The letter

One letter a week, starting soon.

The week's signal, what the makers shipped and what the reviewers found, and the editor's note. No tracking, no ads, nothing else.

We keep your address, your language and the date you joined, nothing else. Every letter has a one-click unsubscribe link that deletes the record.
Light in depth4 min read

LESSON 62

Studio lighting setups

Rembrandt, butterfly, split, loop, clamshell, rim.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. One light, many patterns
  2. Butterfly and clamshell
  3. Loop and Rembrandt
  4. Split, broad and short
  5. Rim light and the origin of a name
  6. In practice: building a setup

One light, many patterns

Most named portrait setups are patterns made by one key light, and they differ mainly in how far the light sits to the side of the face. The PhotoWorkout guide to lighting patterns describes them as a range from directly in front of the subject, which gives butterfly light, to 90 degrees to the side, which gives split light. Height and the size of the light change the quality of the shadows, but the angle sets the pattern. Fill, from a second light or a reflector, then decides how dark the shadows stay. Lesson 07 explains why bigger sources give softer shadows; lesson 35 covers portraits in general.

Butterfly and clamshell

Butterfly lighting places the key light in front of the face, above the camera or a little to one side, and higher than in a standard three-point setup. Its sign is a small shadow under the nose shaped somewhat like a butterfly, with light on the forehead, nose and upper cheeks. It was a favourite of the Hollywood portraitist George Hurrell, which is why it is also called Paramount lighting. A fill, often a reflector, can go directly below the camera. When that second source sits under the chin to wrap the face, the PhotoWorkout guide calls the variation clamshell lighting, and recommends it for very even, polished beauty work.

Loop and Rembrandt

Move the key light further to the side and the nose shadow starts to slant down across the cheek. In loop lighting the shadow forms a small loop beside and below the nose without touching the shadow on the cheek; the 500px guide suggests starting about 30 to 40 degrees to one side and adjusting to the face. Move further, to about 45 degrees and higher, and the nose shadow meets the cheek shadow, leaving a lit triangle under the eye on the darker side. That is Rembrandt lighting, named after the painter. The Wikipedia article says the triangle should be no longer than the nose and no wider than the eye, and that a fill at about half the key's power is typical.

Split, broad and short

At 90 degrees, roughly at eye level, the key light lights one half of the face and leaves the other in shadow, with the dividing line running down the nose. This is split lighting, the most dramatic of the standard patterns. Two related terms describe which side of the face you light when the head is turned. In broad lighting the lit side of the face is the one turned toward the camera, which makes a face look wider. In short lighting the shadowed side is nearest the camera, which slims and sculpts the face and adds contrast. The 500px guide describes both.

Rim light and the origin of a name

A rim or back light sits behind the subject, usually to one side, and draws a thin bright outline that separates the person from the background and shows contours. It is the third light of three-point lighting. The film director Cecil B. DeMille is credited with first using the term Rembrandt lighting, while shooting The Warrens of Virginia in 1915. When his business partner Sam Goldwyn worried that exhibitors would pay half price for a film with half-lit faces, DeMille called it Rembrandt lighting, and, as the story goes, Goldwyn was relieved that exhibitors would pay double.

In practice: building a setup

This section is working practice. Start with one light and no fill, and walk it slowly from in front of the face to the side while the person stays still. Watch the nose shadow move from butterfly through loop and Rembrandt to split. Stop where the face looks best. Then add fill with a white card until the shadows are as dark as you want. Add a rim light last, behind and to one side, and check that it does not spill onto the lens and cause flare. Take a frame at each step so you can compare them later.

Try it today

  1. 01Seat a friend facing the camera and put one light in front of them, a little above.
  2. 02Move the light around the face in steps of about 15 degrees, taking a frame at each.
  3. 03Name each pattern from the nose shadow: butterfly, loop, Rembrandt, split.
  4. 04Add a reflector below the chin for clamshell, then a rim light behind.
  5. 05Turn the head and compare broad and short lighting from the same light.