To create a Platon-inspired portrait, start with a light just above the camera, a white background, and dark shadows along the cheeks. Get the lighting in place first, then use a tight crop and black-and-white editing to draw attention to the face.
In this article, I’ll show you my approach to recreating the look of portrait photographer Platon Antoniou.
His highly contrasted black and white portraits are the starting point. We’ll use a bright background for a high key setting while keeping the shadows that give the face its shape. You can try this with one off-camera flash and finish the background in editing, or add a second flash to light it separately.
The Platon Photography Style
The style we are after is a black-and-white headshot with a white background, a tight frame, and deep shadows on the cheeks. The portrait below shows the result of this approach. These are features we can recreate, rather than a fixed formula for every portrait Platon makes.
The plain background leaves the viewer with the face, expression, and pose. Try it with different people and adjust the light to the features you want to emphasize. The contrast is a creative choice; it does not limit who you can photograph.
The Gear
You can build this setup with a camera, an off-camera flash, an umbrella, and a white backdrop. A second flash and black flags give you more control.
In this article, I discuss portrait lighting patterns you can make with a single light. If you are new to portrait photography, we also have a useful glossary of terms.
The image below shows you six simple styles you can create using a single off-camera flash without light modifiers.
This scheme shows the relative position of the light, camera, and model to create some of the most common lighting setups used in studio portrait photography.
Light Equipment
To recreate the Platon photography style, the amount of studio equipment you need is fairly modest. Ideally, you will need a couple of flash guns, but you can do it with one if you decide to turn the background white digitally.
You will also need one or two light stands to use your flashes off camera and a small umbrella.
Camera and Lenses
You do not need to match Platon’s camera to try this lighting exercise. Use a camera that lets you control the exposure and trigger your flash guns off-camera.
Choose your shooting distance for the perspective you want, then adjust the focal length to frame the portrait. A longer lens lets you fill the frame from farther away; moving close makes features nearest the camera more prominent.
Aside from the screenshots depicting Platon’s portraits, all the portraits in this article were taken with my Sony RX10 bridge camera with a 1″ sensor, not your typical portrait camera.
Deconstructing the High Key Portrait Style
This version combines a bright white background with pronounced facial shadows. Keep those two jobs separate: light the face for shape, then make the backdrop white. Increasing the exposure of the whole photograph to brighten the background can erase the skin detail you want to keep.
The Background
To get a white background, you can brighten it digitally in Photoshop or light it with a separate flash. With two flashes, set the key light for the model first, then bring up the background light.
Leave space between the model and the backdrop. That makes it easier to keep the key light’s shadow out of the frame and to control light bouncing back onto the model.
Keep an eye on the shoulders and hair while properly metering your background light. If their edges look washed out, reduce the background light or increase the separation. Aim for a white backdrop with a defined outline around the person.
The Light
Two clues help you estimate the key light’s position:
- The shadows on the model’s face
- The position of the catchlights in the model’s eyes
Look first at the shadow under the nose. A small, centered shadow suggests butterfly light: the key light is in front of the model and above eye level, aimed down toward the face.
Use the catchlights and shadows as clues, not proof of the total number of lights. A background light or a source outside the eyes’ reflection may leave no catchlight. For this recreation, start with one key light on the face; a separate background flash is optional.
Using set.a.light 3D by Elixxier, I modeled a setup based on those clues. The shadows on the virtual model’s face give us a starting point to test with a real person.
This virtual studio setup was created with set.a.light 3D STUDIO software.
In the virtual setup, I used a bare flash gun. The shadows are in the correct position, but the light is quite hard and strong, with the forehead and nose too bright. An umbrella will help to soften the light.
By adding an umbrella, we have softened the light from the flash gun.
Light Fall Off and Flags
Light falloff describes how the illumination changes with distance from the source. With the light close to your model, parts of the body at different distances can differ noticeably in brightness. Moving the light farther away generally makes the illumination more even across that depth.
Shadow softness is a separate control. A modifier that appears larger from the model’s position gives softer shadow edges. Bringing an umbrella closer can soften its shadows while still producing a strong change in brightness across the subject. Broncolor’s explanation of hard and soft light shows how size and distance work together.
An 80 cm umbrella placed close to the model is a starting point for this exercise. Move it and watch the cheeks, nose shadow, and catchlights instead of treating that size as a rule.
An umbrella can also send light onto nearby walls. That light may bounce back and fill the shadows. Flags, or blockers, help keep that stray light away from the model.
This shows how I controlled light with a flag in the studio. The flag prevents the light from being reflected in the scene after bouncing against the studio’s right wall.
Use opaque black material for your flags. DIY solutions include black fabric and cardboard. You can also use the black surface of commercial 5-in-1 reflectors or a black foldable background.
My 1-meter 5-in-1 circular reflector has a black surface, allowing me to use it as a flag.
For this setup, place a black flag on either side of the model, just outside the frame. They reduce light bouncing back into the cheeks, a technique called negative fill. Keep the flags out of the key light’s path unless you want them to cast a shadow.
Here is the subtle deepening of shadows on the model’s cheeks when adding flags to a single light setup.
