Contact sheet:

Rembrandt Lighting:

In the early 20th century in Hollywood, spotlights were introduced which created Rembrandt lighting. Rembrandt lighting is named after Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, a Dutch painter.

It lights the face up so an upside down triangle appears under the subjects eye. Rembrandt lighting draws the viewer to the image as the triangle adds emphasis to the subject. It can make the portrait appear more dramatic which will attract the viewer to the portrait.

Above is my attempt at Rembrandt lighting technique. In my opinion this isn’t a bad attempt as you can see the triangle under the subjects eye. However, you can’t really see her left eye. If I angled the reflector in a different way the light would be highlight her eye which would improve the overall outcome.

Butterfly Lighting:

Butterfly lighting was invented by Marlene Dietrich, a German silent film actress, in the 1930’s after it was presented on a film.

Butterfly lighting gets its name from the butterfly-like shadow under the subjects nose. Butterfly lighting makes the model look thinner as it highlights their cheekbones and jaw line.

Above is my attempt at the butterfly lighting technique. Overall I don’t think it’s a bad attempt as you can see the butterfly shadow under her nose and her left cheekbone is defined. However, I think that if the subject was on a straight on angle looking directly at the camera then the final outcome would be superior as the right cheekbone would be more visible.