Four portrait lights, one softbox
Butterfly, loop, Rembrandt and split are the same light in four places. Pick one on the strip and watch the softbox walk round the clay head.
- Light
- one softbox, 30 cm, 5600 K
- Camera
- 85 mm, f/5.6, 1.07 m from the face
- Backdrop
- grey, 1 m behind the head
- Made in
- Blender Cycles; a synthetic clay figure, not a person
Butterfly light
The softbox high and straight in front, above the camera.
- Angle
- straight ahead
- Height
- 77 cm above the eyes (35°)
- Distance
- 1.34 m from the face
What to look for
The nose casts a small butterfly-shaped shadow just below it and the cheekbones stand out (also called Paramount light).
Seen in the atlas
In Hollywood glamour portraiture. Ruth Harriet Louise, Greta Garbo, 1927. Wikimedia Commons, public domain (PD-old-80-expired). Source
Loop light
The softbox about 35° to camera left and a little above the eyes.
- Angle
- 35° to the camera’s left
- Height
- 52 cm above the eyes (24°)
- Distance
- 1.29 m from the face
What to look for
The nose casts a small loop of shadow towards the corner of the mouth that does not join the shadow of the cheek.
Seen in the atlas
In Daguerreotype portraiture. George Hurrell, Ramon Novarro, The New Movie Magazine, February 1930. Wikimedia Commons, public domain (PD-US-not renewed). Source
Rembrandt light
The softbox high and about 60° to camera left.
- Angle
- 60° to the camera’s left
- Height
- 84 cm above the eyes (40°)
- Distance
- 1.31 m from the face
What to look for
The shadows of the nose and cheek meet and leave a small triangle of light on the cheek of the shadow side, under the eye.
Seen in the atlas
In Hollywood glamour portraiture. Laszlo Willinger, Lauren Bacall, Modern Screen, March 1946. Wikimedia Commons, public domain (PD-US-no notice). Source
Split light
The softbox directly beside the face at camera left.
- Angle
- 90° to the camera’s left
- Height
- 7 cm above the eyes (3°)
- Distance
- 1.30 m from the face
What to look for
One half is lit and the other half is in shadow.
Seen in the atlas
In Subjektive Fotografie. A photograph in the atlas shows it but is in copyright: Bildnis Hell-Dunkel.
Add one light at a time
The same three objects with one light, then two, then three. Watch the shadows open and the edges appear. Plans to scale, seen from above.
-
One light
A softbox high at camera left, no fill.
-
Key and fill
The same key, plus a large dim fill at camera right (about 4:1).
-
Three-point
Key, fill and a gridded strip light behind at right as a rim.