Start with one light usually soft in quality and direct it toward the subject from one side and a little to the front.
The portrait lighting reference pdf.
The fundamental difference between them is the placement of the key light.
This produces a larger area of light on the face and a shadow side which appears smaller.
Lighting patterns change as the key light is moved from close to and high above the subject to the side of the subject and lower.
But even for painting it s a good practice to imagine all light sources before starting.
When creating 3d scenes this can help a lot also.
Broad lighting is sometimes used for high key portraits.
Each spread consists of a lighting diagram and the same four faces shot against a white background and a dark background.
Came across this studio lighting guide this should be real handy for painting portraits or rendering too.
Free 5 portrait lighting cheat sheet download our quick reference guide to the 5 portrait lighting setups for photography and video.
The key light should not be positioned below eye level as lighting from.
The diagrams below show the five basic portrait lighting setups.
Sure at first glance it appears to be a boring book.
Our 5 portrait lighting cheat sheet pdf file shows you how to create the five basic lighting setups for great portraits in photography and video.
Not even just the main light.
The second element in a good portrait is to reflect some of the main light back into the face from the opposite side.