Lighting Basics
Lighting Characteristics
• Coherence (quality)
• Colour Temperature
• Intensity
Lighting Quality
Soft Light Hard Light VS
Hard Light• Relatively Small Source• Parallel Rays• Gives hard, sharply defined shadows
Examples of hard light• Light from a clear, unfrostedlight bulb• A focused spotlight• The noon sun in a clear sky
Uses for Hard Light• Showing details• Making people stand out from their background• Lighting parts of set• Adding drama
Making Hard Light
Soft Light• Comes from a relatively large source of light• Rays are dispersed • Hides irregularities in a surface
Soft Light Sources
• The light from the sky ona cloudy day• Light shinning through shearcurtains• Light bounced off white walls• Light from a bank of florescent bulbs
Uses for Softlight
• Since soft light tends to hide lines, wrinkles and blemishes, it's desirable in doing glamour work
Difficulties with Softlight
• Although it has certain applications, especially in extreme close-ups of objects where shadows would obscure important details, flat lighting leaves subject matter somewhat "dimensionless."
• When used over a large area, it can impart an arid and sterile-looking appearance.
Making Soft Light• bounce hard light offa white surface• put diffusion over a hardlight• bounce hard off the ceiling or walls• bounce light off a white umbrella• use a specially designed soft light
Colour Temperature
• The colour of light changes canchange depending upon the time of day or the source of the light• In the early morning and evening, light from the sun has to travel though more atmosphere and a result end up more orange in colour
Colour Temperature 2• Light from outside on a cloudy day appears more blue in tint• Light from tungsten lights (and regular bulbs) appears more orange
Why Light Balance Is Important
Incorrect Light Balance
Correct Light Balance
Setting Your White Balance
• Most digital cameras andcamcorders have some wayto let you set the white balance
Setting White Balance Manually
• An even better way to set the white balance is to do it manually
Light Intensity• The brightness of light is measured in either Lux (metric) or Footcandles (imperial)• Without enough light your images will appear “snowy” and colour won’t look right• Generally the camera needs more light than our eyes do to see clearly so our eyes are a poor judge
Over and Under Exposure
If part of a scene is too dark it will appear “underexposed” and details will be lost
If part of a scene is too bright, it will appear “overexposed” and details will be lost
Measuring Light IntensityPhotographers and Cinematographers use light meters to measure light
Incident light meters measure the light landing on a subject
Spot meters measure the light bouncing off a small area
What you can do about light intensity issues
• Avoid shooting into the lightunless you are going for a backlit effect• Be aware of shadow and hotspots in your shots• When you can, even out lighting with bound cards or fill light
Three Point Lighting1. Key Light2. Fill Light3. Back Light
Looking at the Parts
Key light only Fill light only Back light only
All together now
To sum it up...(lighting tips)• Be aware of where your light is coming from and notice it’s quality, colour temperature, and brightness. Make adjustments as needed• Add light or bounce light as needed• Lighting is key to the quality of your videography