The Portrait: Bounced & Reflected Light

Classic portraiture from Leonardo da Vinci to Rembrandt, Looking at specific, traditional lighting styles, using a single light, and then developing onto classic Hollywood and beauty lighting.

This is the final part of the series, Lighting the Human Face, by cinematographer, Ian Murray.

“Let’s not forget the beauty of just using one soft light and seeing how a human face responding to soft light, graduating from the highlights, softening into the shadows. Let’s not forget how beautiful that is. Many artists base their whole careers on just studying that one phenomenon. They sit their models next to a window, and all they’d do is they do is paint their models from day to day, painting them, endlessly fascinated by what that light would bring. A North soft light coming from a window with a model sat next to it - I mean that’s, arguably some of the most beautiful lighting you’re ever going to see: very very simple.”

Ian Murray, Cinematographer