
Start with the photograph you want to make
Different shoots create different practical problems. This guided tool connects boudoir, family, portrait, headshot and maternity goals to the same measurable exposure and placement principles. Suggested creative targets are starting experiments; enter your own measurements before applying a power setting.
- Choose the genre and the specific problem, then adjust the suggested goal to your intended photograph.
- Enter the geometry or isolated meter readings the problem needs. Check space, power and model limits in the result.
- Make the suggested change, remeasure the important subject points and photograph the result. Use the linked specialist tool for a more detailed plan.
A boudoir face-to-chest target of three stops means one-eighth of the illumination at the chest. A family group might instead tolerate only half a stop across its rows. The artistic goals differ, while both require clear source-to-subject distances and a meter check.
Will choosing a genre set my flash power automatically?
No. A genre identifies the goal. Power recommendations require an actual meter reading at a known power, or another explicitly measured reference.
Are these fixed rules for lighting people?
No. Change the target for your subject, pose, wardrobe and intended mood. Skin tone and final image processing affect how the measured light looks.
Can I use the tools with my Godox lights and Sekonic meter?
Yes. Enter your actual gear, power limits and readings. The tools do not substitute a model name for a measurement.
By Dwayne of DNA Premium Portraits, Sacramento-area portrait photographer. See formulas, assumptions and equipment sources.
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