I like this three quarter length photo that I took because she is looking directly at the camera, which shows she is engaged and se is in a posed position. She is surrounded by random objects around her which we attempted to convey a message of randomness. I like the contrast between her uniform position with a blank expression with the amount of objects around her.

I then edited another photo which is a full-body shot from these series of photos I took and made it black and white. I trialled this in black and white to see if this would help with the contrast of my models seriousness with the wildness of the background. I prefer these photos in colour so that you can all the colours of the objects.

This photo is a half body shot which shows my model in the same shot but at a closer up angle, this is a strong photo I think, but I think to improve she could be doing something in the photo for example, completing work or doing what she would be doing in her ‘natural environment’.

I like these half body shots of a teacher in her natural environment. She is teaching, which is her job. My model is standing doing her work by using test tubes and scientific equipment, her posing perfectly portrays what she does in her day-to-day life. I like the different colours such as the greens and reds, I think this is a good focal point for the picture. I also like the shadow behind her, I tried to maintain this whilst editing this photo.

After Before

I had to edit this photo and focus on increasing the brightness as I took it in an aperture which made the photo very dark.

I think that this photo is the strongest photo I took during this photoshoot. I think this perfectly shows a students natural environment around my model, I also think a big impact can be made from her standing in the middle of the street, making a full body shot. The way the world is still continuing around her but she is not reacting creates a powerful message for my environmental photography.

These photos had a white shadow reflecting on my model, due to this, I used Photoshop to attempt to edit and remove the white glint as much as possible however, this made the exposure very high and the photo very dark. This reduces the quality of the photo, however without this white glint I think this image of a guitarist learning a song could be very strong.

What is Chiaroscuro lighting?

A visual element originating from art, Chiaroscuro comes from the Italian word for light dark. In art however, it is defined as the bold contrast between light and dark.

First appearing in portrait paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries, Their birthplaces can be found in Italy and Flanders (Holland). In these paintings the subjects, in a dark environment, would be casted in a singular beam of light, that was emitted from an unseen source.

(These paintings were also attempted by a previously mentioned artist, Rembrandt, Who’s own lighting in art was stylised In photography also).

(Most likely the most famous example of Chiaroscuro, Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with the pearl earring’ 1665).

Origins in film –

Used by Hollywood, Chiaroscuro can be seen in elements of film noir, where it is used to emphasise Moral ambiguity, enigmatic presence and sexual motivation. Seen in old detective films from the 40’s and 50’s, its use can connote the idea of interrogation lamps casting a singular beam or street lamps illuminating one part of the sidewalk. It additionally has its roots in German expressionist cinematography.

(Noir detective films using Chiaroscuro).

Origins in Photography:

In Photography, Chiaroscuro lighting is used artistically to create dark and dramatic portraits of a subjects face.

It has been played around with since the invention of the camera, further exploring the same techniques of light seen in painting.

How to create Chiaroscuro lighting:

Light –

To take Chiaroscuro, either a constant or flash of key light must be on the subject.

Additional edits:

A black back drop is the best for this as it creates more of a stark contrast on the viewers facial features.

Additionally the option of a reflector to soften the light on the facial features is also available if the photographer is not opting to go for an extremely dark image.

Lens – Using 35mm or 55mm is the best Lens size for Chiaroscuro as close-ups are the main aim for lighting technique.

Examples of own work:

Why do we use studio lighting?

It improves the quality of your photos and can offer some creative assistance that can set your final product apart from others. They are a common sight in studios, and the variety of lights tell every one of them has a specific use for different kinds of photography. Using professional lighting equipment can give your photos a professional look that sets them apart from the rest. Also, It sets the mood, provides direction, shows dimension and texture, and creates the darkest shadows.

What is the fill lighting?

A fill light is responsible for exposing the details of a subject that fall in the shadows of the key light. It is the secondary light in the traditional 3 point lighting setup. The fill light is typically positioned opposite of the key light to literally fill in the shadows that the key light creates.

Butterfly Lighting

Butterfly lighting is a technique where the light source is placed directly above and slightly in front of the subject’s face, creating a small butterfly-shaped shadow under the nose. It can make the subject look thinner and their eyes appear larger. A butterfly lighting effect refers to the setup and not to the quality of light; it can be soft or hard light depending on the effect you want. This is one point lighting as only one light is used.

These are prime examples of butterfly lighting images.

