Lighting is key to both film and photography. How to get it right for filmmakers.

February 25, 2017

film lighting four point lighting key lighting lighting ring light spot lighting three point lighting

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Lighting is key, you can have some awesome equipment to film people, but if you do not utilise light correctly, you can have a mediocre looking shot. Three-Point Lighting is the basic lighting setup to use when you want to get great looking shots of people you're filming.

Three Light Sources:

Key: This is the main light source. It shines directly on the subject, usually from the front-right or front-left. It provides the overall look and feel of the shot.
Fill: The fill provides balance to the key by filling in the rest of the subjects face with a softer light. It comes in from the front-side opposite the key light.
Back: The back light creates a nice rim of light around the back the subject, separating them from the background. It can also be called a "hairlight" or "rim-light".

A fourth lighting source can be for the background. The following tutorial will give a run down of these 4 light sources.