Lighting Design Basics

3-Point Lighting

In lighting, as in most creative endeavors, there are basic design guidelines. Mastering these guidelines provides a firm foundation for the development of your lighting skills and provides a starting point for more creative and daring lighting designs. One of the basic guidelines for designing a workable lighting design is called 3-point lighting. The 3-point lighting design uses three light sources to illuminate the subject, provide shape and 3 dimentionality, and separate the subject from the background. These three light sources are the Key light, Fill light, and Back light. The KEY light is the dominant light source striking the subject. Typically, the key light is at least twice as bright as the fill light.

In the basic 3-point design, the KEY light is placed 45 degrees to the side of the subject and at a 45 degree angle above the subject.

3-Point Lighting
Fill Light

The Fill light is placed on the opposite side of the subject from the keylight and at approximately the same height and angle. Usually, the fill light is at least half as bright as the key light.

Lighting With Shadows

One of the more important realizations in learning about lighting is that lighting is not necessarily the art of adding light to a scene. Instead, as Tom LeTourneau so aptly put it in his book, Lighting Techniques For Video Production, lighting is "the art of Casting Shadows". For some of you, that may be a radical statement. I myself spent years trying to eliminate ugly shadows in my scenes, typically by adding more and more lights.

But, stop and think about it. In movies and TV shows, frequently its the depth and placement of shadows that make the lighting so dynamic and evocative. Shadows, from subtle to dark, help give a scene 3 dimensionality and help establish the mood of the scene. Shadows can also establish the time of day, hide or accentuate features of the set or actors, and suggest set elements, such as windows, which don't really exist. So, an important element toward creating better lighting is to start to look at lights as not only sources of illumination, but also as shadow generators.

Seeing Lighting
This also leads us to a valuable skill that is important to develop-the ability to SEE how light and shadows fall on objects and people around us, and in the scenes that we shoot. You have to make a concerted effort to look past everything else and concentrate on the subtleties of color, shadow, and highlights which are created through lighting.

For example, notice how the light from a window falls on objects in a room. Objects near the window are strongly lit on the side facing the window, with details accentuated by highlights, while the opposite side of the objects are darker and less defined. Also observe how the wall opposite the window softly reflects light back into the room helping to illuminate the side of the subjects away from the window.

All around us are wonderful examples of how light defines our environment. You just have to LOOK.

Now that you're looking at the effect of natural light falling around you, we need to discover how we can recreate and enhance those effects in our videos.

Direction

The direction of light is specifically related to the height and angle of the lighting source. Height refers to where the light source is placed above ground level. Is it above, below, or even with the subject? Angle refers to the slope of the light's beam. Together, height and angle determine where the highlights and shadows fall on your subject. Placement of the light source directly above the heads of the subjects creates a different effect than placing the source at ground level and pointing up at the subjects.

Down Angle
Placement of the light source above the subjects and angled straight down results in a glowing effect on the tops of heads and shoulders while the face and body are shadowed. This lighting effect might suggest an interrogation room or spiritual encounter. In this example the subjects look subservient to the light source which represents an entity of higher power.

Men In Black Photos: Melinda Sue Gordon, Andy Schwartz. Copyright Columbia/Tri Star Motion Picture Companies

Up Angle
Light placed on the ground and aimed up at the subjects will produce a dramatically different effect. Unusual shadows are created by placing the light low, and in this case from behind. This lighting design creates a sinister or otherworldly effect. In this example, the subjects are made to look powerful and threatening.

Men In Black Photos: Melinda Sue Gordon, Andy Schwartz. Copyright Columbia/Tri Star Motion Picture Companies

These two examples are extremes; most non-theatrical projects don't involve sinister villains or powers from above. However, they point out how strong the relationship is between angle and height and how they affect the viewer's perception of a scene. At the least, you need to be careful not to imply something you don't intend by poor placement of your light source in relation to your subject. On the other hand, thoughtful placement of your lights can enhance and improve the look of your subject or scene.

Direction

The direction of light is specifically related to the height and angle of the lighting source. Height refers to where the light source is placed above ground level. Is it above, below, or even with the subject? Angle refers to the slope of the light's beam. Together, height and angle determine where the highlights and shadows fall on your subject. Placement of the light source directly above the heads of the subjects creates a different effect than placing the source at ground level and pointing up at the subjects.

Down Angle
Placement of the light source above the subjects and angled straight down results in a glowing effect on the tops of heads and shoulders while the face and body are shadowed. This lighting effect might suggest an interrogation room or spiritual encounter. In this example the subjects look subservient to the light source which represents an entity of higher power.

Men In Black Photos: Melinda Sue Gordon, Andy Schwartz. Copyright Columbia/Tri Star Motion Picture Companies

Up Angle
Light placed on the ground and aimed up at the subjects will produce a dramatically different effect. Unusual shadows are created by placing the light low, and in this case from behind. This lighting design creates a sinister or otherworldly effect. In this example, the subjects are made to look powerful and threatening.

Men In Black Photos: Melinda Sue Gordon, Andy Schwartz. Copyright Columbia/Tri Star Motion Picture Companies

These two examples are extremes; most non-theatrical projects don't involve sinister villains or powers from above. However, they point out how strong the relationship is between angle and height and how they affect the viewer's perception of a scene. At the least, you need to be careful not to imply something you don't intend by poor placement of your light source in relation to your subject. On the other hand, thoughtful placement of your lights can enhance and improve the look of your subject or scene. The angle and height of your light sources are especially important when shooting the human face. Video is such an intimate medium that we frequently are seeing people "up close" and "very personal." As some clever person once said, "the eyes are the window on the soul," and no where is that more true than when capturing someone on video. As a viewer, our attention is drawn to the eyes of the person we are watching. So it makes sense that we want to light the face so we can see the eyes, or at least one eye if we want to be dramatic.

But, frequently I've watched local television, training videos, and home movies where the eyes are totally obscured by shadow. One of the first culprits in this situation is, typically, placing the subject's main light source at too high and steep of an angle above the subject. The simplest solution to this problem is to lower the light, either by lowering the light on its stand or by moving the light farther away from your subject, thereby reducing the angle of the light.

Quality

The quality of light relates to the hardness or softness of the light striking the subject.

Hard light is characterized by sharp beams of light with distinct edges between light and shadow. Hard light typically produces distinct dark shadows. A good example is the spotlight which bathes stage performers in light while throwing a distinct circular pattern of light and shadow around the performers. This type of lighting is useful for creating drama and excitement and is often associated with night scenes.

Pirates of Penzance Provided by the Theater Arts Department, California State University, Fresno

Soft light, on the other hand, caresses the subject with the transition from light to shadow diffused. Soft light is used frequently in television shows and commercials because it is very complimentary to the subject and can help to diminssh harsh shadows.

Nebraska Cinematographer: Chuck Barbee copyright 1997 Michael Nash