Hair Light

Dark hair against a dark background is one shape. A small light from above and behind puts a sheen on the top of the head and gives the hair an outline of its own.

It is a separation tool, and the reason it has its own name is that it does nothing else. Nothing about the exposure of the face changes when a hair light goes on.

The unit goes high behind the subject, aimed down at the crown and the back of the head. It is usually small, often a snooted or barn doored source, so the pool of light stays where it was put.

Intensity is low. Enough to see the shape of the hair and the shine along it, and no more. A hair light that reads as a hot spot is the first thing an audience notices and the first thing that looks staged.

Keep it off the forehead and the nose. If the light spills forward onto the face it stops being separation and becomes a top light, which changes the whole portrait.

Use it on dark hair against dark backgrounds, and on any portrait setup where the subject and the set share a tone.

Skip it when the background is already bright, because the head separates on its own, and skip it in scenes where you want the figure to sink into the dark.

A backlight is the general term for any light placed behind the subject, and it usually covers head and shoulders. A hair light is the narrow case: a small source aimed at the top of the head only.

The check is how far down the bright edge goes. Shoulders included is backlight. Crown and hair only is a hair light.

The model lights the whole head from above and the face goes with it. Say the light catches the top of the head and the hair, and say it stays off the face.

The second failure is a hot white patch that looks like a halo. Ask for a low intensity and a sheen along the hair rather than a bright pool on the crown.