1. Studio Lighting Techniques
-Rembrandt
-Butterfly
-Edge
Of course whilst shooting these techniques you must consider what
Aperture, Shutter Speed and I.S.O to use to gain the correct exposure. It
should look as it looks to your eye.
This is the last of the 3 technical inductions
1.Relatioship of Aperture, Shutter speed and I.S.O
2.Night Photography
3.Studio Lighting techniques
2. Portrait lighting techniques
Portrait lighting techniques can hugely influence the connotations of an image.
It is all dependent on what degree angle the light is positioned, the height of
the light in regards to the subject and the degree angle the light is pointed
upon the subject.
3. Key light
Highlights, lowlights
Degree angle of light
Contrast
Portrait Lighting Key Words
Height of the light
Fill light
Hard/Soft Light
Degree angle of the position of light
4. Rembrandt lighting
Rembrandt lighting is a lighting technique that is used in studio portrait
photography. It can be achieved using one light and one light and a reflector
(fill light) and is popular because it can create images with considered
lighting by using a minimum of equipment. Rembrandt lighting is
characterized by an illuminated triangle under the eye of the subject, on the
less illuminated side of the face. It is named after the Dutch painter
Rembrandt, who often used this type of lighting.
5. Rembrandt lighting set up
Umbrella key light
source is positioned
at a 45 degree point
in regards to the
subject and angled Subject
at a 45 degree angle
pointing at the
subject.
The height is around a
Reflector
foot and a half above
the subjects head
Camera
Note the subject is not looking or body pointing into the camera
The single light source is sometimes counter balanced with a reflector (Fill light)
placed approximately 45 degrees offset to the shadowed side of the face. This
reduces contrast and begins to light the image softly rather than hard.
6. Butterfly Lighting
This technique takes the key light up much higher than the subject and is shooting
down onto them to cast a butterfly type shadow on their face. It is thought to
project
more glamorous and complimentary connotations than other techniques. As you
can see it was often used on 1950s film stars.
7. Butterfly Lighting technique
The subject looks and the
body is positioned straight
Into the lens, the camera
Is directly in front of them
The light is position, again, directly in front of them, but obviously not in the way of the
camera
The key light is about 2/3 foot higher than the subjects head and angled at a 70/80 degree
angle, so the light beams down onto the subject.
8. Edge Lighting
Edge lighting is slightly more dramatic than Rembrandt and hugely more so
than Butterfly. It defines and separates one side of the face from the other more
obviously. The highlights are lighter and the low lights darker, therefore the
contrast is higher. The first two images below show the technique can fall into
the low key lighting family if the key light used is from a small source and your
studio is pitch black. Image 3 is Edge lighting used from a soft light in a studio
with natural light present.
9. Edge Lighting Set up
Direct the subject to look the specific direction (25 degrees)
So the light source will only capture half of the face
Again you can add
The key light is fill light in the
parallel to the form of a reflector.
subject (90 degrees) Where you place
and positioned at the reflector will
the same height as dictate the
the subjects eye strength of the
contrast.
10. Your task
1)In groups of 4, capture perfectly lit and exposed (correct use of the
three key settings) portrait images via the;
Rembrandt technique with and without fill
Butterfly technique without any fill
Edge technique with and without fill
2)Demonstrate and reflect upon your studio set up for each image via
a establishing shot and multiple stills images, if you wish, in
combination with a written element.
3)Show any technical errors via a print out image and discuss why
and how they are flawed and how you put this right.
Tip;Print your (5) perfectly lit images via a Kiosk or Photo printer,
and the error images within your reflection can be printed on
college/regular printers