I've been trying to work on my lighting technique and thought I'd take a chance and post some pictures for C&C. I was trying to light with Rembrandt in mind. These were shot with a single 580ex into a reflected (not shoot through) white umbrella with a black cover. I'm looking to improve anything whatsoever so all C&C are welcome.
I think you would be better to post in people with these same questions. The photographers there are very good with lighting since thats 90% of portraits. Just post with your questions and you will get good feedback.
I like the lighting in 2, 3.
1 is too bright on her hair for my taste. I don't think the light should be so obvious which it is in 1.
Brad -- although you did ask about Rembrandt lighting, I'll also comment about facial views. Remember in creating a portrait of a subject we are concerned with the mask of the face which in 1 and 3 is not really viewed but shows more the top of the subjects head.
So before discussing lighting, lets first start with Facial Views of which there are only FIVE. These include -- 2 of the 2/3 view (one showing the short side of the face or the other showing the broad side of the face), 2 of the profile view (either side of the face) and the Full Face view.
I won't get into further discussion of FV's unless requested alter except to mention that the profile shown is not a "true" profile because you can see part of the far eye and all you want is EXACTLY one side of the face to show.
Now to get Rembrandt lighting the light is positioned high and to one side of the face so that the nose shadow meets the cheek shadow on the opposite side to the highlight side and an inverted triangular patch of light is created on the shadow side of the face.
unless you have a modeling light, it is very difficult to create proper Rembrandt lighting which is one reason the most popular type of lighting used by wedding photographers or those working with portable flashes doing portraits is known as modified butterfly lighting.
If desired more discussion of that can be done too.
Now if only I could figure out how to subscribe to a topic as this is my first venture into this forum. Hope the info is of value.
Thanks for the comments. I didn't even notice that the light was so bright on her hair. It's good feedback as I'm "training" my eyes to see these nuances.
mur_phy - welcome to the board. To subscribe (and thus get e-mail notifications of new messages in a topic) click on the subscribe button on the top left of the original post. That easy.
thanks too for the detailed explanation of Rembrandt - that detailed bit of info help solidify the difference between Rembrandt and the modified butterfly.
Brad
btw. i'm going to move this to the People Photography board
a couple of additional points re lighting of the face
as mentioned it is difficult to create Rembrandt lighting without a modeling light but modified butterfly can easily be created using any electronic flash setup.
to do this create the pose desired with usually a 2/3 facial view and then move yourself to look at the subject full face even though you will be photographing the subject in a 2/3 facial view.
Now, place the light an arms length to the left of the subject with the light crossing the body if photography a Bridal portrait or directly to the body for the male or male oriented pose for the female.
Raise the light to about 18" above the level of the subjects head -- use an umbrella to obtain a nice soft light source.
Move back to camera position for the 2/3 facial view and take the photo.
Now for those that desire to have a nice profile. Leave the light and simply move the camera position so that only one side of the face shows. Likely a reflector will be required to create a nice lighting ratio.
Lighting and camera position can be adjusted to the opposite sides for both 2/3 and profile views. Remember, the profile can have 4 total views because the head position can be different whether the front of the body or the back of the subjects body is toward the camera.
Take some time to test this out and you will discover it is quite easy to do. The nice thing about digital -- no expense and immediate results. Post some images if you want additional assistance.
