5 Tips for Lighting Bald People

Bald people can pose a bit of a difficulty for photographers, particularly because of the shine that can come off the skin in the studio. To illustrate this problem, Kalem from DSLR Video Shooter shaved his head for this 7-minute tutorial filled with tips for lighting bald people.

1. Use Anti-Glare or De-Shine Powder to Avoid Head Glare

Get hold of some anti-glare powder and use it to put onto the skin, removing unwanted highlights from the shot. It’s very easy with sweat or moisture for these bright spots to appear, especially under the lights of a studio.

2. Check Your Head Exposure

Use zebra or peaking tools on your camera to really check for overexposed areas. It’s easy to miss, and when you go into the edit there might be blown out areas that you didn’t spot before. Nothing is more embarrassing than having to call a client back for a reshoot!

3. Lower Your Key Light

Lowering the key light will stop the light glancing off the top of a bald head, and instead ensure it is hitting the front of the face to decrease highlights.

4. Reduce or Remove Hair Lights

Hair lights or rim lights will create really big, bright streaks on the top of the head. Either completely eliminate them, or reduce them to a very low light.

5. Think About Background Lights

A background light can actually replace a rim or hair light in this case, but the main consideration is the background color.

Try not to use bright backgrounds for bald caucasian people, and avoid using darker backgrounds for those with dark skin. This adds separation between the face and background, which you need to ensure you introduce because of the absence of hair which does this naturally.

Check out the video above for full explanations of each tip, and you can find more DSLR Video Shooter videos by subscribing to their YouTube channel.

(via DSLR Video Shooter via ISO 1200)