This is the set up:

My take at butterfly lighting:

For these images, I think I did well getting the lighting in the right places making a butterfly effect under the nose and defining the cheek bones.

Rembrandt lighting

Rembrandt was known for his history paintings and portraits commissioned by patrons, but he also pushed forward the genre of self-portraiture. The Dutch Master didn’t let thoughts of anatomy override him, nor did he micromanage his strokes. Rembrandt made a stroke abstractly — as if he were not painting forms at all. As a result, the viewer sees the paint articulating as much information as possible. Because of this, Rembrandt’s work is very subtle.

Rembrandt lighting is a technique utilizing one light and one reflector or two separate lights. It’s a popular technique because it creates images that look both dramatic yet natural. Rembrandt made the pictures more tense and dramatic with sharp contrasts between light and dark. In portraiture, the eyes of your subject are mostly always the main point of focus in the image. The triangle of light, placed just below the eye on the shadow side of the face, will increase the emphasis and the viewer really will be ‘drawn in’ to your image.

This is the set up:

This is a professional picture using Rembrandt lighting.

As you can see, just below the eye, is a triangle shape. That is key in this style of lighting.

My take at Rembrandt lighting:

For this lighting technique, I found it a bit more difficult to get the lighting in the right place. It took several attempts, however i got there in the end.

Chiaroscuro lighting

Chiaroscuro is a lighting technique that utilises a low lighting setup to achieve contrast between the subject and a dark background. It emphasises and illuminate important figures in a painting or drawing. Chiaroscuro using one key light and a variation using a reflector that reflects light from the key light back onto the sitter. The term chiaroscuro stems from the Italian words chiaro “clear” or “bright” and oscuro “obscure” or “dark”, and refers to the arrangement of light and shade in a work of art.

This is the set up:

These are professional pictures using the Chiaroscuro lighting technique:

One side of the models face, will always remain darker with more shadows.

My take at Chiaroscuro lighting:

I liked this lighting technique the most as in my opinion it was the easiest. I like how one side of the face is light, and the other half is dark.

Three Point lighting

Three-point lighting is the standard form of professional lighting in video production and still photography. It involves using three light sources placed in three different positions. I used a light positioned in front of the subject, a light slightly behind the subject, and a reflector positioned just in front but placed to the side of the subject.

1 point lighting only uses 1 light source (usually a key light), this could be a light facing someone in a studio, or if someone is outside, the light source would be the sun. It is important as without any lighting you won’t be able to see anything and the photo would just be darkness.

2 point lighting commonly uses 2 light sources or a light and a reflector. It is usually placed at a 45 degree angle from the subject and usually uses a main light and a fill light.

Rembrandt lighting is a technique utilising one light and one reflector or two separate lights. It’s a popular technique because it creates images that look both dramatic yet natural. It’s predominantly characterised by a lit-up triangle underneath the subject’s eye on the less illuminated area of the face (fill side). One side of the face is lit well from the main light source while the other side of the face uses the interaction of shadows and light, also known as chiaroscuro, to create this geometric form on the face. The triangle should be no longer than the nose and no wider than the eye. This technique may be achieved subtly or very dramatically by altering the distance between subject and lights and relative strengths of main and fill lights.

Rembrandt lighting takes its name after Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, a 17th-century Dutch painter who was known for using earthy tones and golden highlights to frame the faces of his portraiture subjects. What made his painting style distinct was focusing lighting on the subject’s face and adding detail around it, tapping into an innate human attraction to the face. The Rembrandt lighting technique results in a moody and dramatic effect. This type of lighting technique often features a dark or black background behind the subject, putting the subject front and centre.

Rembrandt lighting technique is considered one of the go-to photography lighting setups because it produces a dramatic visual effect without requiring a lot of setup. A more sophisticated version of this setup includes a reflector, which brings detail back into the shadows on the subject’s face, but even this setup requires minimal tools and associated costs.

 For the single light method you will need:

• indoor studio environment
• off-camera light source with stand
• optional: 32″ – 42″ reflector or split light sources

At its most basic, 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 Photoshoot:

For this photoshoot, I took studio portraits using a Rembrandt lighting technique. In order to achieve this look, I placed my light source on a 45 degree offset from my subject (approximately). I then experimented with different distances and angles in order to get the most defined triangular shape I could possibly get. I had multiple attempts at this until I was satisfied with the final outcome.

