Rembrandt lighting

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The typical Rembrandt lighting setup.

Rembrandt lighting in photography is a lighting technique that is sometimes used in studio portraiture.

The key in Rembrandt lighting is creating the triangle or diamond shape of light underneath the eye usually furthest from the camera lens. One side of the face is lit well from the main light source while the other side of the face uses the interaction of shadows and light, also known as chiaroscuro, to create this geometric form on the face.

The triangle should be no longer than the nose and no wider than the eye. Rembrandt lighting is a combination of short and butterfly lighting-- and as such it is actually the eye closest to the camera (on the broad side of the face) that should have the triangle of light. The narrow side is illuminated. This technique may be achieved subtly or very dramatically by altering the distance between subject and lights and relative strengths of main and fill lights. It is a common photography technique.