Rembrandt lighting consists of a single light source placed on a 45 degree offset from the subject, about 5 feet away. Positioned roughly two feet higher than eye level, the light source is angled slightly downward and hits the side of the face that is farthest away from the camera.
Rembrandt lighting is characterized by an illuminated triangle (also called “Rembrandt patch”) under the eye of the subject on the less illuminated side of the face. It is named for the Dutch painter Rembrandt, who occasionally used this type of lighting.
REMBRANDT
He was a master of the chiaroscuro technique. And he often used this kind of light in his paintings, particularly in his self portraits.
Looking at his paintings, you’ll notice a single-light portrait lighting. How the short lighting hits the subject’s face is interesting.
As you can see from the image above, this lighting setup is a split light setup. It creates a triangle of light under the model’s eye on the shadowed side.
Rembrandt lighting is a dramatic light. It is one of those moody setups that plays with chiaroscuro. This technique from paintings uses the sharp contrasts between light and dark.
My take on Rembrandt lighting
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