Lighting for different looks

Rembrandt?  But I am not a painter!

There are many different ways to light your studio portraits.  I want to cover some of the more popular ones, as well as how to employ them in your photography.

Rembrandt Lighting - Rembrandt lighting when properly employed will result in a triangle forming under the eye of the subject, on the shadow side of the face.  Depending on how much contrast you want in the shot you can use a reflector on the shadow side or nothing at all.

Typically you would set your main light at a 45% angle to your subject and if you are using a reflector you would set that up opposite of the main light to fill the shadows.  Adjust the lights as you need to in order to get the desired look.

Butterfly Lighting - Butterfly lighting creates the shape of butterfly shadow directly beneath the nose.  To create this type of light the nose should point in the direction of the light.  The light should be elevated high enough to cast a downward shadow.  I typically use only the hair light and set it above the head pointing at the subjects face and adjust the intensity based on how heavy I want the shadow.

Flat Lighting - This type of lighting is when there are no shadows on the faces of the subject.  It is commonly used by studios for standard portraits.  To achieve this type of lighting you set two lights at a 45% angle to your subject.  I usually also add a hair and a back light to this type of shot in increase the depth of the portrait.

Low Key - This type of lighting accentuates the contours of the subjects face by creating shadows which are controlled by how much fill is used to open those shadows and control the amount of contrast.  Rembrandt lighting is a type of low key lighting.

High Key - This method uses unnaturally bright lighting to blow out most or all harsh shadows in an image.

It is very effective in highlighting your subject, and is also a good way to highlight and showcase various types of  products.

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What's the difference?

Head Shots, Portraits, Etc.

I browse websites and look at photos friends and colleagues ask me to review.  Often they use terms for photos and poses incorrectly.  It may not seem important at first, however there is a method to the madness.

Head Shots

These are probably the most miscategorized.   A head shot is exactly that.  They are usually required by the acting industry.  They should be cropped tightly (from the collarbone or just below).  The mistake often made when shooting this type of shot is the cropping.  Although it is not an absolute rule you should try to show both ears in the photo.  Head shots are used for a variety of media, (auditions, resumes, annual reports).  With this in mind you should pose your subject with an expression that will best reflect its intended use.

Portraits

Portraits have a broader spec and give the photographer more freedom in cropping and posing.  Typically the crop drops down to just below the breast.  For woman you may drop down a little farther.  Keeping the shoulders at a 45% angle works best to keep your subject in proportion, however you have much more freedom to express your creativity when shooting portraits.  As such your goal should be to create an image that enhances your subject in the best possible light (pun intended).

A subcategory here is a hand pose.  You can bring the hands up to the face, or in a longer shot have the subject hook their thumb in their pants pocket which is a good male pose.  It usually means having more of the subjects body in the crop.  This is a nice addition to any session and adds a different look and dimension to your portrait.

Full Length

I seldom take full length standing photos of any one except a bride.  In fashion standing poses are used more often to showcase clothes, shoes and accessories.  But keep in mind that Full Length does not mean standing. It means the entire subjects body is showing in the image.  I often have the subject on a table or sitting on the floor.  Then I crop so that their entire body is in the shot.  Doing this allows for more creative ways to pose someone.

You can get more information on posing techniques in my previous blog Posing like a Pro

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