Top Light
Top lighting places the light source above the subject of the photo. Top lighting can be used to create dramatic shadows over a subject. It can also be used to control reflections and highlight hair as you can see in the photo above. It also has use when taking photos from the top down, where the top light gives the same effect as a front light and highlights the entire subject.
Bottom Light
Bottom lighting places the light source below the subject of the photo. Bottom lighting creates shadows on the top of the subject and highlights the underside of the subject. It can be used to show facial expression and highlight the emotion. It is often used to create a creepy or sinister effect like we see in the photo above.
Side Light
Side lighting places the light source to the side of the subject of the photo. This highlights one side of the subject while casting a shadow on the other side. This type of lighting is very dramatic with lots of contrast. It can be used to emphasize a subjects features. It also shows depth and angles.
Front Light
Front lighting place the light source in front of the subject of the photo. This makes the subject appear flat and eliminates almost all shadows giving photos very little contrast. Front lighting can used to take portraits like the photo above. It captures a subject very clearly but is not as dramatic as other lighting types.
Back Light
Back Lighting places the light source behind the subject of the photo. This lighting technique creates shadows in the front and highlights the edges or a subject. This creates a contrast between the subject and the background. Back lighting also creates depth in the background.
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