Lighting
Lighting guide: how to light an AI image
Light changes an image more than anything else without touching the subject. The same product looks cheap under flat light and luxurious with well-placed side light; the same face looks warm at sunset and cold under fluorescent tubes.
Think of three questions: where the light comes from, whether it's hard or soft, and what colour it is. Each code in this layer answers one or more.
Natural light and time of day
Golden hour gives warm, low light that flatters almost everything; blue hour, a cool and calm tone; window light is soft and intimate. An overcast day is the most even, easiest light to control.
/••••••••Golden hour light
Lights the scene with the warm golden glow typical of sunrise or sunset.
/••••••••Blue hour light
Lights the scene with the blue-tinted glow of twilight…
/••••••••Natural window light
Lights the subject with natural light coming through a window.
/••••••••Overcast Light
Creates soft, even daylight from a cloudy sky with low contrast and gentle…
/••••••••Dappled light through leaves
Casts dappled light across the scene…
/••••••••Moonlight
Lights the scene only with moonlight…
Studio light
Studio light lets you control every shadow. A large softbox gives soft, commercial shadows; a hard spotlight creates drama; beauty and ring lights illuminate the face from the front without harsh shadows.
/••••••••Softbox Light
Creates controlled studio diffusion with soft shadow edges…
/••••••••Large softbox lighting
Lights the subject with a large softbox…
/••••••••Single theatrical spotlight
Lights the subject with a single spotlight…
/••••••••Hard direct light
Uses direct hard-edged light with crisp shadows…
/••••••••Beauty dish lighting
Lights the face from the front with a beauty dish…
/••••••••Ring light catchlights
Lights the subject from the front with a ring light…
Patterns and coloured light
Portrait patterns have their own names: Rembrandt, butterfly, split lighting. Backlight and rim light separate the subject from the background. Neon and colour gels give a night or club atmosphere.
/••••••••Rembrandt portrait lighting
Lights the face to create a small triangle of light under the eye on the…
/••••••••Butterfly portrait lighting
Places the main light directly above and in front of the subject…
/••••••••Bright rim light
Adds a strong rim light that outlines the edge of the subject.
/BacklightStrong backlight
Places the main light source behind the subject, outlining its silhouette.
/••••••••Low-key lighting
Lights the scene dimly and darkly…
/••••••••Neon lighting
Lights the scene with the saturated…
Common mistakes
- Mixing lights that can't coexist (high noon and moonlight).
- Asking for “good lighting”: it says nothing. Name the type of light.
- Forgetting the light when asking for a mood: dark and mysterious comes from the light, not the adjective.
Example combination
Warm side light that adds volume.
Composition (Pro code: with Pro you see which one it is and can copy the combination)"Barista making coffee in a café" Lighting (Pro code: with Pro you see which one it is and can copy the combination) Color (Pro code: with Pro you see which one it is and can copy the combination)-4:5