These three images illustrate two different lighting styles. The two images on the left are both split lighting--the main light is positioned at the side of the subject so roughly half the face is lit by it. The photo on the right is an example of rembrandt or 45-degree lighting. The light is coming from about 45 degrees above the subject's face, and about 45 degrees to the side of the the face. The triangle of light on the left cheek is a giveaway here.
All three of these shots use fill-in lighting, from a second light. One way to confirm that is by looking for highlights in the eyes even when the mainlight doesn't strike both eyes. The shot on the left was a little underexposed, creating the very moody affect, with the shadows especially dark. The three shots also represent narrow lighting. That is, the shadow side of the face is toward the camera, the lit side is away from the camera.
These shots were made on Ektachrome 100 professional film, using standard 3200-Kelvin studio floods, without any filtration. Not an ideal way to go, and even with Photoshop it is difficult to filter out the overly yellow-orange color inherent in incandescent lighting. These photos were taken during an in-class lighting assignment. The students had not yet learned posing or portrait techniques.
Last updated and copyright 17 April , 2000, Wayne Brink