Chiaruscuro Is an Italian word used to describe the use of light in dark in artwork. It combines the Italian words: “chiaro” meaning “clear” or “bright,” and “oscuro” meaning “obscure” or “dark.” 
There were a few famous artists at the time Chiaruscuro was introduced but none were as good as using it than Caravaggio.

Chiaroscuro lighting technique was used in films very commonly. As shown in the photos above, it’s common that the lighting used is natural light coming fro, certain places such as through a window or a gap where the sky is visible.

Chiaroscuro examples in cinema

• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• The Third Man (1949)
• Apocalypse Now (1979)

How to set up a Chiaroscuro Lighting studio:

By using artificial light with aid of a flash, Chiaroscuro lighting is very simple to create. The shutter speed should be set very high to remove any ambient lighting. this means any light picked up will only be from the flash. Light cross your subject from only one direction. this is usually taken from the side or on an angle.

My Chiaroscuro Lighting photoshoot editing:

This is an example of Chiaroscuro lighting as the side of her face closest to the light. I placed the flash light at an angle to capture this type of lighting. I think the position of the subjects head also adds to the lighting as all the light is absorbed by only one side.

I decided to make this photo black and white to further show the contrast in the light and dark.

Though many Chiaroscuro lighting photos are edited to black and white, there are still some that remain in colour. For this photo I decided to keep it at the original colours so that I have a photo that differs from the rest.

I like this photo because the subjects face is directly facing onto the camera but the positioning of the light is still managing to capture the contrast of light and dark.