2. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
What is portraiture?
“A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or
other artistic representation of a person, in which
the face and its expression is predominant. The
intent is to display the likeness, personality, and
even the mood of the person. For this reason, in
photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot,
but a composed image of a person in a still
position. A portrait often shows a person looking
directly at the painter or photographer, in order to
most successfully engage the subject with the
viewer.”

3. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Key aspects of portrait
photography
• “Catchlights” - ‘sparkle’ in the eye. This
implies innocence
• “Eye-level” - Insure the level is the same as
this can create the illusion they are powerful
or week.
• “Ensuring the eyes are sharp” – show
emotion, talk to people looking in their eyes.
• “Contrast” – make sure the background is a
clear colour or not distracting.

4. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Key aspects of portrait
photography
• “Natural pose and communication” – doing this make
sure the model feels natural and comfortable.
• “Background” – insure colours are correct and not too
distracting.
• “Focal length” – use long focal length. Min 18mm lens.
• “Aperture” – use appropriate aperture to insure the image
is sharp. Min f5.6 – f11
• “Composition” – eliminate head room, too much space
above could have been used below (chest) use rule of
thirds.

5. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Split Lighting
 What is it?
 Split lighting is one of the most
basic lighting set ups used in
portrait photography. A light source
is placed 90 degrees from the
subject, usually slightly higher than
eye level and lighting one side of
the face therefore leaving the other
half of the face in shadow.

6. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Rembrandt Lighting
What is it?
 Rembrandt lighting is similar to split lighting, one
side of the face is light but unlike split lighting,
the other half of the face is immersed with
shadow with a triangle of light just under the eye.
Why is it an effective lighting method?
 A Rembrandt lighting set up is simple to do and
can create a moody tone to the image because
one half of the face is shadowed.

7. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Butterfly Lighting
What is it?
It is where a light is placed behind the
photography, directly facing the individual, this
technique insures the subject is lit all the way
around the face.
Why is it an effective lighting method?
This method allows for an even lighting across
the face, which can be used when producing
imagery of an older individual.

8. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Backlighting (Rim light)
What is it?
Backlighting means the main light source is behind
the subject. It is illuminating a subject from the
back.
Why is it an effective lighting method?
 It is used by many photographers to create a
certain look to the images, it creates a “halo” effect.
Most of the time, facing the sun causes people to
squint and creates an unflattering lighting
therefore, facing people with their back to the sun
creates better images.

9. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Hi-key lighting
What is it?
 Hi-Key lighting is used to create a good
mood within the image, this particular
lighting method insures there are no
shadows on the subject and this is
particularly noticeable when the subject is a
person. Hi-Key produces soft, bright and
low contrast images and the lighting ratio is
around 1:1. therefore, all that’s left within
the image is the strong details of the
subject.

10. PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Lo-key lighting
What is it?
 Low key lighting creates deep
shadows around the structure of the
subject where the lighting ratio is
very high. It is a moody and dark
lighting to create emotion or mood
within the image.