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Lighting & Flash

Clamshell Lighting

A beauty setup with one soft source above the face and a reflector or second source directly below, both facing the subject.

In depth

The two sources sandwich the face, filling every shadow and producing very even, low-contrast light with a distinctive double catchlight. It minimises skin texture and lines, which is why it dominates beauty and cosmetics work, and it can look flat and lifeless if the lower source is brought up to match the upper one.

Examples in practice

A beauty dish above and a silver reflector at chest height give smooth, shadowless skin and two stacked catchlights.