Reference
Lighting terms explained
What the vocabulary actually means — each term shown on a real photograph from the library, not described in the abstract.
Clamshell lighting
A soft key above the lens and a fill below it, sandwiching the face: two catchlights per eye, an open under-chin, and the classic beauty-light look — shown and measured on a real setup.
1 setup in the library
Butterfly lighting
One key on the lens axis, raised 30–45° and angled down: a symmetric under-nose shadow, carved cheekbones, and a hard chin shadow — identified by measurement on two real setups.
2 setups in the library
Rim light
A light behind the subject that traces a bright edge along hair and shoulders to cut the silhouette from the background — a role, not a nose-shadow pattern, measured at +3.47 stops on a real frame.
1 setup in the library