As you progress through your photography program, you'll be introduced (or have already been) to a number of different lighting schemes. Each type of lighting set-up has a different name. When choosing a lighting scheme for portraits, it's important to note the following aspects: lighting ratio, lighting pattern, facial view, and angle of view. The term "lighting pattern" refers to how light and shadows fall on the subject's face.
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| Photo By: Darlene Hildebrandt of Her View Photography |
The four most common lighting patterns are called: Split, Loop, Rembrandt and Butterfly Lighting. These are terms that will be used throughout your courses, particularly PH136: Lighting. Two other terms that you should become familiar with are: Broad and Short Lighting, which are more so styles that can be used with the four patterns. In the photograph above, you can see all of the different patterns and styles; moving from left to right:
(1) Broad (2) Loop, (3) Rembrandt (4) Butterfly (5) Short (6) Split
Darlene Hilderbrandt of Her View Photography wrote an excellent article titled "6 Portrait Lighting Patterns Every Photographer Should Know" and published it on Digital Photography School. To read Hilderbrandt's article, click "here".
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01. Hildebrandt, Darlene. "6 Portrait Lighting Patterns Every Photographer Should Know." Digital Photography School. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.