How to Photograph Portrait Lighting Patterns
Have you ever wondered what Rembrandt lighting means? Well, let me ‘shed some light’ on this topic!
Rembrandt lighting is a special way for artists and photographers to dramatically light the face. Check out the lighting on a 100 dollar bill. Do you see the triangle of light on the shadowed side of Benjamin Franklin’s face? This is Rembrandt lighting. I created this handout to help my Comm 316 Professional Imaging students learn the four basic lighting patterns: Split, Rembrandt, Loop and Butterfly.
I asked Emily Johnson to test it out on my TA, Megan Kelly, and take some portraits to illustrate each pattern. They were able to come up with these great examples, so I created some diagrams and descriptions to show how to angle your light for each lighting pattern and designed a simple infographic. You may use a speedlight or continuous light. An affordable way to see how the light falls before you shoot is with a 160 LED dimmable light from the Portable Lighting Kit on my Gear Page.
I would love to hear what you think of this information. Is it helpful?
Caryn, thanks so much for this! Very helpful!!!
You are welcome, Christina! Thanks for letting me know it is helpful. Have a great week!
This is awesome! Very helpful reminder for every photographer. Thanks for posting this.
I have to remind myself too when I shoot portraits to use these techniques to create some nice shadows. Great to hear from you AJ!
Just came across this. Extremely simple but great example of basic lighting. This gives a good foundation from which to experiment. Thank you.
Just came accross this great lighting guide.I have always struggled with lighting and this guide will definitely help. One question, how dark does the room have to be to get these effects?