In the setup shown in the viewer, the Key light is a very soft Rifa 88 fitted with a 1000-watt bulb and a soft Egg Crate to control its spill.

Look at the cheek closest to the camera. Notice the effect; the shadow line running down the cheek. Begin to notice how often you see this in movies, television, and photographs. It's everywhere isn't it?

This is an example of a hard Key light, instead of soft. We are using a 250-watt Pro-light. Notice the difference? The transition between the light and dark areas is more dramatic. If you move the key light until you see a light triangular patch under the near eye, you've achieved what is referred to as Rembrandt lighting.

Rembrandt actually experimented with having the main light coming from many directions but this is the look that stuck to his name. You may notice that both soft and hard key lights are approaching the face from the far side of the face, from the camera. What is referred to as the short side.

While it doesn't always have to be so, it is very common and a safe place to start. It might be so popular because it has a slimming effect on the face.

When you practice placing the Key light on your subject, keep an eye on the shadow it creates from the nose.

The nose shadow is easier to see if you use a hard light but blends more attractively when you a larger soft source. As a start, find the angle and height for your Key light that places that shadow along the crease between the nose and the corner of the mouth.

Now try placing your light so the nose shadow is nearly gone. This will happen when your light is anywhere from directly in front of the subject, assuming they are facing slightly away from the lens, to directly over the camera. You will start to lose the shadow line on the cheek as you come around but the effect may be what you want.

Bringing the Key light 'face-on' is effective for lightening the shadows from wrinkles. Used with makeup it is even more effective. While this position tends to allow light to spill onto the background it is usually more important to have the subject look good. If possible you could move the subject and lights further away from the back wall to allow the spill to fall off. This position is very flat light so you need to balance the needs of filling wrinkles or a slimming effect.

Sometimes when power or time limitations are factors, one light will do the work of both Key and Fill. A second small light from behind to add a little shine to the hair adds a finishing touch. Experiment by adjusting the distance between the light and your subject to achieve the balance between your key light and the ambient light.

In this example a 500-watt Omni-light with a nylon umbrella worked well for the single Key / Fill light and a 125-watt L-light is providing the shine on the hair and shoulders. Don't forget to make the necessary changes in the height of your stand and possibly an exposure change to your camera as you adjust position of the lights. Perhaps your situation calls for a more or less powerful bulb or a different fixture. Get the feel of working with a small hard source (you can really see where those shadows are) and then perhaps add an umbrella and see that by increasing the relative size of the light source you increase its softness.