Basic Lights

Portrait Lighting

By observing how the light changes the form of the subject’s nose, chin, cheeks, and eyes, you can begin to understand what light is best for your sub ject. The following are some common setups. 

Side Lighting
For this setup, the main light is placed to the side of the subject (level with the face; note the catchlight in the subject’s eye on the facing page) and pointed to­ward their nose. The light illuminates half of the face, shadowing the other side.

Paramount (or Butterfly) Lighting
To place a butterfly-shaped shadow under the sub­ject’s nose, the main light is placed on axis with the camera and about two feet above the subject’s head. This style, popular in Hollywood in the ’30s and ’40s, accents the cheekbones, chin, and shape of the nose.

Rembrandt Lighting
Rembrandt lighting is characterized by a triangular highlight on the cheek. To achieve this, the main light is placed to the side of the subject and angled down from about two feet above the subject’s head. This is a classic style, but it may not be suitable for all faces.

Variations
Side Lighting Modified. Adding a second light opposite the main light illuminates the shadow area, creating two highlights on the nose and on the outside edge of each eye. This setup is common in low-end portraiture; it is easy and regardless of how your subject turns, the light will basically the same.

Rembrandt Lighting Modified
After looking at the different effects in this series, I felt Rem brandt lighting suited Brenda’s face. To soften the effect I used a Profoto three-foot Octagon soft box for the main light. I placed a silver reflector opposite the light to open up the shadow side, and added a round white reflector on the posing table to bounce light up and clean up the shadows under Brenda’s chin. For more dimension, I also added a strobe on the backdrop. This was placed on a floor stand with a 30-degree grid spot and some spun glass over the grid to soften the light.

Add a Reflector.
With any of these setups, adding a reflector on the side of the subject opposite the main light will open up the shad ows, reduce the contrast and capture more detail, changing the feel of the portrait.