Chapter 12 — Quiz

Twenty-five self-check questions on studio lighting: modifiers, the key light and its patterns, multi-light setups, lighting ratios, and high-/low-key. A mix of multiple choice, true/false (with justification), short answer, and a few "what's wrong with this lighting?" seeing-questions. Answer without scrolling to the key, then check yourself. The point is retrieval, not a grade.

Multiple choice

Q1. The first thing a studio photographer usually does when setting up a shot is: - (a) Turn on all the lights and adjust them together. - (b) Turn everything off, get the room dark, and add one light at a time. - (c) Set the camera to Auto and let it meter the scene. - (d) Bounce the key off the ceiling.

Q2. The softness of a light source depends most directly on: - (a) The wattage or power of the light. - (b) The color temperature of the light. - (c) The apparent size of the source as the subject sees it. - (d) The brand of the modifier.

Q3. You move a softbox closer to your subject. Its light becomes: - (a) Harder, because it's more intense. - (b) Softer, because it's larger relative to the subject. - (c) Unchanged in quality; only brighter. - (d) Cooler in color temperature.

Q4. Which modifier gives soft light but sprays it everywhere, making it hard to keep off the background? - (a) A softbox. - (b) A grid. - (c) A snoot. - (d) An umbrella.

Q5. A grid placed on a light primarily: - (a) Softens the light. - (b) Warms the light. - (c) Narrows the beam and controls spill, without softening it. - (d) Doubles the light's output.

Q6. The lighting pattern created when the key is placed about 45° to the side and high enough that the nose shadow connects with the cheek shadow, trapping a small bright triangle on the shadow-side cheek, is: - (a) Butterfly lighting. - (b) Split lighting. - (c) Loop lighting. - (d) Rembrandt lighting.

Q7. Butterfly (Paramount) lighting is created by placing the key: - (a) 90° to the side of the subject. - (b) Directly in front of the subject and high, throwing light down the face. - (c) Behind and to the side of the subject. - (d) At eye level, 30° to one side.

Q8. Short lighting means you light the side of the face that is: - (a) Turned toward the camera (it widens the face). - (b) Turned away from the camera (it slims the face). - (c) Closest to the background. - (d) Lit by the rim light only.

Q9. The job of a fill light is to: - (a) Be the brightest light in the setup. - (b) Light the background. - (c) Lighten the shadow side without erasing the modeling the key created. - (d) Trace a bright edge around the subject's hair.

Q10. A rim or hair light exists mainly to: - (a) Add overall brightness to the face. - (b) Separate the subject from the background by tracing a bright edge. - (c) Set the color temperature of the scene. - (d) Replace the key when it fails.

Q11. A 4:1 lighting ratio means the lit side of the face receives, compared to the shadow side: - (a) One stop more light. - (b) Two stops more light. - (c) Four stops more light. - (d) Half as much light.

Q12. Which ratio produces the most dramatic, deepest-shadow look? - (a) 1:1. - (b) 2:1. - (c) 4:1. - (d) 8:1.

Q13. To set a lighting ratio exactly in the studio, photographers reach for: - (a) The camera's Auto mode. - (b) A handheld incident light meter. - (c) A longer lens. - (d) A warmer white balance.

Q14. A high-key image is best described as: - (a) An overexposed mistake where everything is blown out. - (b) A frame dominated by bright tones, with a correctly-exposed subject and few dark shadows. - (c) A frame dominated by dark tones and deep shadow. - (d) Any image shot on a white background, regardless of lighting.

Q15. To make a white seamless background read as pure white rather than grey, you must: - (a) Overexpose the whole scene. - (b) Light the background separately and more strongly than the subject. - (c) Use a longer focal length. - (d) Lower the ISO to 100.

Q16. With flash in the studio, the camera's shutter speed primarily controls: - (a) The brightness of the flash on the subject. - (b) The depth of field. - (c) The amount of ambient light in the exposure (kept at or below sync speed). - (d) The color temperature.

True / False (justify your answer in one sentence)

Q17. True or false: You need at least three lights to make a professional-looking studio portrait.

Q18. True or false: Moving the fill light farther from the subject deepens the lighting ratio, because light falls off with the square of the distance.

Q19. True or false: A small softbox used two metres from a face produces soft light simply because it has a diffusion panel.

Q20. True or false: In a low-key image, the lit portions of the subject should be underexposed to keep the frame dark.

Q21. True or false: Broad lighting tends to widen a face and short lighting tends to slim it.

Short answer

Q22. In two or three sentences, explain the §12.1 "build order" for a multi-light studio setup and why adding one light at a time matters.

Q23. Name the four classic key-light patterns and give the one defining placement or signature of each (one phrase each).

Q24. Explain, in terms a beginner would understand, the difference between making light softer and making light more controlled — and name one modifier for each goal.

Seeing questions ("what's wrong with this lighting?")

Q25. A portrait against a black background shows the subject's dark hair blending completely into the backdrop so the top of the head disappears; the face is well lit by a single key from camera-left. Name the single problem and the single light that fixes it.

Q26. A headshot has both cheeks equally bright, no shadow anywhere, the face looks flat, and there are two equal catchlights in each eye. Diagnose what's happening with the lighting and prescribe the fix to restore dimensional modeling.

