From classic Rembrandt styles to more modern alternatives, our cheat sheet shows you 24 different lighting setups
(Image credit: DCW)
One of the great pleasures of portrait photography is the ability to transform the mood and look of an image with just a small tweak to your lighting setup. Outdoors, for instance, you might rely solely on ambient light, use one of the best flasguns for better balance, or bounce natural or artificial light with a reflector to soften shadows.
Indoors, where you can fully control the lighting, your creative possibilities expand even further. As shown in this cheat sheet, you can achieve stunning results with just one light and create incredible effects with two. While having the best mirrorless camera and best lens for portraits can help, it's how you use your equipment that truly makes the difference.
Do you use one light or several? Where should these be in relation to your subject? Should they be modified with an accessory of some sort or simply used as they are? And should you light your background too?
Fortunately, there are several tried-and-true lighting styles that are easy to implement. Even with just a single studio light and an accessory like a softbox or umbrella, you can start experimenting with simple techniques like Rembrandt lighting, which features one side of the face brightly lit while the other remains in shadow.
Introduce a second light and perhaps another accessory, and you can explore even more styles. For instance, you can achieve nearly shadow-free results by strategically placing the lights or illuminate the background to make your subject stand out. You can even add colored gels to create something more creative and unconventional.
Click the top-right-hand corner of the sheet below to get it in high resolution –and make sure to bookmark us and check back for more great photo cheat sheets!
The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera Magazine, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, Digital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.
