What's the Best Lighting Setup? The One That's Least Noticable in the Final Video

Like cooking, you start with a basic recipe and then season to your own taste. But remember one universal rule: It’s not about the video, it’s about who the video is meant to serve.

by

I began my career assisting a photographer named Justin, some time near the end of the last century. He would always ask, “How do you think God would light this? Oh right, one light.” The joke got old pretty quickly, but I kept that thought as a starting point for thousands of photo, film, and video shoots that followed over the next 35 years. Fast forward a few decades, I’m the senior director of photography at Hope Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, and my position, along with a brilliant creative team, is producing more content than faced in the commercial world.  

When setting the key light, you will be doing much more than simply lighting your subject, you will also be setting the mood and tone of your video.  

Still, when it comes to lighting, that same old rule still comes to mind. Regardless of how many lights you may eventually use in your setup, the first thought should be from which direction your primary light, also known as your key light, will be coming from. When setting the key light, you will be doing much more than simply lighting your subject, you will also be setting the mood and tone of your video. The tone of your video should help set the stage for your audience to be receptive to your message, but not be so strong that it distracts the viewer from your intended purpose. Look around you. The lighting that you experience every day, your kitchen, office, classroom or chapel is a constant source of inspiration. Each of these locations conveys a mood that is unconsciously received by the viewer and, very often, it’s our job as videographers to capture that tone and make it feel natural. The best lighting setup is the one that is least noticeable in the final video.

Context is Critical

Obviously, the reason we create videos is to communicate our thoughts and ideas to others. And whether it is a simple message to make the congregation aware of an upcoming event or the passionate testimony of someone finding their way to Jesus, the correct lighting will help set the proper tone to deliver that message. Regardless of the story you are trying to relate, most would agree that making our on-camera talent look as good as possible is in everyone’s best interest. Before considering what lights I’m going to use, I have to take a quick look at my location and see what assets and obstacles I have to work with. What lighting already exists at my location? Can I incorporate the existing lighting into my video? Is there a mix of lighting temperatures, and do I have control over the existing lighting if I need to turn it off? Lastly, before taking one light out of its case, I look to see where the plugs are.I have been to many locations where the nearest working electrical outlet was over 50 feet away.The lighting at many locations will often present a mishmash of lighting fixtures, mixing daylight with indoor, tungsten, halogen, or fluorescent lighting.

These lighting sources each have a unique color temperature that may add unwanted colors to your video image. In these situations, it is often better to turn off the lights that you can’t control and adjust your lighting kit to the ones you can match.Video evolved from cinema film, whose cameras required a lot more lighting than today’s digital cameras. Although there are several types of lighting available to videographers, the most popular are LED fixtures, and for many good reasons. LED lighting requires much less electricity. The compact fixtures remain cooler than traditional lights and many have bi-color capability, which mean their color temperature is adjustable, allowing you to match your lights with those at your location. The basic LED light is a flat panel filled with tiny light emitting diodes, and although they are very bright, the light they produce is often harsh and unflattering, without some form of light modifier in front. You will find that a fixture that allows you to use a soft box or that is powerful enough to light through some diffusion material will give you much better results than a light that is simply bright. Not all LEDs have consistent, accurate color, either. It is wise to compare brands and find a unit with a CRI value of >95 or higher to avoid disturbing color shifts.

Key & Fill Light Basics

A soft, diffused key light to the left or right of your primary camera is very complementary and will create flattering lighting for most situations. Diffused light, created by using a soft box or lighting dome on your light fixture, smoothes out the light, replacing the hard shadows around our eyes and nose with soft, graduated tones. By placing the key light higher than your subject, you will increase the shadow under their face, leaving only one chin to be seen by the camera.If I am working on an interview, I’ll commonly place the interviewer between the camera and my key light so that the subjects face turns towards the light when answering questions, leaving part of their face in shadow.

Sometimes, this shadow can bring additional drama to your image, but if that is not your intention, you can fill that shadow with what we generally call fill light. Fill light can be created using a second light or some form of reflector. The second light should have dimming capabilities, so that you can set it to about two thirds of the brightness of your key light, because if you totally fill in all the shadows, your subject will look flat and lifeless. The effect your fill light is having on your subject will be immediately obvious on your camera monitor or viewfinder, and you can adjust it to your own taste and needs. You can also introduce a color into the shadow area by putting a colored gel on your fill light. A cool blue or amber fill can often add a dramatic feel to a less than exciting location. If your light is bi-color, you can intentionally change the color temperature as an effect. Often I will incorporate a third light, an edge light, to add an extra highlight on my subject.

... it is important to be able to modify the output and texture of your lighting tools, so that you can control and sculpt your lighting to deliver the most visual impact.  

I place this hard, direct light on the opposite side from the key light, so that it works its magic on the shadow side of my talent. If my key light is on my right, my primary edge light will be about 10 or 11 o’clock from my primary camera. This light helps create a third dimension in a two dimensional screen. Sometimes you can turn off or reduce your fill light and use only your edge light for additional drama. At times I will use a fourth light on the background, also to add dimension to my image. Once again, it is important to be able to modify the output and texture of your lighting tools, so that you can control and sculpt your lighting to deliver the most visual impact.Although this basic lighting style has been around for years, it is merely a starting point. Like cooking, you start with a basic recipe and then season to your own taste. And whether you work with one light or more, there is one universal rule to follow: It’s not about the video, it’s about who the video is meant to serve.