This document discusses different types of lighting techniques used in photography, including low key lighting, high key lighting, soft lighting, and hard lighting. It then describes several portrait lighting techniques such as edge lighting, Rembrandt lighting, and butterfly lighting. Understanding different lighting techniques allows photographers to identify the style of images they like and apply similar lighting in their own photos, helping them develop higher quality images and analyze their work more critically.

1. Lighting in
Photography

2. Types of Light – Lighting in Photography is usually classified by
the size, the strength, the amount of sources or the direction of the light.

3. Low Key Lighting

4. Low Key Lighting
Low key lighting is produced from
only one source of light, rather
than traditional 3 point set ups. It
produces high contrast and is a
fairly easily achieved.

5. High Key Lighting
High key lighting is a technique which illuminates any sense of
direction and is considered low contrast. High key lighting is a type of
soft light and often produced by multiple sources.

6. Soft Light
Soft lighting is a type of
lighting which is produced
when the source is much
bigger than the subject.
This usually results in a
low contrast. The sun of
course would be a form of
soft light.

7. Hard Light
Hard light casts
shadows and usually
produces high
contrast and areas of
darkness.
Hard light is the opposite of soft.
This occurs when the source of
light is much smaller than the
subject

8. Portrait lighting
techniques

9. Edge Lighting
Edge lighting has very bright
highlights and very dark
shadows, therefore the
contrast is high.
To create Edge light you
must place the key light
parallel to the subject (90
degrees) and positioned at
the same height as the
subjects eye. The subject
must be positioned to not
face the light source.

10. Rembrandt lighting
Rembrandt lighting is
similar to Edge but is
characterised by an
illuminated triangle under
the eye of the subject, on the
less illuminated side of the
face.
The key light source is
positioned at a 45 degree
point in regards to the
subject and angled at a 45
degree angle pointing at the
subject. The height of the
light should be atleast one
foot above the subjects head.

11. Butterfly lighting
This technique takes the key
light up much higher than
the subject and is shooting
down onto them to cast a
butterfly type shadow on
their face. Notice there is no
catch light in the subjects
eye.
The key light is about 2/3
foot higher than the subjects
head and angled at a 70/80
degree angle, so the light
beams down onto the
subject.

12. Why do we need to know this?
We can study images we like the look of and be able to identify their
technique and mimic it in our own images, developing higher
quality images for our final piece.
Reflect on our own images critically and identify strengths and
weaknesses and technical understanding.
Insert key terminology into our written studies when analysing. This
will tick the higher grade boundaries by demonstrating good or even
sophisticated levels of technical understanding.