Flat lighting occurs when your light source is directly in front of your subject. This means that your subject is well lit and there are no shadows along their face.
The appearance of your subject is at an angle with broad light, and the lit side is right next to the camera, while the shadow is placed on the back side of the face. Because this kind of light can make a face appear fuller, it is ideal for people with very narrow faces.
With short light, the head is at an angle, and the shadow drops on the side of the face nearer to the camera. This type of light helps to thin the face and is flattering on the majority of people.
Split lighting is yet another type of side lighting, but it is characterized as light that strikes your subject at a 90-degree angle from the side. Split lighting is easily identified in an image where half of the participant is lit and the other half is in the shadows. When it comes to faces, the shadow line runs straight down the center of the face.
Backlighting is simply light that shines from behind your subject. This is most commonly seen in photos taken during the beloved magic hour, when the sun is low in the horizon and beginning to set, but it can be done at any time of day. Backlighting sources can range from a window next to your subject in the middle of the day to a flash positioned behind with a vibrantly colored gel for a fun effect.
The highlights created by light are more important than the shadows. The majority of the face is in shadow with rim lighting, but there is a narrow circle of light on one side of the subject's face. The light source will be placed at about a 45 degree angle from the subject, as with Rembrandt lighting, but behind the subject rather than in front of the model. You can alter the width and location of the rim of light formed by this technique by varying the height of the light source.
The name of this technique comes from the unique look of the shadow it casts under the nose. Butterfly lighting is a popular portrait lighting setup because it flatters most faces. It draws attention to the jawline and cheekbones, and it flatters all skin tones. As a result, it was a popular technique for beauty photography in the 1950s.
The subject's nose casts a small shadow on their cheek as a result of the loop lighting. This lighting technique strikes a balance between the soft, beautiful lighting produced by the butterfly method and the more dramatic images produced by shadows. Essentially, if you want the beauty images produced by the butterfly method, but with a little more dimension and interest, this is the lighting technique to use.