Overall, I like how these images came out as I think I successfully managed to create a triangular shape on the majority of my images which is what I was trying to achieve. Additionally, I like the negative space in the background of my images which helps to draw the attention to the subject only. However, if I were to do this photoshoot again, I would try to get a more defined triangle shape and use Lightroom to enhance it even more. Additionally, to improve my final outcomes, I would make some of my images black and white as seen in traditional studio portrait photography.

Response to evaluation:

I decided to edit my images on photoshop in order to make them black and white as this was a common theme amongst the other images I saw online. I think I did this successfully and my final images came out similar to those seen on the internet. The black and white also helped to define my triangular shape created from the lighting setup as you can see the comparison more clearly and your attention is immediately drawn to the brighter side of the face rather than the different colours seen on her sweater etc.

Rembrandt Lighting Photoshoot 2:

For my second attempt at creating Rembrandt lighting, I decided to include more of my subjects body in it as the first set of photos only had their face/ upper body. I think these photos came out well as they are of good quality and you can see the triangular shape on the subject’s face, which is the main focal point in a Rembrandt lighting photograph. However, an improvement that I would make to this photoshoot is I would turn the subject on her side slightly in order to enhance the triangle shape seen on her face. Additionally, I would get her to experiment with her hands more and maybe place them on her face etc. Finally, to finish this photoshoot, I decided to edit my photos and make them black and white on photoshop.

Butterfly lighting is a lighting pattern used in portrait photography where the key light is placed above and pointing down on the subject’s face. This creates a dramatic shadow under the nose and chin that looks like a butterfly. One of the most famous photographers to use butterfly lighting was George Hurrell, who was known for his dramatic portraits of Hollywood stars, and since, the technique has grown more popular.

This creates a shadow under the nose that resembles a butterfly. It’s also known as ‘Paramount lighting,’ named for classic Hollywood glamour photography.

Some benefits of butterfly lighting is-

• It’s Perfect for Portraits. Butterfly lighting is often used in portrait photography, especially in headshots. …
• Create Different Moods. …
• Easy to Set Up. …
• It’s a Natural Look. …
• It’s Versatile.

Butterfly lighting is primarily used in a studio setting. It is named “butterfly” because of the butterfly shaped shadow that it creates just under the models nose. This occurs because of the lighting in the shot, comes from above the models head. Butterfly lighting is mostly used for portraits, as it is flattering on everybody.

Lighting set up:

Light – Butterfly lighting requires a key light that can be a flash unit, or continuous. If continuous, it can be artificial or natural, meaning you have a lot more choice in which lighting you think would benefit your photos a lot more. Butterfly lighting can be varied, soft or hard depending on the objective of the image.

Lens – The most popular lens used for butterfly lighting is between a 50 – 85mm lens. This helps the photo because it allows a larger depth of field.

My own photoshoots-

Within these photos, we placed the light in a 45 degree angle above the subject in order to attempt to get the shadow underneath the subjects nose. We attempted to get that strong eye catching deep shadow however we used a reflector in the set up which as shown above there is a significant better result without the reflector. I have therefore learnt for future photoshoots using this technique in order to improve and result in a better outcome without a reflector would be better. However within these images, I either increased or decreased the exposure depending on how exposed and bright the image was so it has the correct amount of brightness. I increased the contrast on both images so the image was more detailed and had high depth in the shadows which is needed for this lighting style. To emphasize this, I decreased the shadows just to add more eye catching and significance to the image but contrasted that with increasing the highlights so the image wasn’t too dark or dull as the contrast had been increased. Finally, I increased the whites and decreased the blacks so it had a perfect mix and balance of both. Overall I decreased the texture so the image looked a lot smoother therefore making the outcome look a lot more professional.

• Why do we use studio lighting? We use studio lighting as it allows you to capture a large number of photographs and ensure absolute light consistency in exposure, colour, and image quality. It can also give your photos a professional look that sets them apart from the rest.
• What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide / solve? One point lighting would involve just one light and this would be illustrated as the key light. The way in which we would utilise this light effectively would be to use a soft box in order to convert the light into a powerful diffusion light source.  It has the most natural look and can have a dramatic lighting effect. It also draws attention, but can give a person onstage a very flat, two-dimensional look. In a two-point lighting setup, two light sources are usually placed at 45 degree angle from the subject. One of them is your key light, which is the main light used to illuminate the subject, and the second is your fill light which helps to remove harsh shadows on the subject that are created by the key light source. Three-point lighting is a traditional method for illuminating a subject in a scene with light sources from three distinct positions. The three types of lights are key light, fill light, and backlight. Key light is the primary and brightest light source in the three-point lighting setup

What is fill lighting? A fill light is responsible for exposing the details of a subject that fall in the shadows of the key light. It is the secondary light in the traditional 3 point lighting setup. The fill light is typically positioned opposite of the key light to literally fill in the shadows that the key light creates.

