Lighting Techniques and Experiments

Rembrandt lighting is a lighting technique that is used in studio portrait photography. It can be achieved using one light and a reflector, or two lights, and is quite popular because it is capable of producing images which appear both natural and compelling with a minimum of equipment. The technique is characterised by an illuminated triangle under the eye of the subject on the less illuminated side of the face. It is named after the Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, who often used this type of lighting.
In order to achieve Rembrandt lighting, normally, the key light is placed high and to one side at the front, whilst the fill light or a reflector is placed half-height and on the other side at the front, set to about half the power of the key light, with the subject, if facing at an angle to the camera, with the key light illuminating the far side of the face.
The key in Rembrandt lighting is creating the triangle or diamond shape of light underneath the eye. One side of the face is lit well from the main light source whilst the other side of the face uses the interaction of shadows and light, also known as chiaroscuro, to create this geometric form on the face.
The triangle should be no longer than the nose and no wider than the eye. This technique may be achieved subtly or very dramatically by altering the distance between subject and lights, as well as relative strengths of main and fill lights.

Butterfly lighting is another lighting technique commonly used in studio portrait photography. It is also variously referred to as 'clamshell lighting', 'glamour lighting', 'beauty lighting', or 'paramount lighting'. At its most basic, butterfly lighting consists of a single light pointed directly at the subject straight on, and raised high enough to create a downward shadow on their face. This causes a little 'butterfly' shadow to appear directly underneath the subject’s nose.
Often, the butterfly lighting setup is augmented by a reflector or fill light placed in front of the subject, located underneath and just outside the frame of the shot. This is so that some light will be bounced up into the subject's eyes, as a light at such a high camera angle generally causes the eyes to appear very dark without it.
This technique is considered the 'fashion' lighting setup. Often times, this is considered a flattering look for young women. It is especially well-suited to women with narrow faces and high cheekbones, but because there is very little shadow cast on the face, it can add weight to subjects with rounder faces. Additionally, the lack of shadows means that it is unsuitable for subjects who have skin problems, facial scars, facial hair, and other inaccuracies. Although it is occasionally used as a fashion setup for men, it is so commonly used in women's fashion photography that it has become 'synonymous' with women's glamour lighting, so much so that even people who do not pay much attention to such things may still consider portraits of men with butterfly lighting applied as being 'funny', even if they cannot articulate why. Furthermore, the lack of facial shadow that is cast by the light is generally not especially flattering unless the man’s features are somewhat feminine already.


Split lighting is also a lighting technique often used in studio portrait photography. It is constructed with a single light source placed 90 degrees offset from the subject at a position a bit higher than eye level, lighting one half of the face, and leaving the other in shadow. One of the advantages to using the split lighting technique is that there is only need for a single light. Therefore, this setup benefits the photographer greatly if they are a beginner in the subject, and do not have the budget for a full light kit.
Overall, split lighting is considered a very 'moody' lighting option, and so it is generally used when the photographer wants to create a strong sense of drama with the image. It is less frequently used in portrait photography because generally people want to see a subject’s whole face in a picture, although it does appear in fashion for commercial and advertising photography every few years. The technique is often referred to as the 'comic book villain' lighting style, and indeed, many comic artists use this technique when they are portraying villains in their comic books. Whereas other lighting setups are much more common, and the vast majority of portraits will use almost anything other than split lighting, the technique is labelled as an 'accent' lighting choice.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt_lighting
https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/6772/what-is-butterfly-lighting-and-when-do-i-use-it
https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/6656/what-is-split-portrait-lighting





Within the first screenshot, an illuminated triangle can be seen underneath the right eye on the darker side of the face, creating a Rembrandt lighting effect.







For the second screenshot, a downward shadow is projected onto the face, causing a 'butterfly' silhouette to appear directly underneath the nose, creating a butterfly lighting effect.







In the last screenshot, the right side of the face is obstructed in shadow, whilst the left side is lit brightly, creating a split lighting effect.