24 Portrait Character Lighting Setups |Photography |Cinematography
Art of Lighting a Character to create different modes and Dramatic looks
The lighting setups shown below describe different lighting situations photographers may use in studio or outside to properly light a subject for a portrait photo. Note that those setups should serve more as guidelines, not as strict rules. The illustrations don’t make a difference between hard and soft lights either; experiment with both to see which ones are suited better for a specific situation. (The Number 24 is not the Fixed Number as it depends on the Photographers & Cinematographers, As I shown these 24 Popular Lighting setups which are used in many Film, Feature, Gaming production houses as per my study and Knowledge.)
Lets start our travel through the different lighting portaits and their lighting setups and how they are making different from one another.
1. Rembrandt Portrait Lighting
Rembrandt lighting its name from the Dutch painter Rembrandt. Rembrandt van Rijn was a master of the chiaroscuro technique. And he often used this kind of light in his paintings, particularly in his self-portraits. Rembrandt lighting will draw the viewer’s attention where the light a small inverted triangle of light is visible under the subject’s eye. This is because of the contrast between the dark and the light. It also adds a mysterious feel to the image. Shadow of the nose and cheek do not touch, in Rembrandt lighting they do meet which creates that trapped little triangle of light in the middle.
Position the Light high and to the side to create a triangle on the Model’s cheek. The Shadow of the Nose should point towards the edge of the lips. A Softbox creates a Soft directional effect.
2. Rembrandt Brolly Portrait Lighting
3.Rembrandt HoneyComb Portrait Lighting
4.Rembrandt Broad Portrait Lighting
Following Principles of Rembrandt Lighting to create the Triangle of Light on the Face. where the shadow of the nose and cheek do meet.(Closeup Light)
Position the Model’s Head at an Angle, and light it from the Opposite Side, So the Side of the Face closer to the Camera is Lit.
5.Rembrandt Short Portrait LIghting
Following Principles of Rembrandt Lighting to create the Triangle of Light on the Face. where the shadow of the nose and cheek do meet.(Close Shade)
Position the Model’s Head at an Angle, and light it from the Opposite Side, So the Side of the Face closer to the Camera falls into shade.
6.Split Portrait Lighting
Split lighting is a photography lighting technique. The light source that illuminates the subject is perpendicular to the model. This setup lights up half of the face while keeping the other half shadowed. You “split” the lighting on your subject’s face.
The strong side lighting emphasizes the texture of the skin and the details of the face. The contrast and texture in split lighting portraits often make them very intense. It gives photos a sense of power, assertiveness or conviction.
You can also use split lighting to emphasize glamour. Split lighting is a classic portrait lighting pattern. It is also quite easy to achieve.
HOW: Place light to the side of your subject so that it shines directly at his/her face. You want the light to be at a 90-degree angle to the direction your camera is facing. This can be either to the left or to the right of your model. we have placed softbox to create it.
7. Split Fill Portrait Lighting
Position the light to the side of your subject at 90-degree angle to the direction your camera is facing that it shines directly at his/her face and other side of face lit by soft fill, Shadow line running down the centre. we have placed softbox as Key and Umbrella or Reflector as fill to create this look.
8. Split Broad Portrait Lighting
Following the principles of the Split technique Position the Model’s Head at an Angle, and light it from the Opposite Side, Position the light so the Closer(Broad) side is lit and rest of face is in Shadow.
9.Split Short Portrait Lighting
Following the principles of the Split technique Position and light it from the Opposite Side, Position the light so the Far(Short) side is lit and rest of face is in Shadow.
10.FAR KEY Portrait Lighting:
Dramatic look either by Rembrandt or Loop effect in which subject is lit by Far key causes Hard Shadows.
Position the softbox above and to one side of the model at far distance to the subject Which creates Dramatic look with Harder shadows of nose above the lips.
11. CLOSE KEY Portrait Lighting:
KEY CLOSE: Dramatic look either by Rembrandt or Loop effect in which subject is lit by Close key creates Softer Shadows.
Position the softbox above and to one side of the model at Near distance to the subject Which creates Dramatic look with Softer shadows of nose above the lips.
12. HIGH KEY Portrait Lighting:
Images which are often interpreted at youthful, timeless, upbeat and optimistic. Adjectives like clean, uncluttered, light, airy and beautiful come to mind. High key can be achieved by overexposure, over lighting certain aspects of the image, or post-production techniques like dodging or manipulating tonal curves. Skewing the mid tones of an image brighter or darker can be done at the time of capture or in post-production in order to achieve the desired high key Look.
A few things that typify a high-key photo:
- Bright lighting that greatly reduces and sometimes eliminates shadows
- A dynamic range that is predominately toward the right side of a histogram.
- Images where the “mood” is typically upbeat, light-hearted, ethereal, “airy” or beautiful.
- Typical uses are in high-fashion, product, or studio-produced images. Lesser so, but not totally non-existent, are high-key outdoor and landscape photographs.
- Lighting where the ratio between the key and fill light is very close, thus the root of the term “high-key.”
- Distracting elements in the background get eliminated, and typically high-key images contain only the main subject. High-key images are often Minimalist. Many times, the background is entirely white.
Monochrome high-key is more prevalent, and when there is color used, it is typically subdued or used as an accent.
13. LOW KEY Portrait Lighting:
Low Key images are often thought of as dramatic and bold because they have a lot of contrast. They can be ominous and mysterious because the darkness obscures.
Low key is opposite to the High Key in that a combination of under lighting, under exposing, and post-production burning or levers and curves manipulation are used to make the image predominantly dark.