Butterfly lighting is a portrait lighting order where the key light is placed above and centred directly to the subject’s face. Evidently it creates a shadow under the subject’s nose that creates a butterfly like shape. In other cases, butterfly lighting can also be known as ‘Paramount lighting,’ which is named for classic Hollywood glamour photography.

The set up for butterfly lighting.

Own experiments of butterfly lighting

Experiment 1:

Editing process:

For this photo I wanted to make the picture less bright and exposed, so i decreased exposure (-0.70) to make it less lit, increased contrast (+54) to sharpen the image, i decreased, highlights (-26) to make lighter parts of image darker, shadows (-40) to recover lost details, whites (-51) to strip the whites in the pictures and blacks (-67) to make image darker.

This is all I did to the image to enhance that butterfly lighting that was not as evident as it is now. I made this overly exposed picture a representation of butterfly lighting.

Before (left) and After (right)

Experiment 2:

Editing process: For this picture I decided to keep it just as it is. I didn’t want to change it as I thought that it represented that butterfly shape. I think that the picture looks great and doesn’t need any type of editing.

Experiment 3:

Editing process: For this picture, I decided that if I desaturated it to -100 it would help highlight the shadow under the subjects nose that butterfly lighting is know for. I also wanted to desaturate it to make it black and white to create more diversity in my work as I think that it is important to have diversity like coloured and desaturated photos because it shows you can be creative.

Before (left) and After (right)

Experiment 4:

Editing process: For this picture I decided to keep it just as it is. I didn’t want to change or alter anything within the picture as I thought that it represented that butterfly shape where it shows a well lit face with a shadow below nose that creates that butterfly shape. I think that the picture looks good and does not need any type of editing to it.

Presentation of outcomes

Evaluation and Critique:

Overall I think that my pictures look great. I was able to show that butterfly lighting where under the subject nose a butterfly like shadow is created through the use of a key light and a reflector.

I think that I created a diverse set of picture where it includes, black and white picture, different type of emotions and experimenting with the editing in light room.

When it comes to that bright and illuminated face, I think that I did really well with showing that illuminated face because as seen in my final outcomes, the subjects face is very illuminated and its evident that, that butterfly like shadow is created under the subjects nose.

However something that I could have improved was showing that butterfly lighting. I feel that in some of my pictures that butterfly like shadows isn’t as evident as I would like it to be. As seen on experiment 4, the butterfly shadow is barely there. I could improve this by moving the reflector around and taking pictures and seeing which position the reflector is set at, produces the best butterfly lighting.

Lastly another improvement my photos could’ve had was a darker background. When I was researching about butterfly lighting, lots of the pictures I saw the background was black and not white. I believe that it is easier to show that butterfly shadow using a black background instead of white. So next time I will try taking pictures with a darker background and I can do that by using a black back drop or lowering the ISO in the camera to around 100-125

Rembrandt lighting:

Rembrandt lighting is a form of art that takes advantage of one light and one reflector or sometimes two separate lights. It’s a known technique because it forms images that look both noticeable yet logical. It’s mainly famed by a triangle that is lit-up underneath the subject’s eye on the side of the face that is less illuminated.

The set up for Rembrandt lighting

Own experiments of Rembrandt lighting

Experiment 1:

Editing process:

For this picture I decreased exposure to make the picture a little darker to highlight the Rembrandt lighting on the left side of her face (-0.61) and blacks (-56) to make the darks in the picture lighter.

This was the only editing I did to this picture because I believe that this photo needed little editing to it as it already represented that Rembrandt lighting without it needing to be edited however I wanted to make the right side of the subjects face less bright and a little more warm.

Before (left) After (right):

Experiment 2:

Editing process:

For this picture I decreased exposure to make the picture a little darker to highlight the Rembrandt lighting on the left side of her face (-0.61) and blacks (-56) to make the darks in the picture lighter.

The editing for this picture is the exact same as the first experiment as I liked how the experiment turned out. I strongly believe that adding this small amount of editing hugely improved and enhanced the picture but still showed the sole purposed of the picture which was showing the art of Rembrandt lighting.

