It had been quite a while since I last shot convention photos, so taking advantage of the May Day Firefly Expo performer pass, I wasted no time scheduling this Aemeath set. The setup adhered to my go-to Three-point lighting layout powered by Godox speedlites and strobes. The key light was an AD200PROII fitted with a standard reflector; the rim light utilized an AD200PRO paired with a 30x120cm strip softbox equipped with a 1/2 CTO gel; and the fill/facial key was a V1 firing through a 90cm octabox. The lighting ratios were calibrated so that the key light overpowered the rim light, which in turn sat higher than the fill light.
In practice, this lighting scheme functions versatilely across both high-key and moody frames, though I fine-tuned angles around Aemeath's kinetic poses. For instance, when she brandished her illuminated staff or raised her longsword, I pulled the rim light slightly further back to chisel crisp separation along her hair and shoulders; the strip softbox contoured naturally along her body lines for smooth falloff. With overhead convention lighting being notoriously cluttered, the 90cm octabox worked wonders as a face light, delivering a soft, uniform base that gave skin texture a translucent clarity.
Aemeath's combat uniform is predominantly white, with black paneling across the chest and waist alongside gilded piping that popped vividly under the punchy key light. To freeze windswept hair motion, boosting shutter speed was necessary, requiring a proportional increase in key light output. The overarching lighting logic was straightforward: sculpt facial dimension with the key, construct warm rim accents with the CTO-gelled strip box, and fill harsh facial shadows with the octabox to eliminate crushed blacks.
Convention photos are heavily constrained by chaotic surroundings, so I habitually overpowered ambient daylight with the key and rim strobes—isolating the subject cleanly while turning distant expo lights into soft background bokeh. For this Aemeath shoot, the illuminated sword and staff props drew plenty of attention alongside dynamic stances; whether jumping or flashing mudra hand signs, the three lights firmly anchored the visual frame. You can easily tweak light ratios and micro-adjust placement angles to match varying actions or moods to nail your desired Lighting portrait results.