lighting techniques

A basic rule of thumb for lighting is “the more the better.” Video cameras will record pictures in very low light, but if you want to do any editing or duplicating of the videotape, low-light pictures won’t show up very well.

Outdoor Lighting

Shooting outdoors is usually very easy due to the abundance of sunlight. However, direct sun will cause heavy shadows, so try to keep your subject in the shade. The best days to shoot outdoors are when the sky is slightly overcast. The clouds diffuse the sunlight and create a very flattering light. Sunlight is your camera’s best friend, but remember you can always get too much of a good thing. If you are outside, have the sun at your back. If the sun is behind your subject (called backlighting) the camera “reads” the bright parts of the picture and closes the iris. This means that the subject of the picture will become dark.

 

TV News Lighting

This technique gets its name from the fact that it is used by “remote” TV news cameras. It involves placing a single light on the camera. This technique puts light right where you point the camera.

 

Studio Lighting

This technique gets its name from its use in a studio situation. You will need three portable lights that can be aimed at your subject. Place two lights at 45-degree angles in front and to either side of the subject. These are called the key and fill lights. Place one light slightly farther away from the subject than the other. These lights give the subject an even light, with the light placed farther back and causing a slight shadow to add texture to the picture. The third light is placed so it shines on the back of the subject and is called a backlight. This light is used to separate the subject from the background.

Backlighting

Try to keep a dark background behind your subject. Remember that the camera will “read” the brightest part of a picture. If you shoot against a white wall, it will be the brightest part of the picture and the subject will be dark.

Indoors

If you are in a room with windows, make sure they are to your back and that the blinds are open as far as you can get them. Try not to shoot a scene that includes direct sunlight in only parts of the picture. The camera will “read” the strong light, which will cause that part of the picture to look fine, but the rest of the picture to look dark. If you have bright light coming from the window and a strong electrical light in the same shot, you will end up with shadows that are off color. This is caused by the different color values between electric light bulbs and natural light. Experiment to see if the color is bad enough to be noticed. If it doesn’t bother you, don’t worry about. However, if you have cute kids with pink and green faces, you may want to move to a different location.

 

Outdoors

Try to keep the bright sky out of the picture because when the camera “reads” the sky, it will darken your subject. To correct the problem, zoom in to exclude the sky from your picture. Have the person appearing on camera stand in front of bushes or the side of a house, or set up your shot so you see hills or mountains in the background.