Broad Lighting vs. Short Lighting

Broad Lighting vs. Short Lighting

These terms are often tossed around when talking about lighting patterns, but think of them more as a style rather than a pattern. Many of the patterns we’ll practice below can also either be broad or short, so it’s hard to define them as their own unique patterns. Nonetheless, you need to be able to recognize them.

Broad Light: With the subjects face angled so it is not facing the camera head on, broad lighting will occur when the light source is spread across the side of the face closest to the camera, making it illuminate the broadest part of the face visible to the camera.

Use this when you want to widen your subjects face or help tone down the appearance of wrinkles.

Short Light: Just the opposite. Again with the subject’s face angled, short light is what you get when the light source is illuminating the side of the face that is farthest from the camera, which will also happen to be the shortest half of the face visible to the camera. Short lighting is flattering for most faces because it produces a slimming effect.