Now that you've got back-lighting and front-lighting under your belt, there's just one last basic type of available lighting to cover: Side-lighting. This type of lighting involves placing your subject so that the main light source falls on just one side of your subject's face. Often this leaves shadows on the opposite side of the subject's face.
The amount of shadow falling on the subject's face is referred to as the lighting ratio. There are four different lighting ratios. I'm not going to cover those in this post, but you can Google lighting ratios to learn more. The lighting ratio is determined by the angle your subject is sitting toward or away from the main light source. By turning your subject's face further away from the light source, you can create greater shadow in the image. And, of course, the opposite is also true. By turning your subject toward the light source you can decrease the amount of shadow in the image.
Side-lighting is used for a number of reasons. It is often used to bring a sense of shape, dimension and depth to an otherwise ordinary image (as in the first image below).
It also adds a sense of drama and wonder to an image - something that wouldn't be as evident in a front-lit or back-lit image (as in this image of the curious little girl below).
By introducing shadows into an image, side-lighting can also help you conceal what you would rather not fully disclose. Imagine your client has a scar on their left cheek that they are extremely sensitive about. By using side-lighting streaming in from the right, you can fill the left cheek with shadows by turning your client's face until the shadows partially or totally conceal the scar.
Personally, I think our scars are what help to define us, but it's nice to know we have a tool at our disposal (other than time in Photoshop) to help put our clients at ease, if need be.
Side-lighting: It's a powerful, creative, and liberating tool.
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