EyesOpen Photography

EO Education Series #001

📸 6 Essential Portrait Lighting Patterns

One of the biggest differences between an average portrait and a professional portrait isn’t the camera—it’s understanding light.

The same person can look dramatically different depending on how the light is positioned.

In this guide, I break down six of the most common portrait lighting patterns:

✓ Loop Lighting
✓ Rembrandt Lighting
✓ Butterfly Lighting
✓ Split Lighting
✓ Broad Lighting
✓ Short Lighting

Each pattern creates a different mood, emphasizes different facial features, and serves a different purpose.

Whether you’re a photographer, content creator, model, or business owner investing in professional imagery, understanding light helps you create stronger visual impact.

Which lighting pattern is your favorite?

Save this guide for future reference and share it with someone learning portrait photography.

Another young king from Kalamazoo Central Senior Prom Class of 2026 🔥📸

What made these moments special for me is I actually remember him from back when I first started photographing sports for the Kalamazoo Jaguars around 2018. Seeing these young men grow up, mature, and step into their own style and confidence is honestly a blessing to witness.

The light blue suit was clean, the details were sharp, and he carried himself with confidence the entire time ✨

I’ve been photographing prom season for about 12 years now, and honestly it’s becoming harder to stay connected because many of the people I grew up around no longer have children in high school. So every like, share, tag, comment, and follow truly helps keep EyesOpen Photography visible in the community and helps these moments continue reaching families 🖤

If you know him, tag him below 👇
Please like, share, and follow EyesOpen Photography to help support local creatives and help these students see their images!

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✨ Creative Editorial Portraits

📩 DM EyesOpen Photography to book your session.

Creatively capturing the essence of every detail.
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