How to Set Up Rembrandt Portrait Lighting

Rembrandt portrait lighting is a technique in photography named for the famous Dutch painter.

Rembrandt portrait lighting is a photographic technique named for the dramatic lighting effects used by the Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn. He used this style of lighting in the 1600s to create naturalistic shadows in his oil-painted portraits. Rembrandt's portraits and self-portraits are some of his most famous works. Rembrandt controlled the light sources in his studio by opening and closing windows and overhead skylights to direct the rays of sunlight onto the faces of his subjects. Rembrandt's technique is used extensively by studio portrait photographers and movie makers.

Things You'll Need

• Camera
• Model
• Studio lights
• Reflector

Instructions

1. Pose your sitter in a dimly lit room. Shoot after dark to prevent strong sunlight from streaming in the windows, as it will interfere with your artificial lighting. Keep the room dark for a heavily shadowed background that will cause a strong contrast with your well-lit portrait sitter. Set up a backdrop or arrange your background to remove any unnecessary visual clutter. Add elements to your picture such as furniture or a still life in the foreground.

2. Plug in your studio lights and test them to make sure the bulbs are good. Turn the sitter's face to get a two-thirds or three-quarters view. Set up your main light for a standard short lighting shot, but move the light above the subject's head and aim the light downward at a 45-degree angle. Direct the light's beam towards the side of the face that is turned away from the camera. Aim the camera at your sitter's face so the light hits it at a 45-degree angle.

3. Set up your fill light on the opposite side of the sitter and aim it at the shadowed broad side of the face. Make sure your fill light is not as strong as the main light. Observe the effects of softening the shadows to reduce the amount of contrast in the face. Add filters or move your light backward or forward to get the look of a Rembrandt painting. Try setting up a reflecting board to better illuminate and adjust the intensity of your shadows. Aim for dramatic lighting, but don't overdo it or your subject's facial features will wash out.

4. Study Rembrandt portraits to acquaint yourself with the lighting effect you're going for. Strive to achieve bright illumination on one side of the face perfectly balanced with the shadows and penumbras, or mid-tones, of the other side. Arrange your lights and the sitter's face so the shadow cast by the nose merges with the umbra, or darkest part of the shadow, on the far side of the face. Create a triangle of light under the eye on the short side of the sitter's face, as Rembrandt so often did. Check your Rembrandt setup by looking for catch lights, or specular highlights in the shape of your main light in your sitter's eyes.

5. Shoot with your camera directly in front of your sitter. Take many shots in the hope that a few will turn out very well. Try to capture moods or the character of your subject, along with their properly lit external appearance. Focus on taking some good portrait shots once you get your Rembrandt lighting set up.

Tips & Warnings

• Take lots of shots, evaluate them, and adjust your lighting according to what looks best.

• Use a background light pointed away from your subject if you need one.

• Turn the lights on only when they're in use to save electricity and extend the life of your bulbs.

References

• Pro Photography 101: Portrait Lighting Set-Ups
• Digital SLR Photography Tips: Rembrandt Portrait Lighting
• Studio Lighting: Portrait Lighting Styles