What Are Some Techniques Used When Lighting For Photography, Film And Video.

Answer 1

I learned lighting while personally working on set with Andrew Laszlo, Oliver Wood, Anthony Richmond and other very skilled cinematographers. There are thousands of articles on the Internet that cover this topic. I offer my condensed wisdom on the subject.

Ask yourself, “What is the goal of this particular setup (scene, shot, image)?” What do you want the audience to think or feel seeing this image?

Make sure the lighting contributes to the goal of the shot.

• Set you backlight first. In this way you call the viewers eye to what is most important in the scene.

• Just Use One Light. The simplest, easiest, fastest, least expensive and often most dramatic way to light is with just one light.

The easiest way to shoot with only one light is to shoot day-exterior scenes.

You want to make the sun your backlight when shooting day exterior. Position the camera and the subject so that the sun shines on an edge of the subject from behind.

Don’t shoot exteriors with the sun near local noon. If you have to shoot near noon then find some shade to reduce the deep shadow contrast.  

• Don't use any more lights than you have to.

Simple Three Point Lighting: You can light almost any setup with simple three-point lighting:

• A backlight to separate the subject from the background

• A key light that is the brightest light on the camera side of the subject

• A fill light to adjust the contrast (shadows) created by the key light

For Interiors use practical lights and windows that can be seen in the shot by the camera. These include: candles, oil lamps, table lamps, desk lamps, and floor lamps. Play as many of these items as makes sense in the scene. Windows make great backlights or can play as key or fill light sources.

Going beyond three-point lighting you may want to put light on the background so the viewers know what is there if it is important to the scene. You may also want to set "special" lights specifically to illuminate important elements in the scene.

You Get Eye Candy at Night

Shooting at night gives spectacular results. Wet down everything the camera sees as if there was a light rain shower just a few minutes before the scene takes place. 

This article barley scratches the surface of the art and science of lighting for recorded media. There are lots of books, magazine articles and videos that can add to your knowledge of lighting. Start with the Time Life books on photography. You can find them in many libraries and they can often be found in used bookstores.

Keep in mind that the simplest lighting is often the very best.