Butterfly lighting (also known as Paramount lighting) is created by positioning your light source directly centred and above your subject’s face.
Butterfly lighting (also known as Paramount lighting) is created by positioning your light source directly centred and above your subject’s face. This creates a shadow under the nose which resemble a butterfly (Reason for the name). It is sometimes known as “Paramount Lighting” because this was the style of lighting that was often used by the Paramount movie studio to photograph their leading actresses back in the early days of Hollywood.