Using the Ice Light as a Key Light for Portraits

Dutch portrait photographer and educator Frank Doorhof creates key light Ice Light portraits in this behind-the-scenes video.

Frank begins his photo shoot by having his assistant placing the Ice Light as a key light to the left of his subject. He has his subject face toward the light, creating dramatic, yet classic portrait lighting.

Frank then places his model against a wall and adds barndoors to the Ice Light. This allows him to create a more dramatic portrait lighting by really controlling where the light falls on his subject. This technique can help photographers highlight specific areas on a subject’s face or body or give a darker, more mysterious appeal to an image.

Frank experiments with the angle of lighting and the angle of his camera throughout the shoot. By doing this, Frank creates and captures a wide variety of lighting patterns. This is a great practice for any photographer, giving each the ability to discover new techniques and capture an array of portfolio pieces.

By the end of his shoot, Frank has his assistant tighten the barndoor opening. This shines a very narrow beam of light onto his subject for extremely dramatic and interesting portraits.

Lighting Gear in Action