Q27. A "high-key" attempt has a grey (not white) background, and the subject looks slightly washed out and low in contrast with light flaring across the frame. Name the two separate problems (the background and the flare) and how to fix each.

Answer Key

Q1 — (b). The studio photographer builds from darkness, adding one light at a time, so each light's contribution can be judged in isolation (§12.1).

Q2 — (c). Softness is governed by apparent size — how big the source looks from the subject's position — not power, color, or brand (§12.2).

Q3 — (b). Closer makes the source larger relative to the subject, so light wraps from more angles and shadow edges soften. (It also gets brighter — a separate effect you compensate for.) (§12.2)

Q4 — (d). An umbrella is soft but sprays light everywhere; a softbox is enclosed and controlled (§12.2).

Q5 — (c). A grid is a honeycomb that forces the beam straight, narrowing spread and killing spill without softening the light (§12.2).

Q6 — (d). Rembrandt lighting — its signature is the small bright triangle on the shadow-side cheek (§12.3).

Q7 — (b). Butterfly/Paramount: key high and centered, casting a small symmetrical shadow under the nose (§12.3).

Q8 — (b). Short lighting lights the side turned away from the camera, putting the shadow on the camera-near side, which slims the face (§12.3).

Q9 — (c). Fill lifts the shadow without erasing the key's modeling; it's weaker and softer than the key (§12.4).

Q10 — (b). A rim/hair light separates the subject from the background by tracing a bright edge; it is not a face light (§12.4).

Q11 — (b). 4:1 = two stops difference (each stop is a doubling; 4× = 2 stops) (§12.5).

Q12 — (d). 8:1 (three stops) gives the deepest shadow and most drama of the options; higher ratio = more dramatic (§12.5).

Q13 — (b). A handheld incident meter held at the subject makes ratios exact and repeatable (§12.5).

Q14 — (b). High-key is dominated by bright tones with a correctly-exposed subject and few dark shadows — not a blown-out mistake, and not merely "shot on white" (§12.6).

Q15 — (b). A white background reads grey unless lit separately and more strongly than the subject (about 1.5–2 stops brighter) (§12.4, §12.6).

Q16 — (c). With flash, shutter controls the ambient portion of the exposure (kept at/below sync speed); the flash itself is governed by aperture, power, and distance (§12.5; Chapter 11, §11.2–11.3).

Q17 — False. One key light (often plus a reflector) makes superb professional portraits; the four patterns in §12.3 all use a single key. More lights solve specific added problems, not a requirement.

Q18 — True. By the inverse-square law, doubling the fill's distance quarters its light (two stops), deepening the shadow side and thus the ratio (§12.5; Chapter 11, §11.5).

Q19 — False. A diffusion panel alone doesn't guarantee soft light; at two metres a small softbox is a small source to the face and gives relatively hard light. Softness needs size and distance, so bring it close (§12.2).

Q20 — False. In low-key the lit portions are correctly exposed with full detail; the darkness comes from the unlit background and the deep, controlled shadows — not from underexposing the subject (§12.6).

Q21 — True. Broad lighting (lighting the camera-facing side) widens the face; short lighting (lighting the far side) slims it (§12.3).

Q22. Build order: kill the ambient → place and perfect the key alone → add fill and set the shadow ratio → add a rim/hair light for separation → set the background tone last. Adding one light at a time matters because light adds and tangles; isolating each light lets you see and judge exactly what it contributes before committing (§12.1, §12.4).

Q23. Loop — key 30–45° to the side, slightly high; small nose shadow looping down (the flattering default). Rembrandt — key 45° and higher; nose and cheek shadows meet, forming a bright cheek triangle. Butterfly — key high and centered; symmetrical shadow directly under the nose. Split — key 90° to the side; light hits exactly half the face (§12.3).

Q24. Softer means gentler, more gradual shadow edges — achieved by making the source bigger or closer (e.g., a large softbox or umbrella). More controlled means the light goes only where you aim it, with no spill — achieved by enclosure and a grid (or snoot). They're independent: an umbrella is soft but uncontrolled; a gridded softbox is soft and controlled (§12.2).

Q25. The problem is lack of separation — the dark subject merges into the dark background. The fix is a single rim or hair light placed behind and to the side, aimed at the subject, to trace a bright edge along the hair and lift it off the black (§12.4).

Q26. The fill is as strong as the key (a ~1:1 ratio), and a second light of equal power has been added, so both sides are equally lit and two catchlights appear — flattening the face. Fix: make one light the clear key and either remove the second light or drop it to a weaker fill (a reflector is ideal), so one catchlight dominates and a deliberate shadow returns to model the face (§12.4, §12.5).

Q27. Two separate problems: (1) the background isn't lit strongly enough — light it separately about 1.5–2 stops brighter than the subject so it reads pure white, not grey; (2) the bright background is spilling into the lens and washing out contrast (flare) — keep the background light controlled, move the subject forward of the background, and flag stray light off the lens (§12.4, §12.6).

Topics to review by question

A note on the seeing-questions (Q25–Q27): reading a lighting setup off its shadows, catchlights, and edges is the single most useful studio skill there is. Every portrait you encounter is a free lesson — guess the setup, then ask whether you could rebuild it.