Before (left) and After (right)

Experiment 3

Editing process:

For this picture, I desaturated it (-100) to create diversity within my pictures and because I liked how the picture looked in black and white especially because it made the left side of the darker part of subject face even darker which was what I wanted to improve in this picture using editing.

Before (left) After (right)

Experiment 4:

Editing process: For this picture I didn’t edit a single thing in this picture. I thought that the picture really showed that Rembrandt lighting where a triangle like shape formed on the left side of the subject face or wherever the key light wasn’t directly facing at, hence why I didn’t feel the need to edit it.

Presentation of outcomes:

Evaluation and Critique:

Overall I strongly believe that all my pictures showed Rembrandt lighting. I came out with a diverse set of pictures. My pictures diversity include, black and white picture, pictures where lots of the subjects body is showing and pictures where it is a shoulder shot. This shows that I can be creative and produce a variety of different type of pictures that show Rembrandt lighting.

A strength I had was the fact that I was able to show that triangle figure below the less illuminated parts of the subject’s face. In all of my pictures I am able to show this perfectly which is something I am greatly proud of because it shows that I am able to replicate the famous triangle shape on the subjects face.

However a way I could have improved my pictures is by successfully creating an all black background which would greatly impact my pictures and make that triangle more evident and deep. In some of my pictures, I felt that the triangle and the other parts of the picture that are meant to be really dark are not as dark as I wanted them to be. I could improve this by using a black curtain in the background or by decreasing my ISO to around 100-125 so that it would make the background completely black and therefore make that triangle darker and even more evident.

Chiaroscuro is an Italian word that translates to Light and Dark. The effect is created by a light across the subject that goes in one direction and then a lit background positioned so that it is in a reverse direction. Ideally, the subject should go to black on the side that is unlit and it should stay the same for the background. The subject’s outline or shape, is clearly described because of the lit background even though its black on the unlit side. The word chiaroscuro came from painting. It was a job that joined a very strong contrasts of light and dark in an image so that it created a sense of volume and shape.

The setup for Chiaroscuro lighting.

Own experiments of Chiaroscuro lighting

Experiment 1:

Experiment 2:

Experiment 3:

Editing process: For these three pictures I kept them just as they are. I didn’t edit them because I though that it perfectly represented Chiaroscuro lighting as it shows the dark background and the illumination of the subject’s face. Although the background could possibly be darker, editing it would negatively effect the subjects illuminated face. So changing this picture would only do harm to it and strip that Chiaroscuro lighting from it.

Experiment 4:

For this picture I kept it just as it was because I think that shows chiaroscuro lighting because of the black background and the illuminated face.

Experiment 5:

For this picture, I desaturated it (-100) to create diversity within my pictures and because I liked how the picture looked in black and white especially with the illuminated face and the dark background.

Presentation of outcomes

Evaluation and Critique.

Overall, I think my pictures look great. I believe that in most of my pictures I was able to show that chiaroscuro lighting that we we’re meant to show. My pictures have that black background that chiaroscuro is meant to have and that illuminated face.

The quality of my pictures are high. They are focused and have no type of blurry parts showing in the pictures and due to this the quality of my pictures is good.

However in some of my pictures I feel like they could show more of that illuminated part on the face and also have a more evident dark side on the face. For an example on my experiment 4, the left side of the face could have been darker by moving the key light more to the right side of the subjects face and same goes for fifth experiment. Adjustments like this would’ve massively impacted the photo and increased that chiaroscuro lighting slight more.

Another improvement I could’ve done in my 1-3 experiments was the fact that the background could’ve been a little darker. The way I could make the background darker is putting a black curtain in the background to make sure that the background is fully black. I could also bring the key light closer to me from where I was taking the picture and also bring the key light closer to the subjects face and facing it more so that it was closer to the centre of their face but not completely centred to the subjects face.

Photoshoot 1

This is my first photoshoot taking mainly photos using Rembrandt lighting but also some with Chiaroscuro, I have taken 64 photos, using these techniques in my first photoshoot, and now will eliminate ones I don’t want or like, then save the ones I want to edit.

Once I rejected the ones I didn’t want from this photoshoot I was left with 21 photos I can now edit.

Photoshoot 2:

In this photoshoot I did similar things but tried with butterfly lighting a chiaroscuro lighting more, now I am picking what are the best.

After deciding which ones I liked I ended with 12 as there was lots I felt didn’t fit in with the lighting technique.