Light placement

[Evertking]

I have some time off from work coming up and I would like to get out and take some photos but would really like to try and make the most out of it now that I have my lens calibrated.
I always try and place my light as close as I can without it getting in the shot and lately I have been placing the octabox where it is just the inside edge is pointed at her (my subjects) ear and most of the light is just wasted I guess, but going in front of her. And this is where my question comes in. Is this the correct way to go about this or should I be placing in where the center of the box is pointed at her?

 

[Derrel]

There is no 'correct way' to aim/place/postion a light; currently you are "feathering" the light, and many people like to do that, where a lot of the main body of the light passes in front of the subject, and much is "wasted"; actually, that's not wasted light, but rather the way one feathers the light, by allowing most of the main light to pass by, but allowing the sides of the light beam to be the mainly-used part. So...don't stress on this!

Also; it is not always necessary to have the light super close-in to the subject! Close = soft many say....but they seem to forget that close=high rate of light intensity fall-off and massive contrast ratio between highlights and shadows, so...again, no, one,single best distance for the main or key light!

 

[Destin]

There is no 'correct way' to aim/place/postion a light; currently you are "feathering" the light, and many people like to do that, where a lot of the main body of the light passes in front of the subject, and much is "wasted"; actually, that's not wasted light, but rather the way one feathers the light, by allowing most of the main light to pass by, but allowing the sides of the light beam to be the mainly-used part. So...don't stress on this!

Also; it is not always necessary to have the light super close-in to the subject! Close = soft many say....but they seem to forget that close=high rate of light intensity fall-off and massive contrast ratio between highlights and shadows, so...again, no, one,single best distance for the main or key light!

I highly agree with this. Derrel and I usually say about the same thing to answer questions like this and he beat me to it.

The only thing I'll add is that the "traditional" starting point when learning lighting is to place the light at 45 degrees to the side of your subject and slightly above their eye line aimed down at them. It's also "traditional" to light their broad side. But these are both very loose guidelines and are broken every single day by great professionals. They just provide a rough starting point to get good lighting.

 

[Designer]

..or should I be placing in where the center of the box is pointed at her?

Seems legit.

That's how I would do it. Aim the light right at my subject. You make adjustments such as; distance, elevation, power level, reflectors, additional lights, etc, as needed. Sometimes the light will be so near the camera lens that it will appear as though you are very nearly "hiding" behind the light. For inspiration, look up "clamshell" lighting.

 

[Derrel]

One of the best things to do is to invest in a rolling light stand...it's REALLY easy to use one of these, to move the light through an arc, to determine where the best placement is.

BUT FIRST...determine the lighting pattern (Rembrandt, Loop or Modified Loop, Paramount, Clamshell, Horror,etc) and based on the so-called light pattern you use, determine WHERE the main shadow placement ought to be; this is based for the most part, on how high-up the key light is placed!

So..determine what the desired shadow effect is..and then...move the light in an arc, to determine the best aim for it.

This is literally the reason I always suggest that beginners learning studio lighting buy "real studio lights", so they can use the modeling lamp(s) to literally SEE what the effects of the lighting will be, as opposed to shooting blind, using a speedlight + modifier setup.