Tutorial 136 - Rembrandt Lighting
Added 2016-05-21 01:17:25 +0000 UTCRembrandt lighting is commonly used in portrait photography and painting, cinema, animation and manga.
A triangle of light appears on the less illuminated side of the face, as form shadows generate compositionally interesting interactions of light and dark shapes. This is sometimes called chiaroscuro, a term which usually referrers to the strong contrasts of light and dark shapes, how they effect the composition as a whole, and how they establish a sense of three-dimensional volume.
If analyzed a little closer, the triangle shape appears to be present and repeated in a variety of ways across the subject. For a quick example of the triangle as a powerful compositional shape see this tutorial: https://www.patreon.com/posts/tutorial-6-shape-4125847
Rembrandt lighting tends to feel the most natural of lighting setups and has been used successfully in cinema for over a hundred years. It is still the go-to lighting for most directors and artists today.
Comments
Hey Ben, thanks for asking. Reading back I forgot to mention the triangle of light is found on the *cheek* of the shaded side. Rembrandt lighting almost always has this triangle showing, though it might be quite faint. And the answer to your last question is yes, that half lighting is particularly interesting, quite natural looking and looks good on most faces. :)
Nathan Aardvark
2016-05-24 17:18:10 +0000 UTCI'm not sure I'm quite following here...by "A triangle of light appears on the less illuminated side..." are you referring to the triangle created by the nose bridge shadow, and perhaps under the jaw and lips? So the lighting is really about having a light slightly above and to the side of the face, casting half of it in shadow, but still enough in front of the face to show hints of the other half?
Ben Tan
2016-05-24 05:48:35 +0000 UTC
