In just the right glamour portrait, however, it can convey attitude. Another
situation where this might be useful would be in hiding a facial flaw.Facial Lighting Patterns.
In addition to the basic lighting strategies discussed above, I also use three
facial lighting patterns: loop, butterfly, and Rembrandt. All three have their
place, with loop lighting being my default style. Compared to talking about
scantily clothed, vivacious women, this may be sounding a little dry—but
bear with me. Your clients will love you for knowing this.
Loop Lighting.Loop lighting can be either short or broad. If you place
your main light at a 45-degree angle to your subject and slightly above eye
level, you’ll create a shadow on the opposite side of her nose. If it’s done
correctly, the shadow will form a semicircle that extends down to about
halfway between her nose and lip.
Butterfly Lighting.To create butterfly lighting, start with your main
light in the loop-lighting position, then move it higher and toward the cen-
ter of the subject’s face—almost on axis with her nose. This pattern gets itsFLATTERING FACES AND FIGURES 43FACING PAGE—This high contrast black &
white image of Shannon is about attitude—and
the split lighting emphasizes this. BELOW—
Miranda’s portrait shows that the loop-light
pattern can be applied at just about any angle.