What is Rembrandt's lighting method?

Rembrandt lighting technology relies on strong side light to make any side of the subject's face show a triangular shadow. It can split the subject's face in two and make the two sides of the face look different. If you use uniform overall lighting, both sides of the subject's face will look the same.

This lighting technique is quite effective because it highlights the subtlety of each face, that is, the two sides of the face are different. The lighting effect can also be adjusted arbitrarily with auxiliary light according to the photographer's wishes. Although Rembrandt's Gao Fancha lighting is very interesting, by properly using the reflector and auxiliary light to minimize the contrast, we can achieve the effect of enhancing the whole portrait, thus making extraordinary works. Generally speaking, Rembrandt-style lighting needs two lamps. After improvement, three light zones are added to adjust the contrast. Among the two lighting lamps, a 650-watt timely main lamp (A) is placed at the upper left of the photographer and directly shines on the right side of the subject's face, just like a soft light auxiliary lamp (B) in front of him, except that the latter is placed on the photographer's left. A white strip reflector is placed on the left side of the main body.

It can reflect some light to the case that the face is not illuminated. The lighting lamp (C) can shine light on the face of the subject through the reflector, which weakens the obvious Rembrandt triangle and brightens the overall tone of the portrait.

When shooting, first turn on the 650 watt main light (A) and adjust its angle, so that the Rembrandt triangle light is projected on the dark side of the subject's face. Then turn on the main soft light (B) on the front and aim directly at the bright side of the subject's face. It can illuminate the face of the subject and increase the depth, but the triangular bright area is still obvious. Try to turn the subject's head until the light from Rembrandt Triangle shines on his cheek just right. And asked the subject's chin to tilt downward. The next step is metering, choosing the combination of aperture and shutter of the camera. Finally, check the background to see if the lighting will leave a bright spot on the background, causing the camera lens to glow. It is also important to talk with the subject easily at the beginning of shooting, so that he can relax and smile. It must be remembered that in portrait photography, it is important not to let the effect of a skill exceed the expressive force of the subject's face.