Lighting a Portrait Sarah Parks Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 1
Introduction There are many interesting ways to light a subject for portrait painting. Certain lighting will elicit different responses from the viewer. If you want to have drama in your work, you might want to have lighting that captures the most contrast with very light lights and dark darks. But if you'd like a more wistful or gentle look, light your subject with a lower light to give you less contrast. So it helps to determine beforehand what kind of feeling you'd like to evoke in your portrait. There are five common portrait lighting setups in photography, and these are based on the placement of the main light relative to the subject and camera. I also elaborate on a few additional lighting approaches. In most portrait situations, the subject will be pointing his or her nose to one side of the camera or the other. This will mean that the camera will see more of one side of the face than the other. The more exposed side of the face is termed "the broad side" and the less exposed side of the face is referred to as "the short side." Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 2
Broad Portrait Lighting Broad portrait lighting is when the main light is illuminating the more exposed or broad side of the face with the shadow from the nose being cast onto the short side of the face. Notice the highlight is just above the right brow or on the cheekbone, which tells you the light is highlighting the more exposed side of the face, which is facing toward the main light, while the nose faces away from the camera and the light. This lighting technique helps to widen an overly thin face, and as it somewhat flattens the illusion of depth, it deemphasizes facial features. Silver- haired Lady by Sarah Parks Leah by Sarah Parks Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 3
Short Portrait Lighting Short Portrait Lighting is where the main light is coming from the far (or short) side of the subject (the part of the face you don t see as much of: in this case, the left side), leaving the broad or large side mostly in shadow. But this lighting is characterized by a patch of light running down the broad side of the face (in this case, the right). You will notice the subject s nose is facing the same side the light is coming from. The camera is aiming at the broad side. Brayton by Sarah Parks Lovely Girl by Sarah Parks Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 4
Although these portraits look identical, if you look closely you ll see it seems that w ay because of the camera angle and position of the mannequin. Actually, the lighting is quite different. The left picture shows Broad Portrait Lighting because the light is hitting the broad side of the face. Remember, the camera determines which side is broad side because whatever side of the face is more visible is the broad side. In this case, it s the right side. In the left- hand photograph, the light is coming from the right, hitting the broad side of the face, while in the right- hand photograph, the light is coming from the left, hitting the short side of the face, or the side of the face you don t see as much of. Both lighting approaches offer interesting sketching opportunities, unique from each other. Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 5
Rembrandt Portrait Lighting Rembrandt used this high kind of lighting effect in many of his paintings because of his studio skylight. It s like short lighting but the shadow from the nose actually connects with the shadow on the broad side of the face, thus creating a triangle of light on the broad side of the face on the crest of the cheekbone. The shadow of the nose must connect with the cheek shadow to be considered Rembrandt lighting. Black Velvet by Sarah Parks Italian Girl by Sarah Parks Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 6
Split Portrait Lighting Lighting only half the face is another way to dramatize a portrait. The main light must be positioned far off to one side of the subject. There is no patch of light appearing on the dark side as in, for example, Rembrandt lighting. With split lighting, it doesn t matter if the nose is pointing straight at the camera, or if the lit or shadowed side of the face is facing toward the camera, as long as half the face is in shadow. In addition to narrowing a broad nose, the dramatic lighting this creates is also useful for hiding any cosmetic defects on the shadow side of the face. At the Bannister by Sarah Parks Mason and Marina by Sarah Parks Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 7
In these two photographs, again, the camera angle and pose are identical, but can you tell which shows Rembrandt Portrait Lighting and which shows Split Portrait Lighting? Remember, Rembrandt Portrait Lighting always leaves a triangle of light on the shadowed broad side of the face because the shadows of the nose joins with the shadow of the outer cheek. Split Portrait Lighting completely splits the face with half in shadow and half illuminated. If you guessed Rembrandt on the left and Split on the right, you are correct! Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 8
Butterfly Portrait lighting Butterfly lighting is a softening, glamorous style of lighting a face. It gets its name because of the shape of the shadow created directly beneath the nose. When the nose is pointing in the direction of the light and the light is high enough, hitting the sitter right between the eyes to cast a downward shadow, a subtle and symmetrical butterfly of light is created with the bridge of the nose as the axis for the "wings" of light that spread over the cheeks. The face that benefits best from this light is the well- proportioned, oval face. The model does not always have to be facing the camera straight- on. Here you can see Butterfly Portrait Lighting at an angle. Slightly different shapes than in a frontal position. Longing by Sarah Parks Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 9
High Overhead Portrait lighting This lighting occurs when the light source is very high higher than in Butterfly Portrait Lighting. It casts strong, concealing shadows in the eye sockets, which intimates a sense of secrecy from the subject. It s quite a provocative lighting choice and can take a subject from open and straightforward to moody and mysterious. The Godfather films are perfect examples of this kind of lighting. You can see from the reflection on Marlon Brando s forehead just how high the light is placed. Moving the light even slightly to the side will cast one half of the face strongly into shadow. Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 10
Toplight Portrait Lighting If you position your light source up high and a little to the back, you won t get quite as strong shadows as in High Overhead Portrait Lighting (think The Godfather ). The light will fall a little more softly and luminously on the top of the hair and shoulders. It allows for the lighting on the face to be a bit more diffuse so you can still distinguish the features without having harsh shadows on the face. This is less conventional portrait lighting but can be interesting. Here s a tip: This lighting is tricky in photography because unless you can suspend the light source, it will show up in the photograph. But with portrait drawing or painting, you can just leave that out. Very convenient! Of course, windows are easy and beautiful sources of this kind of lighting. Wistful by Sarah Parks Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 11
Double Portrait Lighting This type of lighting is not generally used in paid commission work, but it s worth mentioning as it could make for a compelling figurative. You get this lighting when you have two strong light sources, each directly to the side of the subject s face. Depending on where you position the light sources, the shadow that is created down the center of the face will be broad or narrow. If the light sources are directly beside the face, the shadow will be narrower, whereas if you have the two light sources a little to the back, the shadow across the center of the face will be wider. Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 12
Some considerations when lighting your portrait would be... How high should you position the light? Well, that depends on the specific subject and the look you re going for. The works of many painters are recognized by how they prefer to light their subjects. Some artists like a dramatic lighting with eyes in shadows that are cast from the brow bone. That is with very high lighting. Some people have deeper eye sockets than others so if you re not going for High Overhead Lighting, it might help to lower the light a little to avoid casting a shadow from the eye socket onto the eye. It's also nice to position the light to a point that the nose shadow is cast not too far downwards, especially for sitters who already have a long nose. Visually, a long nose shadow can make the sitter s nose appear much longer than it really is. I also think most artists like to see both eyes lit. There is such beautiful detail in the eyes eyes are the windows to the soul after all and they can tell so much about the subject. Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 13
The Diffuser: A Different Look Your photograph will look completely different depending on whether or not you are using some sort of a diffuser. A diffuser softens the light so the shadows are not as harsh. You can buy professional diffusers for your camera so you can use a flash but what I use is a diffuser for my lamp. You can also just use a piece of typing paper or card stock and tape it to your light source. Without a diffuser With a diffuser Sarah Parks http://drawingartinstrution.com 14