{"id":305,"date":"2014-01-06T01:12:06","date_gmt":"2014-01-06T01:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/?p=305"},"modified":"2014-01-06T01:12:06","modified_gmt":"2014-01-06T01:12:06","slug":"dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I love dramatic portraits. You can add drama to a portrait in a variety of ways, but the starting point is your lighting. Creative use of light and shadows can make almost anyone look cool. Almost.<\/p>\n<p>An easy and effective approach is called &#8220;side lighting&#8221;, also known as &#8220;split lighting&#8221;. Take a look at the image below and notice the obvious&#8230; that the light is coming in at a 90 degree angle to the subject and putting half of her face in light and half in shadow. This is a pretty extreme example of side lighting. <\/p>\n<figure id=\"photo_34030\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"\" title=\"Mystery Date\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/photo\/mystery-date\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 600px; height: auto;\" alt=\"fashion,fashionable,female,glasses,hat,lady,mysterious,portrait,side-lighting,side-lit,studio,stylish,sunglasses,temptation,vertical,woman\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/images\/large\/Red-Hat-and-Sunglasses-Portrait.jpg\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"extra\"><a class=\"title\" title=\"Mystery Date\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/photo\/mystery-date\/\">Mystery Date<\/a> : <a class=\"print\" title=\"Prints Available\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/photo\/mystery-date\/\">Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Stylish woman decked out in a red hat and sunglasses against a dark background<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In this case, I took the picture in a fairly dark room with a black background. I used a studio light (strobe) and a light modifier called a &#8220;beauty dish&#8221; placed very close to the left of the subject&#8217;s face. I also had her move her right arm forward to light her arm and balance out the picture. <\/p>\n<p>It was important to make sure that the light did not hit the background and did not go directly into the lens and create flare. You can prevent light from hitting either by placing a couple pieces of black cardboard near the front of the flash (parallel to the light and on each side of the flash) to block the light that would otherwise hit the background and lens. <\/p>\n<p>For the above image, I wanted very directional light. For the image below, I allowed a bit more light through on the front of the model. <\/p>\n<figure id=\"photo_34037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a class=\"\" title=\"No Rest for the Weary\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/photo\/no-rest-for-the-weary\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"max-width: 600px; height: auto;\" alt=\"black,dark,darkness,depression,female,hat,lady,red,scary,studio,vertical,woman\" class=\"size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/images\/large\/Woman-in-Red-Hat.jpg\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"extra\"><a class=\"title\" title=\"No Rest for the Weary\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/photo\/no-rest-for-the-weary\/\">No Rest for the Weary<\/a> : <a class=\"print\" title=\"Prints Available\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/photo\/no-rest-for-the-weary\/\">Prints Available<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Distressed looking woman wearing a red hat in a dark room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To get a less dramatic effect, you can bounce light back onto the unlit side of the subject&#8217;s face using a reflector. Also, window lighting can be used to side light, although the light coming in from the window will also create ambient light in the room, meaning you will have less contrast between light and shadows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I love dramatic portraits. You can add drama to a portrait in a variety of ways, but the starting point is your lighting. Creative use of light and shadows can make almost anyone look cool. Almost. An easy and effective approach is called &#8220;side lighting&#8221;, also known as &#8220;split lighting&#8221;. Take a look at the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trips-and-tricks"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.10 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ken Koskela\"\/>\n\t<meta name=\"keywords\" content=\"photography,side lighting,split lighting,dramatic,portrait,one,light\" \/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.10\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ken Koskela Photography | A Photography Blog\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography\" \/>\n\t\t<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.\" \/>\n\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"aioseo-schema\">\n\t\t\t{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#article\",\"name\":\"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography\",\"headline\":\"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/koskela\\\/#author\"},\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/images\\\/large\\\/Red-Hat-and-Sunglasses-Portrait.jpg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#articleImage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#webpage\"},\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#webpage\"},\"articleSection\":\"Tips and Tricks\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#breadcrumblist\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog#listItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/trips-and-tricks\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Tips and Tricks\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/trips-and-tricks\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tips and Tricks\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/trips-and-tricks\\\/\",\"nextItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting\"},\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog#listItem\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#listItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting\",\"previousItem\":{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/category\\\/trips-and-tricks\\\/#listItem\",\"name\":\"Tips and Tricks\"}}]},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ken Koskela Photography\",\"description\":\"A Photography Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/koskela\\\/#author\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/koskela\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ken Koskela\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#authorImage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0b135e114cea7ba5e280550c73e62230708f52a17752bff51fc467b0f113e8e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"width\":96,\"height\":96,\"caption\":\"Ken Koskela\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography\",\"description\":\"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\\\/#breadcrumblist\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/koskela\\\/#author\"},\"creator\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/koskela\\\/#author\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ken Koskela Photography\",\"description\":\"A Photography Blog\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.kenkoskela.