The closer the flags are to the model, the more visible their effect.
Here is the 3D model for my Platon-inspired setup, including the background light and flags. Treat the simulation as a starting point. In my tests, the rendered shadows were often weaker than the shadows in the real setup.
The 3D model for a setup to recreate the Platon style I guessed by reading his images.
The image below shows the real setup I used in a workshop.
This is the real implementation of the virtual setup and the resulting image.
Take a Test Frame
Set the camera to manual exposure. For a starting test, try a low ISO and an aperture around f/5.6 to f/8. Keep the shutter speed at or below your camera’s flash-sync limit, then adjust flash power for the face. These are starting settings, not the settings used for every photograph on this page.
Check the eyes, the shadow under the nose, and the bright skin on the forehead. If the eyes are lost in shadow, lower or redirect the key light. If the cheeks are too bright, check for wall bounce and bring the flags closer. If the background washes out the shoulders, reduce its light before changing the exposure for the face.
Once the light is in place, talk to your model and try small changes in expression and chin position. Keep the focus on the eyes. The same setup can give a very different portrait when the expression changes.
How to Edit Your Portraits in the Platon Style
Here is a portrait straight from the camera. While the contrast is not as strong as in the photos we saw earlier, all the important features and basic contrast are there.
Image converted from unedited raw file.
You can see the darker cheeks, the bright face, a whiteish background with no light spilled over the model’s shoulders and the butterfly shaped shadow under his nose.
Let’s edit this image in Adobe Lightroom. The photographs below show the original workflow. In current Lightroom Classic, local adjustments are grouped under Masking, so the controls may look different from older tutorials.
1. Crop and Convert to Black and White
This image could benefit from a smaller crop to make the model more imposing in the frame. Next, convert it to black and white.
The face will become the focal point by cropping tightly on your model.
2. Whiten Background
After the black-and-white conversion, whiten the background without brightening the model. You can do this with an exposure brush in Lightroom. In Lightroom Classic, open Masking and choose Brush. Paint over the background, then increase Exposure and Whites only as far as the image needs.
Auto Mask helps confine strokes to areas of similar color, but inspect the hair and shoulders closely. Erase or subtract any selection that spills onto the model. Adobe’s Lightroom Classic masking guide explains these controls. A fixed Exposure +4 and Whites +100 is not a recipe for every file.
Tip: Turn on the highlight-clipping warning to show clipped highlights in red. Check that the warning stays off the skin you want to retain. A red warning is an exposure check; it does not prove that the mask follows every edge.
3. General Contrast, Brightness and Sharpening
In this example, the forearms are brighter than the face because they are closer to the light. That change in brightness draws attention away from the expression.
Use a separate brush mask to darken the forearms until they no longer compete with the face. Keep some shading so the arms retain their shape.
Now adjust the overall brightness and contrast. Lift the face enough to show its detail, deepen the cheek shadows, and check that the skin highlights still hold texture. You can use the tonal sliders or a curve. Stop before the shadows merge into featureless black.
Finish the eyes with restrained dodging and sharpening. Check at 100% view and reduce the adjustment if the eyes look unnaturally bright or develop halos.
In clockwise order, the results from 1. Whitening the background 2. Darkening the forearms 3. Brightening the image and boosting contrast 4. Dodging and sharpening the eyes
4. The Final Image
Here is the final image. I think it turned out quite alright.
Add Your Own Touches
There is nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from the work of other photographers. Learning new styles will help you improve your skills and knowledge.
But it’s important to add your own touch.
Getting in Close
While exploring this style, I found that the image we just finished editing could be much stronger if framed differently.
A higher-resolution file gives you room to crop your original image, but check how many pixels remain for your intended print or screen size. A tight crop always removes some of the recorded detail.
Once the lighting is in place, experiment with angles and subjects to find out what you like.
I prefer close-ups to wider headshots in this series. With so little in the frame, a change in expression becomes part of the composition.
Moving very close changes perspective: the nose or a hand near the camera can look larger relative to the rest of the face or body. For less exaggeration, step back and use a telephoto lens to keep the tight framing. A 200 mm lens is one option if you have enough room, not a requirement for this style.
The Middle Ground
To me, a middle ground between the close-up and the wide shot is not great. It loses much of the interest and strength typical of this style.
Don’t get me wrong. The image is still nice, just less strong.
Go Wide
A mezzo busto (half-bust) is an interesting way to photograph your model. The trick is to get up close and personal.
Try a wider view from a low angle and watch what happens to the pose. Hands held nearer the camera will look more prominent. You can use that perspective deliberately, or ask the model to bring the hands back if they dominate the face.
Go Wider
If you think you have gone wide enough, try to go wider still. You may be in for quite a surprise.
Props
You can also introduce some props to help set the mood and further characterize your model.
Conclusion
Start with the face: one key light above the camera, a small shadow under the nose, and enough contrast to define the cheeks. Then control the white background separately. Check the eyes and skin detail before you crop and edit.
Use the setup as an exercise in shaping light, then change the angle, expression, or framing to make the portrait your own. And if you prefer color, keep it. The same lighting can be the starting point for your next color portrait.
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