How to create clipping light, or Rim Light, in your photos?

Have you ever heard of Rim Light or Light Clipping?It is a widely used lighting technique that brings an incredible effect to your photos, so you can’t miss it and learn everything.

Because light is very important in photography, learning to master it and discovering innovative techniques are fundamental to your success as a photographer, after all, if you master these points, you will surely have beautiful images in your portfolio to show them to new customers.

  • See in this article what Rim Light is.
  • What computer you need to do so.
  • And also follow step by step to successfully run it in your photo.

Also called cut light or outline, it is a technique used to emphasize the shape of an object or model in photography. As the name suggests, the goal is to use light to highlight the silhouettes and lines of what will be photographed.

With this lighting configuration, the photographer is able to bring a three-dimensionality and a sense of depth to his images. To achieve this effect, we use the backlight principle, where the projectors are placed behind the object and in front of the digital one. Camera.

In the image, which uses crop light, the background and object have the same colors, either by the choice of the photographer or by the adjustments you make on the camera, the most important thing is to give the impression that the main object of the photo is separated from the background.

This style is very common when photographing objects creatively, but it is even more popular in photos of athletes, weightlifters, sensual photos, etc.

Another time when Rim Light is widely used is for photo editing, when the professional wants to completely delete or modify the background in the possession, in this case it is easier to select the back of the photo, because the background and the main subjects are separated by light.

Now that you know what the clipping light is, it’s time to learn how to do it in your daily life as a photographer.

And to help you, we’ve separated 4 simple and basic steps to accomplish this feat. Check out the recommendations below and find out how to get this fantastic effect on your images right now!

The first step is to know the photographic equipment that will be used to create the contour light, these are:

Material in hand, it is time to get your hands dirty, or rather the camera, from Stage 2 you learn to achieve this effect in practice.

First, you need to remove any light from the environment in which you want to take the photo. This type of photograph is usually done in a photo studio, where you have more control over environmental conditions.

However, even a corner of your room can be a great place to reproduce the cropped light. All you have to do is remove excess light and control the environment as much as possible.

But how do you do that?

First close the windows, doors and any light that enters the room. This makes it easier to control the brightness of the place. Then adjust the ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings of your camera.

Ideal settings are usually those that leave the image underexposed (very dark). Some examples are: ISO 100, f/3. 5 and 1/250. However, feel free to experiment with new settings and try until you find the perfect solution for your photo.

The third step is to position the flashes or any other light source you’ve chosen, as already mentioned, ideally the lighting is behind the object and pointing at the camera, so you can reproduce the effect more easily.

Take a look at these diagrams on the Photography Tips website to better understand how to place projectors:

And to fill the shadows, use the diagram below

Choose the one that best suits your case and take some test photos to see if it looks as you imagined. After that, just capture your footage and rock!

Finally, let your creativity fly to compose your photos, as this is a creative style to capture your images, nothing better than experimenting and trying different perspectives.

Sometimes you can achieve a completely new result with small changes, such as changes in the focus position of the light or the type of lighting, so don’t hesitate to capture your photos.

If you wish, start training with objects to gain more knowledge and discover the possibilities of this lighting technique. Once you master the theme, you’ll also start photographing models.

Are you ready to put this knowledge into practice and create the light of yours in your next photo?Leave your comment below and share your experiences with us!

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