I saw this photo of the beautiful actress Elle Fanning and I liked the lighting. I tried to figure out the lighting pattern but I ended up being confused. it looks like it either a Rembrandt or butterfly lighting, but again the shadow is not very obvious, at least to my eyes!
can anyone guess what sort of lighting setup was used ?
Elle Fanning- movie poser
My guess:
-- beauty dish or small softbox centered. The catch lights are cross-eyed that's why I think it's centered. Also, only half of her is lit up that's why I think it's a small modifier.
-- a reflector of some kind on the right. That side seems lighter.
if the key light was positioned in center as you said, why then the highlight (brighter side) is on camera right, while the shadow is on camera left. This is an indication that the key light was off-center. in addition, I cant see any shadow below the nose, which is a typical result for a centered positioned key light, unless it was very low to almost eliminate the shadow under the nose !?
See my 2nd bullet point above why I think the right side is brighter.
There isn't always going to be a very distinct shadow under the nose when shot at center position. Depends on lighting and face position.
Here's an example:
https://s23527.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Beauty-Dish-Grid-Clams...
.
https://s23527.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/lighting-diagram-14390...
.
.
Source. See section 5:
https://www.diyphotography.net/versatile-beauty-dish-favourite-lighting-...
That make sense.However, I was thinking they might have added a negative fill to the darker side (camera left).