Lighting

3 Point Lighting Formula

In typical lighting setups, lighting instruments

serve four functions:

key lights

fill lights

back lights

background lights

Lighting Setup

3-Point Lighting Setup

Made up of Key, Fill, Back and Background light Standard for lighting people Can be modified for objects Can be modified for alternative ‘looks’

Main Lighting Setup

There are four things you need to think about when letting up lights.

follow source Is there an apparent source of light in the setting such as a window or nearby

table lamp? If so, be sure to key from this direction.

consistency In most settings it will look a bit strange if two people are sitting next to each other

and one is keyed from the left and one from the right.

the person's best side Put the key on this side. It will emphasize the positive and downplay

the negative facial characteristics.

what's most practical If there is a wall or obstruction on one side of the subject -- a possible

problem when doing on-location shoots -- you will generally want to key from the side that will

enable you to use a 45-degree angle.

The Key Light is the Main Light

Among other things, the key light creates a

catchlight in the eyes of subjects -- a single reflection in each eye that gives the eyes their "sparkle."

When you "put lights everywhere," it not only results in a multitude of catchlights in the eyes, but it generally results in flat, lifeless lighting.

Numerous lights hitting talent areas also create a confusing horde of shadows. Barn doors and flags can be a great help in keeping light out of unwanted areas.

Keep it Simple

In terms of coherence or quality the key light

should be in the middle of the hard-to-soft range. Light that is either too hard or too soft is not desirable for most subject matter -- especially people. A "middle ground" is often achieved with a Fresnel light.

In three-point lighting the key light is placed at an angle of between 30- and 45-degrees from either the left or the right of the camera.

Key Light

The key light by itself — whether it's the sun

in a clear sky or a focused quartz light in the studio — produces distracting shadows. The purpose of the fill light is to partially (but not entirely) fill in the shadows created by the horizontal and vertical angles of the key light.

Fill Light

Ideally, the fill light should be about 90

degrees away from the key light. This means that if you draw lines from the key

to the subject and then to the fill light, you'll create a right angle.

Fill Light

Although the fill can be positioned at any point

from right beside the camera to 45 degrees away, it's safest to place the fill 45 degrees from the camera.

By lighting a full 90-degree area, an important margin of safety is created in case subjects unexpectedly move during the production and camera angles have to be changed.

Fill Light

If a key light puts out a wide beam of light,

part of this light can be bounced off of a reflector board to act as a fill.

a reflector board can be positioned at about 90 degrees from the sun to reflect

sunlight into the shadow areas. Large white Styrofoam or foam core boards are often used in doing close-ups.

Fill Light

The third point is represented by the back

light. The function of the back light is to separate

the subject from the background by creating a subtle rim of light around the subject.

Back Light

The back light, sometimes called a hair light,

should be placed directly behind the subject in relation to the close-up camera.

From an overhead perspective you should be able to draw a straight line from the lens of the close-up camera, through the subject, directly to the back light

By using only back lights with no front lighting

a silhouette effect can be created. This can be used for dramatic effects or to hide someone's identity.

Back Light

The use of back light can add depth and

separation to subject matter.

Back Light

Background lights are used to illuminate the

background area and add depth and separation between scene elements. (Remember that a back light is designed to light up the back of subjects and a background light is designed to light up the front of backgrounds.)

Background Lights

Once the background light is added, the lighting setup is

complete. Any type of light can be used as a background light as long

as it provides fairly even illumination across the background, does not hit

the central subject matter, and is at the appropriate intensity. Put the background light on the same side as the key, this keeps the dominant light consistent in the scene.

Background Lights