7 Lighting Tips for Video Shooting You Must Know

Summary: This blog shows you some basic lighting rules for video filming, including 1 lighting basic - three-point lighting, and 7 practical lighting tips for video recording. Follow us and get more.

It cannot be overstated how important lighting in videos is. It has the power to change how a shot looks and affect the mood and overall quality of a scene. That’s why it’s crucial for you to master the killer lighting tips for video shooting.

Following some basic rules of lighting in video recording to get you ready for your next video production.

Also Read: Top Happy Birthday Video Song - Birthday Music with Sincere Wishes >

Lighting Basic: Three-Point Lighting

Three-point lighting is the commonly used technique for providing great light in videos. It is the most basic lighting set up and one that you will use over and over again.

It uses some lighting kits offering three lights from different directions to shape the subject and set them apart from their background.

Image Board: 3 Point Lighting Effect

Key Light - A key light shines directly upon the subject and serves as its primary light. It usually from the front right or front left of the subject, and it establishes the overall look and feel of the shot.

Fill Light - Fill light shines on the subject from the opposite side of the key light and is often placed at a lower position than the key. It aims to offset and diminish any shadows on your subject's face caused by the key light.

Backlight - Backlight shines on the subject from behind; it is used to separate your subject from the background, creating depth and dimension.

Image Board: 3 Point Lighting Setup

Video Lighting Tips for Outdoor Shoot

Image Board: Use Sunlight Wisely

When you want to film videos outside, you're shooting in natural light. Natural light refers to natural sunlight here. The sunlight will come with pretty great advantages (and some disadvantages). Here are some tips for you to using natural light wisely:

#1 Lighting Tip for Video: Make the Most of the Golden Hours

Where the sun is located in the sky can have a significant effect on how your video looks. That's to say, if you want to shoot with the best lighting for good video looks, you need to find the golden hours to record videos. The hours just before sunset and just after sunrise is favored by professional photographers as having the best light of the day. Shooting in this time can get the softest light with the least amount of shadows and warmest color hues.

#2 Lighting Tip for Video: Avoid Direct Sunlight

Direct sunlight can produce harsh shadows which may not be flattering to the subject in your video. Filming in the shade is a great way to use sunlight without overexposing your subject. For example, standing behind a building or underneath a tree can effectively diffuse harsh light and produce more pleasing results to your shooting.

#3 Lighting Tip for Video: Make Your Reflector to Create Fill Light

Reflectors are an easy way to harness natural light and cast it on to your subject. You can use reflectors to bounce sunlight as a fill light to fill the shadowed area on your subject. You needn't buy one from a professional photography shop, although you can. Often a piece of white paper or a piece of large white poster board can create the effect you're looking for.

Video Lighting Tips for Indoor Shoot

Image Board: Indoor Lighting

For the indoor shoot, it's much more flexible to work with three-point light. One of the best ways to use indoor light is through practical lighting. Besides, making good use of windows can lead to unexpected effects.

#4 Lighting Tip for Video: Taking Advantage of Practical Lighting

There are many practical lighting you can use to set up three-point lighting. A practical light is an actual working light within the scene itself. It can be a household lamp, a TV, candles and so on.

#5 Lighting Tip for Video: Make Good Lighting Using Window Light

Windows can be your frienemy for an indoor shoot. Sometimes windows get in the way of your lighting; other times, the window provides you with the best lighting source. You can take window light as your key light by facing the window.

Other Video Lighting Tips You need to Know

#6 Lighting Tip for Video: Soft Light vs. Hard Light

How hard or soft the lighting is will have a significant influence on how a scene feels emotionally. And the hardness or softness of light concerns how the light affects shadows on your subject.

Hard light will heighten the shadows on your subject, which always should be avoided. But it is more dramatic and also tends to have more contrast, so you can use a soft right to create dramatic effects.

Soft light is more universally flattering and easier to work with. With soft light, your subject will be filled in with fewer shadows.

Then what's the right light for video, hard light or soft light? No one can answer for absolute certainly because different subject tends to favor one type over the other and need different effects.

#7 Lighting Tip: Low Key Lighting vs. High Key Lighting

Want a dramatic feel for your video? Low key lighting can help you much.

Low key lighting is a lighting effect that uses a hard light source to enhance shadows in your scene. It involves lots of contrast and creates an entirely different mood than high key lighting, and it is much more dramatic.

How about high key lighting? High key lighting often involves a soft key light directly above the camera - and not too close to the subject. It gives you fewer shadows and makes your subject look flawless and elegant.

Final Words

Now you have known how to make good lighting for videos, just apply those lighting tips to your next video production. By the way, clever editing is essential for a great video, so try FlexClip to make your project a masterpiece with great ease.

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Professional in video editing and video marketing, we’d love to give some constructive tips and tricks to help our users make fantastic videos.