Portrait Lighting Setups: Lighting Recipes That Actually Work
For me at least, almost every portrait starts with one thing: lighting. Everything about a photograph – any photograph, not just portraits – is fundamentally about light if you think about it: where it goes, hard vs soft, colour and quantity. Here you’ll find our lighting recipes – real, step-by-step breakdowns of exactly how we lit a portrait, from where the light sat to what modifier was on it, the camera settings we chose, and all the small decisions that happened in between. A practical photography lighting guide built from actual shoots, not textbook theory.
Some of these studio portrait lighting patterns have names – Rembrandt, butterfly, short-side, split – and it’s genuinely worth knowing them, if only so you can nod wisely when someone mentions them at a camera club. But honestly? Most of the time you’re not standing there thinking “right, Rembrandt it is.” You’re looking at the person in front of you, reading their face, and moving the light until something clicks. Until it just looks right.
That said, understanding the classic portrait lighting setups gives you a solid starting point. A vocabulary or a toolbox (whatever is your preferred analogy). And from there you can bend the rules, mix things up, and make it entirely your own. My favourite pattern – a single light working off the edge of the softbox rather than the middle – isn’t in any textbook. It came from watching what the light did and following it.
Whether you’re just starting out and looking for portrait lighting for beginners, or you’ve been shooting for years and want fresh portrait lighting examples to spark something new, there’s something here for you. Each recipe gives you everything you need to recreate the setup, understand why it works, and then use those ideas to do something uniquely yours!
Portrait Lighting Recipes
How I Build a Studio Portrait From Scratch
Two Lights And A Kiss – A Moody Portrait On Black Paper
Five Portrait Looks with One Light
The Softbox Is Just A Window (How to make lighting easy!)
Angle Of The Light Part 1
Combining Broad and Narrow Lighting
Clamshell Lighting Setup For Portraits
Rembrandt Lighting For Portrait Photographers
Sculpted In Shadow – One Light Intimate Profile
One Light Profile – The Dreamy Over-The-Shoulder Look
Inky Shine – Fast Black-On-Black Dog Portrait
Two-Light Chair Portrait With A High Square Softbox And A Gridded Strip
Video | Eight Lighting Patterns For Portraits Every Photographer Should Know
Flattering Lighting: Broad and Narrow Light Patterns
Traditional Lighting Patterns For The Face