underlight
Glow from below
Underlight is lighting positioned below a subject rather than above—illuminating from underneath to create dramatic shadows or highlight features from an unusual angle.
In photography and film, underlighting produces eerie or sinister effects: The horror movie used underlight to make the actor's face look menacing.
The technique appears in architectural and display lighting to emphasize texture or create ambient effects.
Light directed from below
- footlightsLamps at stage edge
- fillMake something full
- accentRegional speech pattern
- recessedSet back into something
shadowplay · chiaroscuro · modeling · contour · depth · dimensionality · texture
Heatless light emission
- phosphorescenceHeatless delayed light emission
- bioluminescenceOrganism-generated light emission
- fluorescenceLight emitted after absorption
- shimmerTremulous, wavering light
glimmer · gleam · radiance · ambient · diffuse · wash · bounce · reflected
Bar for gripping on stairs
- vanityExcessive pride in oneself
- coveSheltered coastal indentation
- recessedSet back into something
- accentRegional speech pattern
ambient · pathway · plinth · baseboard · indirect · decorative
Lamps at stage edge
- spotlightConcentrated illumination source
- prosceniumTheater's architectural frame
- boardsPlanks or governing bodies
- performanceCarrying out a task
Disturbingly strange
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
dramatic · otherworldly · spectral · ghostly · uncanny · foreboding · atmospheric · cinematic
uplighting
Light directed from below
- footlightsLamps at stage edge
- fillMake something full
- accentRegional speech pattern
recessed · shadowplay · chiaroscuro · modeling · contour · depth · dimensionality · texture
luminescence
Heatless light emission
- phosphorescenceHeatless delayed light emission
- bioluminescenceOrganism-generated light emission
- fluorescenceLight emitted after absorption
shimmer · glimmer · gleam · radiance · ambient · diffuse · wash · bounce · reflected · indirect
handrail
Bar for gripping on stairs
accent · ambient · pathway · plinth · baseboard · indirect · decorative
footlights
Lamps at stage edge
- spotlightConcentrated illumination source
- prosceniumTheater's architectural frame
- boardsPlanks or governing bodies
performance · scenic · gel · gobo
eerie
Disturbingly strange
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- hauntingDisturbingly unforgettable
- ominousSuggesting something bad approaches
sinister · dramatic · otherworldly · spectral · ghostly · uncanny · foreboding · atmospheric · cinematic · noir
underlightdownlight
Recessed ceiling fixture
ceiling light · downlighting · sidelight · backlight · front light
underlightpendant light
Suspended overhead illumination fixture
chandelier · flush mount · track lighting · wall sconce · uplighter
under, light, underlit, lights, lighted, lighting, lighter, lightest, enlighten