Studio lighting basics: one strobe, five portrait setups

You don’t need three strobes to make a great portrait. You need one strobe, a reflector, and to understand light direction.

This is Session 3 of our Basic Photography Course, condensed into a written guide. We cover the five classical portrait light patterns. Every working photographer in Luxembourg (and everywhere else) uses these as their starting point.

What you need

• One strobe or speedlight with a modifier (softbox or umbrella, 60–80cm)
• One reflector (white side, 80cm round)
• A subject (a friend, a doll, a wine bottle — anything with a 3D shape)
• A camera in Manual mode (Session 1 of our course, or the cheatsheet, covers this)

Set camera: ISO 100, f/5.6, shutter 1/125s. We’ll adjust strobe power.

1. Loop lighting (the universal one)

Position: Strobe 30–45° off-axis from the camera, raised about 30cm above the subject’s eye level.

What you see: A small loop-shaped shadow under the nose, not reaching the lip. Both eyes lit. Some shadow on the off-side cheek.

When to use: 80% of portraits. It flatters almost every face. Default for headshots, business portraits, documentary.

2. Rembrandt lighting (the dramatic one)

Position: Strobe 45° off-axis, raised 45° above eye level. Higher than loop.

What you see: A triangle of light on the cheek opposite the strobe, between the nose shadow and the cheek shadow. Classic painterly look.

When to use: Editorial, artistic, moody. Works best with strong bone structure. Less flattering on round faces.

3. Butterfly lighting (the glamour one)

Position: Strobe directly above the camera, slightly raised. Symmetric.

What you see: A small butterfly-shaped shadow directly under the nose. Both sides of the face evenly lit.

When to use: Beauty, glamour, fashion. Flatters wide faces (slims them). Adds reflector below the chin to lift shadows under the eyes.

4. Split lighting (the cinematic one)

Position: Strobe at 90° to the subject. Same height as eye level. The light hits exactly half the face.

What you see: One side of the face lit, the other in shadow. Hard split down the nose.

When to use: Drama, masculinity, cinematic mood. Works best with strong features. Avoid for friendly/approachable portraits.

5. Broad vs short lighting (the angle game)

Not a pattern, but a choice. Broad lighting = the side of the face turned toward the camera is the lit side. Widens the face. Short lighting = the side turned away is lit. Slims the face, adds depth.

Most portraits use short lighting. It’s more dimensional. Save broad for cases where you specifically want a wider face (kids, friendly portraits).

The one rule that matters

Move the light source closer to your subject. Watch the shadows get softer. Move it further away. Watch shadows get harder. That’s it. Distance + modifier size = softness.

Practice

One subject. One light. Try all five patterns. Look at the catch lights in the eye (where the light source reflects). That tells you exactly where your light is, before you even check the face.

Or come do this in person with a paid model in our studio. Session 3 of the Basic Photography Course is exactly this. Or take the focused workshop: Studio Lighting Fundamentals — 2.5 hours, €60, walk away with five usable setups.