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}}]}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO -->\n\n","aioseo_head_json":{"title":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography","description":"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.","canonical_url":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/","robots":"max-image-preview:large","keywords":"photography,side lighting,split lighting,dramatic,portrait,one,light","webmasterTools":{"miscellaneous":""},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#article","name":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography","headline":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/author\/koskela\/#author"},"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"http:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/images\/large\/Red-Hat-and-Sunglasses-Portrait.jpg","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#articleImage"},"datePublished":"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00","dateModified":"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00","inLanguage":"en-US","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#webpage"},"articleSection":"Tips and Tricks"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog#listItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/category\/trips-and-tricks\/#listItem","name":"Tips and Tricks"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/category\/trips-and-tricks\/#listItem","position":2,"name":"Tips and Tricks","item":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/category\/trips-and-tricks\/","nextItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#listItem","name":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting"},"previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog#listItem","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#listItem","position":3,"name":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting","previousItem":{"@type":"ListItem","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/category\/trips-and-tricks\/#listItem","name":"Tips and Tricks"}}]},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Ken Koskela Photography","description":"A Photography Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/author\/koskela\/#author","url":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/author\/koskela\/","name":"Ken Koskela","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#authorImage","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0b135e114cea7ba5e280550c73e62230708f52a17752bff51fc467b0f113e8e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","width":96,"height":96,"caption":"Ken Koskela"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/","name":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography","description":"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.","inLanguage":"en-US","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/#website"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/#breadcrumblist"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/author\/koskela\/#author"},"creator":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/author\/koskela\/#author"},"datePublished":"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00","dateModified":"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/","name":"Ken Koskela Photography","description":"A Photography Blog","inLanguage":"en-US","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/#organization"}}]},"og:locale":"en_US","og:site_name":"Ken Koskela Photography | A Photography Blog","og:type":"article","og:title":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography","og:description":"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.","og:url":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/","article:published_time":"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00","article:modified_time":"2014-01-06T01:12:06+00:00","twitter:card":"summary","twitter:title":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | Ken Koskela Photography","twitter:description":"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait."},"aioseo_meta_data":{"post_id":"305","title":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting | #site_title","description":"Side lighting, or split lighting, using just one light can create a dramatic portrait.","keywords":[{"label":"photography","value":"photography"},{"label":"side lighting","value":"side lighting"},{"label":"split lighting","value":"split lighting"},{"label":"dramatic","value":"dramatic"},{"label":"portrait","value":"portrait"},{"label":"one","value":"one"},{"label":"light","value":"light"}],"keyphrases":null,"primary_term":null,"canonical_url":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"og_object_type":"default","og_image_type":"default","og_image_url":null,"og_image_width":null,"og_image_height":null,"og_image_custom_url":null,"og_image_custom_fields":null,"og_video":null,"og_custom_url":null,"og_article_section":null,"og_article_tags":null,"twitter_use_og":false,"twitter_card":"default","twitter_image_type":"default","twitter_image_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_url":null,"twitter_image_custom_fields":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"schema":{"blockGraphs":[],"customGraphs":[],"default":{"data":{"Article":[],"Course":[],"Dataset":[],"FAQPage":[],"Movie":[],"Person":[],"Product":[],"ProductReview":[],"Car":[],"Recipe":[],"Service":[],"SoftwareApplication":[],"WebPage":[]},"graphName":"","isEnabled":true},"graphs":[]},"schema_type":null,"schema_type_options":null,"pillar_content":false,"robots_default":true,"robots_noindex":false,"robots_noarchive":false,"robots_nosnippet":false,"robots_nofollow":false,"robots_noimageindex":false,"robots_noodp":false,"robots_notranslate":false,"robots_max_snippet":null,"robots_max_videopreview":null,"robots_max_imagepreview":"large","priority":null,"frequency":null,"location":null,"local_seo":null,"breadcrumb_settings":null,"limit_modified_date":false,"ai":null,"created":"2020-12-21 07:37:09","updated":"2025-06-03 21:02:39","seo_analyzer_scan_date":null},"aioseo_breadcrumb":"<div class=\"aioseo-breadcrumbs\"><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\" title=\"Home\">Home<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/category\/trips-and-tricks\/\" title=\"Tips and Tricks\">Tips and Tricks<\/a>\n\t\t<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb-separator\">&raquo;<\/span><span class=\"aioseo-breadcrumb\">\n\t\t\tDramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting\n\t\t<\/span><\/div>","aioseo_breadcrumb_json":[{"label":"Home","link":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog"},{"label":"Tips and Tricks","link":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/category\/trips-and-tricks\/"},{"label":"Dramatic Portraits Using Side Lighting","link":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/dramatic-portraits-using-side-lighting\/"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenkoskela.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}