Understanding lighting patterns in order to create powerful, dynamic portraits.

Portraits are not only vital towards being true to capturing a special moment, but also to capture the personality of the model being photographed. By using lighting, one is able to create powerful images through several techniques that I was able to work with to practice this past week. 

Split Lighting

Split lighting does what the name says; split the face in half with the light you have. While not necessarily my favorite type of lighting for portraits, it’s powerful and dynamic. It creates a fantastic composition and can highlight strong features or even hide other features that may be desirable to do so.

Loop Lighting

The loop lighting technique is created by making a loop with the light around the shadow cast by the nose of the model. This lighting is very common and is good with either harsh or soft shadows.

Rembrandt

Rembrandt is named after the famous painter who studied and bended light to his will in his paintings. He was famous for creating the triangle of light on the cheek of his subjects and this technique is used heavily in film and photography as a means of lighting people in a very flattering manner. This style is my personal favorite, especially with soft shadows as Rain is demonstrating here.