3-point lighting

Resource: http://www.diyphotography.net/3-point-lighting-technique

Key light: the most important light, provides the most light on subject, you place it at a 45 degree angle to the subject and aimed at the face.

Fill light: is a softer light than the key light, placed opposite side of the key light, same height as the camera, but at a 15 degree angle. This light make the other side of the face look different but not completely lost in the shadow.

Back light: lights the space behind and above the subject, sometimes called the hair light because it is aimed from behind the subject and illuminates the hair, it can also spill light onto the background.

-see the above website for how this is set-up-

You don't have to have a complete light kit to make this work. You can use natural light from a window, lamps, a white board.

(There are other lighting fundamentals such as a kicker light, but start with 3 point lighting first.)