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Term:
Description: A kicker light is an accent light that highlights the edges of a subject. A hair light is a type of kicker, as it is pointed at a subject’s hair from behind or the side to add non-frontal illumination intended to accent that part of the subject. An interchangeable term for “kicker light” is “rim light.” Kicker lights tend to create highlights that are brighter than that of the key light.
Kicker Light
Case Study #3 – Warm Kicker/Rim Light For Added Interest
Let’s discuss how we can add in additional light to our existing ambient light to create interest. Using either a GL1, strobe, or a video light to illuminate the subject from behind, create separation between the background and your subject. This light will take alot of refining to get the right direction, but once added it will help chisel out portions of the face.
If the power is too strong or the direction is too flatly lit, then we are mixing lighting, something that we desperately want to avoid. The goal is to make it a subtle addition to the image to help define edges.
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