Research: studio portraits lighting

Rembrandt Light

This lighting technique is named this way due to the Dutch painter Rembrandt often used in his paintings. This is the most exciting and demanding position key light. The technique is a variation of the sidelight where the shadowed side of face captures a little illumination small triangle below the eye 'Rembrandt triangle'. To create this natural, dramatic effect is to move light source up and a little back towards camera.

Frontal light

This technique not that fussy as you need to place light just above camera, this should give hardly any shadow just a small one beneath chin.

Slight light


For this technique to be effective you move lighting down to get shadow under chin has gone and move light sideways. This creates a soft growing shadow on side of face but don't move light too far so that subject won't get shadow on nose. Doing the side light  it should show a three dimensional and shaped the face.

High Frontal light

Need to keep the light above camera and slowly move upwards and start to see growing shadows. Shadows firstly appear underneath chin then get more and more on the nose and stop within the eye socket. High Frontal lighting is another name for 'glamour lighting' to use for a flatter face and appear leaner which works best for oval shaped faces and strong cheekbones. Another term of this lighting technique 'butterfly lighting' that refers to the shadows formed below the nose making an image of butterfly wings.