- Background needs to be dark, usually dark grey or black, and the tone of the clothing will be of a darker tone. They don’t need to be black strictly speaking.
- Move the light to the side
- Add a grid to the light By adding a grid to the light, you can control the light even more. The grid restricts the light to whatever is in front of the light only, none bounces around or spills out the sides.
- Add light onto the hair
You should set your lighting to create drama. Take your cues from film noir. The photos don’t need to be in black and white, though. However, you may find that the absence of color in low key images can lend itself to this look. As well as choosing dark clothes, avoid ones with patterns, as this will draw attention away from the face.
14.Key Kickers Portrait Lighting
Creating a Dramatic look by placing the Two softboxes as Kickers slightly behind the subject. Place a Hard Key Light from one side facing to the Subject.
15. Badger Portrait Lighting
Which is similar to the Flat Light- Setup. To Create the Striking shadow, Simply move the evenly positioned lights behind the subject. This can give quite a Masculine look, and Works well with Male subjects.
16. Clamshell Portrait Lighting:
Process of lighting is when the photographer uses two frontal light sources to illuminate the subject, helping to minimize shadows and often giving a glowing effect. Though usually achieved by using studio strobes, it can also be achieved using constant studio lights.
17. Butterfly Portrait Lighting
Butterfly Lighting (or Paramount Lighting) comes directly in front and above the subject’s face. This creates shadows that are directly below the subject’s facial features. The most notable shadow, and where this lighting pattern gets its name, is a butterfly shaped shadow just under the nose. It is also called “Paramount Lighting” because this lighting pattern was used heavily in the Paramount movie studio of old Hollywood.
Butterfly Lighting Placement: Start the key light in the flat light pattern, then raise the light up until you see the “butterfly” shaped shadow under your subject’s nose. Angle the face of your light so it points at your subject. The only difference between flat lighting and butterfly lighting is the height and angle of the Key Light. This creates the same flattering features as flat lighting but includes shadows underneath the nose and chin.
This lighting pattern is usually used in beauty shots when a reflector is added underneath to soften the shadows.
18.Flat Lighting Definition:
Flat lighting faces directly into the subject from the angle of the lens. Flat lighting is the least dramatic lighting pattern because it casts the least amount of shadows on the subject’s face.
Flat Lighting Placement: Angle the light so it lays “flat” on the face. This makes it a very flattering light for portraits because it decreases wrinkles and imperfections. Also, when using flat light, remember to light from slightly above the subject’s face. Lighting from below will create an unnatural and unflattering look. Placing a Second light and Softbox for this setup, and position both lights set at the same power each side of the subject at the same distance and angle, and at Head height as we can see lack of shadows.
19.Loop Lighting Definition:
Loop lighting is probably one of the most common key lighting patterns. It falls right in the middle between flattering flat light to dramatic split light.
This setup is similar to Rembrandt but rather than creating a Closed Triangle of light on the unlit cheek, the shadow from the nose should create a loop pointing towards the corner of the Mouth.(Nose Shadow & Cheek shadow do not meet)
Loop Lighting Placement:
Loop Lighting evolves from Butterfly Lighting very simply. If you already know how to get to Butterfly lighting, all you need to do is move your light around the subject until you get roughly 25°-50° to the left or right and angled down to the subject’s face.
Mainly it is same as Rembrandt lighting but where nose shadow and , cheek do not meet.
20. Loop Rim Light Portrait Lighting.
Following principles of Loop Lighting with Added Rim on Side face & Hair.
Placing a Loop Light facing Subject and Adding Rim on Hair | One side of Character to give some Definition.
21. Loop Background light Portrait Lighting.
Following principles of Loop Lighting with Added Extra light to lit the BG
Placing a Loop Light facing Subject and Adding Extra Light to Lit the BG to give some Definition & Dramatic Look.
22. ColorGels Portrait Lighting :
Process of using color gels(is a transparent colored material that is used in theater, event production, photography, videography and cinematography to color light and for color correction or color filter) to lit a Character also known as Colorgel Lighting, .
The great way to unlock the mysteries of white light. When you master lighting with color gels you are actually mastering white light photography.
23. Shatner Portrait Lighting :
Bar of light across the face or eyes of a character.
Care is to be taken: — The bar of light can be more or less sharply defined, or even abstracted as a soft pool.
The general rule :- The sharper the dramatic emphasis, the sharper the shatner. Sharp or subtle form, this technique allows a clear read of a dramatic moment without resorting to a full frontal light, and coupled with rim lighting can be visually pleasing. Craige’s Blog(expandedcinematography.com)
24. Counter Change Portrait Lighting:
Below are the some examples of Counter Change lighting concepts (It has been used in many movies and really helps to build the composition) Cinematography in movies) — — chrisbrejon, jamesgurney.
Credits:- Charater model : Eisko.com (Lousie)
References:
https://www.slrlounge.com/
https://expertphotography.com/split-lighting
https://digital-photography-school.com/6-portrait-lighting-patterns-every-photographer-should-know/
http://unfilmschool.com/production/the-hollywood-lighting-technique-that-will-completely-transform-your-cinematography-and-how-to-master-it-in-about-5-minutes/
https://digital-photography-school.com/making-low-key-portrait/
http://scottfaber.com/high-key-low-key-portraits/#
https://bdmpublications.com/understanding-high-key-portraiture/
https://portraiturebyemilyblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/badger-lighting/
https://blog.123rf.com/colored-gel-photography-trend/
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