Lighting choices for amateur videographers are a lot better these days than they were a
decade or two ago. An inexpensive shoe mount video light, which will easily fit in a cam-
era bag, can be found for $15 or $20. You can even get a good quality LED video light
for less than $100. Work lights sold at many home improvement stores can also serve as
video lights since you can set the camera’s white balance to correct for any colorcasts.
Much of the challenge depends upon whether you’re just trying to add some fill light
on your subject versus trying to boost the light on an entire scene. A small video light
in the camera’s hot shoe mount or on a flash bracket will do just fine for the former. It
won’t handle the latter.
Creative Lighting
While ramping up the light intensity will produce better technical quality in your video,
it won’t necessarily improve the artistic quality of it. Whether we’re outdoors or indoors,
we’re used to seeing light come from above. Videographers need to consider how they
position their lights to provide even illumination while up high enough to angle shad-
ows down low and out of sight of the camera.
When considering lighting for video, there are several factors. One is the quality of the
light. It can either be hard (direct) light or soft (diffused). Hard light is good for show-
ing detail, but can also be very harsh and unforgiving. “Softening” the light, but dif-
fusing it somehow, can reduce the intensity of the light but make for a kinder, gentler
light as well.
While mixing light sources isn’t always a good idea, one approach is to combine win-
dow light with supplemental lighting. Position your subject with the window to one
side and bring in either a supplemental light or a reflector to the other side for reason-
ably even lighting.
Lighting Styles
Some lighting styles are more heavily used than others. Some forms are used for special
effects, while others are designed to be invisible. At its most basic, lighting just illumi-
nates the scene, but when used properly it can also create drama. Let’s look at some types
of lighting styles:
■Three-point lighting. This is a basic lighting setup for one person. A main light
illuminates the strong side of a person’s face, while a fill light lights up the other
side. A third light is then positioned above and behind the subject to light the back
of the head and shoulders.
■Flat lighting. Use this type of lighting to provide illumination and nothing more.
It calls for a variety of lights and diffusers set to raise the light level in a space enough
for good video reproduction, but not to create a particular mood or emphasize a
Chapter 6 ■Live View and D-Movies 175