The Cinematographer

“High-key lighting: a bright white kitchen, soft even light from every side, almost no shadows on the woman pouring coffee.”

“Low-key lighting: a man at a desk in a dark study, a single lamp lighting one side of his face, the rest of the room lost in black.”

“Chiaroscuro: three people around a table lit by one hard source from the left, hands and faces bright, everything else swallowed in black.”

“Full silhouette: a woman standing in an open barn door against blazing white daylight, her figure completely black with no face detail.”

“Cameo lighting: an old man's face and hands lit softly in a small pool of light against a pure black void, no background at all.”

“Butterfly lighting on a woman's face, a soft key high and straight in front of her, a small symmetrical shadow just under her nose, cheekbones bright.”

“Loop lighting on a young man's face, the key slightly above and to the right, a small shadow looping from his nose toward his left cheek, both eyes lit.”

“Rembrandt lighting on an old fisherman's face, the key high to the left, a small bright triangle under his right eye and the rest of that cheek in shadow.”

“Split lighting: a hard key exactly to the left of a woman's face, the left half bright and the right half in complete shadow, the line running down her nose.”

“Close-up of a girl in a dim room, a small light putting a bright catchlight in each eye while the rest of the frame stays dark.”

“Flat front light from directly behind the camera on a child's face, no shadows on the face at all, the wall behind evenly lit.”

“Hard side light from the right raking across a brick wall and the man leaning on it, every brick edge throwing a shadow, his left side in darkness.”

“Back light from the low sun: a runner on a ridge, a bright halo on her hair and shoulders, her face dark, the lens flaring softly.”

“Hard top light from a single bulb straight above a man at a kitchen table, his eye sockets and the underside of his nose in deep shadow.”

“Underlight from a lamp on the floor in front of a woman on a sofa, her chin and the underside of her nose bright, shadows rising up her face.”

“Hard light from a bare bulb on a man's face, every pore visible, the shadow of his nose a sharp clean edge on his cheek.”

“Very soft light through a large white silk on a woman's face, shadows fading gently with no hard edges anywhere.”

“Dappled sunlight through leaves moving across a woman's face and the pages of her book, patches of light shifting with the breeze.”

“Volumetric shafts of sunlight cutting through dusty air in an empty warehouse, a man walking through the beams.”

“A single practical table lamp in frame lighting a woman reading in an armchair, its warm glow the only light in the dark room.”

“Soft daylight from a tall window on the left falling across a woman at a table, the far side of the room fading into shadow.”

“Two faces lit only by candlelight across a dinner table, warm flickering light on their skin and darkness beyond them.”

“A group around a campfire at night, lit only by the fire's moving orange glow, shadows dancing on their faces.”

“A woman under a pink and cyan neon sign in a wet alley at night, the coloured glow on her face and reflected in the puddles.”

“Flat green-white fluorescent tubes overhead in an empty office corridor, a woman's face pale and shadowless.”

“A man walking home under orange sodium street lamps, the whole street a single monochrome amber, no other colour visible.”

“A teenager's face lit only by the cold blue glow of a phone in a dark bedroom, nothing else in the room visible.”

“A flashlight beam sweeping across a dark garage, picking out shelves and a bicycle one at a time, everything else black.”

“A man standing on a dark road caught in the hard white glare of approaching headlights, his shadow thrown long behind him.”

“A hard-edged theatrical spotlight on a singer alone on a dark stage, the beam visible in the haze above her.”

“Pre-dawn light: a woman walking across an empty car park in cool grey-blue light, the sky just beginning to warm at the horizon, no sun yet.”

“Golden hour: low warm sun from the side on a couple walking through tall grass, their shadows long, the light glowing on their faces.”

“Harsh midday sun straight overhead on a man in a desert, his shadow a small pool at his feet, the light hard and white.”

“Flat overcast daylight on a woman waiting at a harbour, no shadows, muted colours, the whole sky one soft grey light.”

“Dusk just after sunset: two friends on a rooftop, the sky still orange at the horizon, their faces in cool fading light.”

“Blue hour: a city street in deep blue twilight, the streetlights and shop windows just switched on and glowing warm against the blue.”

“Moonlight only: a man crossing a field at night, cool silver light from above catching the edges of the grass and his shoulders.”

“Warm amber light throughout: a family at a dinner table under an orange-toned bulb, everything in the room tinted gold.”

“Cool blue light throughout: a woman alone in an office at night, every surface tinted steel blue, no warm light anywhere.”

“Mixed colour: a man at a window, warm orange lamplight on one side of his face and cool blue dusk from the window on the other.”

“Deep red light washing the whole room: a woman dancing at a house party, every surface and her skin tinted red, no other colour present.”