Which lighting style would you use to create a high-contrast portrait with a clearly lit side of the face?

• A. Split Lighting
• B. Rembrandt Lighting
• C. Butterfly Lighting
• D. Broad Lighting

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how light direction shapes shadow and contrast on the face. To get a high-contrast portrait with a clearly lit side, you want one side of the face bright and the other in shadow, with a sharp edge between them. Splitting the light at about a 90-degree angle to the subject and camera achieves this crisp division: the lit side is strong and the opposite side stays dark, giving a bold, graphic look.

Other patterns produce different effects. Rembrandt lighting gives a small triangle of light on the cheek and more overall texture, so the lighting isn’t as starkly divided. Butterfly lighting places the light high and in front, producing a flattering, even illumination with a shadow under the nose—less about strong contrast. Broad lighting lights the near side more, which can reduce the dramatic separation and doesn’t create the same sharp split.