The lighting board.

Light is the mood half of any picture. Classic portrait patterns plus the light styles that set a scene — each a reusable prompt phrase for the Vibe Mixer.

🎛 Combine these in the Vibe Mixer →

Lighting pattern — where the shadows fall on a face

The classic portrait patterns, named by the shadow they leave.

Butterfly — example photo

Butterfly

Key light front-and-above; a small symmetric shadow under the nose. Old-Hollywood glamour.

butterfly lighting, key light high and frontal, glamorous symmetric shadow under the nose
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Loop — example photo

Loop

A small nose shadow looping to one side. The flattering everyday portrait standard.

loop lighting, soft nose shadow to one side, flattering portrait light
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Rembrandt — example photo

Rembrandt

A triangle of light on the shadow cheek. Painterly, moody, five-hundred-year pedigree.

rembrandt lighting, triangle of light on the shadowed cheek, painterly chiaroscuro
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Split — example photo

Split

Half the face lit, half in darkness. Duality, secrets, the villain's favourite.

split lighting, exactly half the face in shadow, stark dramatic duality
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Rim / Backlight — example photo

Rim / Backlight

Light from behind traces a glowing edge around the subject, cutting them out of the dark.

rim lighting from behind, glowing edge separating the subject from darkness
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Broad — example photo

Broad

The camera-side of the face is the lit side. Open, wide, approachable.

broad lighting, the near side of the face fully lit, open and inviting
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Short — example photo

Short

The far side of the face is lit; shadow faces the camera. Sculpted, slimming, dramatic.

short lighting, far side of the face lit, sculpted shadow toward camera
Use in the Vibe Mixer →

Light style — the light a scene lives in

Time of day, weather and practical sources — the fastest way to set a mood.

Golden Hour — example photo

Golden Hour

The low warm sun just after sunrise or before sunset. Everything glows honey and amber.

golden hour light, warm low sun, honey-amber glow, long soft shadows
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Blue Hour — example photo

Blue Hour

The cool dim minutes after sunset. Melancholy blue with city lights winking on.

blue hour twilight, cool ambient blue, glowing practical lights
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
High-Key — example photo

High-Key

Bright, airy, almost shadowless. Optimism, cleanliness, commercials and dreams.

high-key lighting, bright and airy, minimal shadows, clean white light
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Low-Key — example photo

Low-Key

Mostly darkness, carved by a single source. Noir, danger, secrets.

low-key lighting, deep shadows, single hard source, film-noir darkness
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Neon Glow — example photo

Neon Glow

Saturated practical neon washing the scene in electric colour — pink, cyan, violet.

neon-lit scene, saturated pink and cyan practical glow, electric reflections
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Candlelight — example photo

Candlelight

A tiny warm flame as the only source. Faces flicker; the dark leans in.

candlelit, single warm flickering flame source, intimate darkness
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Harsh Noon Sun — example photo

Harsh Noon Sun

Overhead blazing sun, knife-edge shadows. Deserts, standoffs, unforgiving truth.

harsh midday sunlight, blazing overhead sun, hard black shadows
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Soft Overcast — example photo

Soft Overcast

A cloud-diffused sky, one giant softbox. Gentle, even, quietly honest.

soft overcast daylight, diffused shadowless light, muted gentle tones
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Silhouette — example photo

Silhouette

The subject is a black shape against bright light. Identity hidden, gesture amplified.

full silhouette, subject as a black shape against bright backlight
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Volumetric Rays — example photo

Volumetric Rays

Visible beams cutting through haze — god rays through windows, trees, smoke.

volumetric light rays cutting through haze, visible god rays
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Moonlight — example photo

Moonlight

Cold silver-blue night light. Stillness, longing, things that only happen after midnight.

cold moonlight, silver-blue night illumination, quiet deep shadows
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Studio Softbox — example photo

Studio Softbox

Large diffused studio source. Controlled, editorial, product-grade polish.

studio softbox lighting, large diffused source, controlled editorial polish
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Direct Flash — example photo

Direct Flash

On-camera flash, hard and honest. The Y2K paparazzi look every feed loves again.

direct on-camera flash photography, hard frontal flash, Y2K paparazzi style, slight vignette
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Teal & Orange — example photo

Teal & Orange

Warm skin against cool shadows — the blockbuster grade that makes everything cinematic.

cinematic teal and orange colour grade, warm highlights on skin, cool teal shadows
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Window Light — example photo

Window Light

One soft window doing all the work. Quiet, editorial, effortlessly expensive.

soft natural window light from one side, gentle falloff, quiet editorial mood
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Projector Glow — example photo

Projector Glow

Film or pattern projected across the subject. The trending portrait trick.

projector light casting a glowing image pattern across the subject in a dark room
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
Colour Gels — example photo

Colour Gels

Red on one side, blue on the other. Studio drama in two colours.

dual colour gel lighting, red gel one side and blue gel the other, dark studio
Use in the Vibe Mixer →
String Lights — example photo

String Lights

Fairy-light bokeh and warm dots of glow. Soft, close, romantic.

warm string lights bokeh, fairy lights glow close to the subject, dreamy shallow focus
Use in the Vibe Mixer →