What is Rembrandt Light?

In film circles, there is much talk about Rembrandt Light. A Cinematographer can turn to the Gaffer and say, “give me Rembrandt light from camera left and throw some full CTO on that.” Huh? Movie-speak is a language unto itself and it takes a while to master.

Rembrandt Light is a lighting effect that was used beautifully in many Rembrandt paintings (you know, the Dutch master painter). The effect is to light a person so only ¼ of their face is in shadow and there is a triangle of light under one eye. It is a universally flattering, yet dramatic light on faces. It allows for most of the face to be illuminated but with some interesting shadow detail. This is a Rembrandt self portrait done in 1629. You can see how the light looks like late afternoon sun coming through a window. The color is very warm and there is a little triangle of light under his left eye.

Here are some other examples of Rembrandt light from various movies.

So, how do you achieve Rembrandt light? Most of the time, it is the simple matter of either turning the subject’s head slightly or moving your own body so the light is coming from the right angle. It is also a matter of the height of the light. In general, if the day’s shadows are long, it is a good time of day for Rembrandt light. It doesn’t matter which direction the light is coming from, only that the triangle is present.

Oh yah, and what is CTO? CTO is a gel filter that can be clipped to a light fixture to change the color or the quality of the light. CTO has an orange color and is equivalent to an 85 camera filter. Most often, it is used to warm up a scene.