The forehead and the nose intercept most of the light. These parts of the face carry relatively little expression. The mouth and eyes, the chief agents of sympathy, are lost in shadow.
As a result, the subject’s emotion is masked. The effect can be threatening, mysterious, or inscrutable. Above: N.C. Wyeth, from Kidnapped.
You probably wouldn’t want to use this lighting arrangement for portraits, but it can yield powerful effects for a dramatic entrance of a dangerous character, or for conveying a feeling of cool detachment. Above: Dean Cornwell.
Very interesting. Thanks for this series.
ReplyDeleteThis is my favourite facial lighting scheme.
ReplyDeleteGreat series, Sir. The photos of Abe in different lighting are quality reference images!
I've been hooked to your bite size series... Very addicting and helpful to refer to. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's getting interesting with the possibly following "theatrical lighting", at least with the Lincoln head. In Gary Faigin's "The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression", the author convincingly demonstrates why the Lincoln statue in D.C. should NEVER be lighted from below. However, I don't think your bust would suffer the same hilarious "surprise" expression as Lincoln's head in D.C. obviously does. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the series!
Terrific series of posts, I had not thought of the suggested interpretations of different lighting... With the exception, of course of the bottom lighting often seen on Halloween.
ReplyDelete