Key Light On Opposite Side Of Cameras 180 Line

[tdragisics]

I recently read in the book, Motion Picture and Video Lighting by Blain Brown, your exact question. Here is an excerpt from page 55 "One fundamental aspect of direction of light relative to the source is that it is generally better to light from the upstage side (the side away from the camera). This creates shape and shadows on the camera side, adding depth and dimension. This is a broad generalization, but generally a good guideline to follow." They have a comparison photo as well that shows the difference between lighting on the camera side and then the opposite side.

 

[Bruce Watson]

In almost every professionally shot film I've seen, the key light illuminated the side of the actors face which is on the opposite side of the 180 line from which the camera is on, thus the darker side of the actors face faces the camera.

Interesting. I've noticed the same thing. It's almost become an iron-clad rule in modern photography/cinematography.

OTOH, there's no reason it has to be this way. I went to an exhibit of Rembrandt paintings just before the Winter Solstice. Say what you will about Rembrandt, but there is little disputing his expertise with lighting. And in the paintings on exhibit, he put the light on either side of the 180 degree line with equal effect. So, sometimes the majority of the face was darker, sometimes the majority of the face was lighter. Which to use depends on what you want to emphasize.