Butterfly lighting is a vertically overhead lighting setup which acts to emphasise the cheekbones of the model, so called because of the shadow it creates under the nose, which resembles a butterfly shape. It can also be known as ‘paramount lighting’ or ‘glamour lighting’.

It allows the photographer to create shadows under the cheekbones and make the model appear thinner.

It is possible to use either hard or soft key light with this technique depending on the effect you are looking for.

The difference between soft light and hard light is found in the distribution or concentration of light in a particular area. Therefore to soften the light, it is typical to use a softbox to diffuse, an umbrella to diperse or a beauty dish to smooth. To harden the light, you can either use the unmodified key light or attach a grid spot.

It is recommended to use a reflector under the model’s face to ensure that the shadows created in the eye sockets are not too severe and do not hide the eyes completely.

The colour of the reflector is important as a warm one will add a tan effect to the model’s face whereas a cold one will be more neutrally effective.

Above is an example of a soft butterfly effect in an image taken by me in the school studio. It is very subtle but you can see that the shadows are present below the nose, brow and cheekbones as is found with this technique.