Rembrandt lighting was named after of the great master, who often used it in his own portraits. The idea is to create a small inverted triangle of light on the subject’s cheek which is opposite the light source. This is very flattering (especially for people with prominent cheekbone structure) and was often used in old Hollywood portraits. It is important to ensure that you get catch lights in both eyes.What subjects does it work for?
This technique works well for subjects will full or round faces (because it adds definition and slims the face), but is generally not a good choice for narrow faces. Some ‘old school’ photographers refer to Rembrandt lighting as ‘masculine’ and some really old school portrait photographers will insist that a woman should never be lit with Rembrandt Lighting. Since Rembrandt himself painted women using basic Rembrandt Lighting, you can safely assume that this ‘rule’ is a ‘guideline’ at best. [read]
