Reflector: Flat devices, mostly white, silver, or gold, that redirect the sun's and other source's rays. Lighting with reflectors is like lighting with lights - except no cables. Just cloud and wind worries.
Butterfly: A slightly high-angle, slightly Diffused source, cen-tered on a (frequently female) subject's face to minimize nose shadow, skin texture, and double chins and emphasize cheekbones and beauty. See also: On-the-nose Key* Loop:Loop lighting is made by creating a small shadow of the subjects noses on their cheeks. To create loop lighting, the light source must be slightly higher than eye level and about 30-45 degrees from the camera (depends on the person, you have to learn how to read people’s faces). Rembrandt: The dramatic emphasis of a few planes or features of the subject by using Accent Lights or shadowing devices that keep the rest of the scene very dark. Split: Split lighting is exactly as the name implies – it splits the face exactly into equal halves with one side being in the light, and the other in shadow. It is often used to create dramatic images for things such as a portrait of a musician or an artist. Split lighting tends to be a more masculine pattern and as such is usually more appropriate or applicable on men than it is for women. Keep in mind however, there are no hard and fast rules, so I suggest you use the information I provide here as a starting point or guideline. Until you learn this and can do it in your sleep, default to the guideline whenever you’re not sure. |
Rim light: Subjects appear to have seen the light, then turned their back on it. Angle: The source looks down the barrel of your lens when the subject moves; sometimes several sources are aimed at the subject from wherever they can be hidden, more or less behind the subject.
Back light: Back Light separates subject from background, saints from sinners, and one pro from another. Angle: toward the lens from above and behind the subject, or above, behind, and slightly to the side of it, high enough to cut lens Flare. It is especially helpful for video images that may suffer loss-of-edge contrast. Sins: confusing this source withBackground Light, and, for Motivation purists, using it at all. Tip: Smoke, steam, and other Translucent subjects adore Back Light of almost any color. Broad light: Typically, a semi-hard, non-focusing light with a wide Beam Angle. Unlike a true Soft Light, direct illumination from the Lamp is not blocked and the Aperture is usually smaller Short light: Short lighting is the opposite of broad lighting. As you can see by the example here, short lighting puts the side turned towards the camera (that which appears larger) in more shadow. It is often used for low key, or darker portraits. It puts more of the face in shadow, is more sculpting, add 3D qualities, and is slimming and flattering for most people. |