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Do not underestimate the power of lighting. If you ever watch news footage being taped outdoors,
you'll notice that even then, they do the best they can to control the lighting.
A trip to your local hardware or art store will give you some excellent lighting
options for both indoor and outdoor settings at very reasonable prices.
For professionals, lighting is an artistic realm. Many people make their living controlling lighting, and
a few short paragraphs here cannot tell the whole story. However, these hints and suggestions can help
a first time webcasting team to get decent output.
If using only one light, diffuse it
If you have only one lighting source, it should not shine directly on your subject.
You should diffuse the light.
Avoid deep shadows
Make sure you "fill" all areas of your subject. Sometimes this will require adjusting the light
to bounce off a different wall, or by using two lights. Putting a light low and a light high is often
a way to fill evenly.
Don't light too evenly
If you completely evenly light a set you may actually be worse off than
not lighting the set at all. Look at a sample shot and see if it "looks natural". Most productions will have
a little more light coming from above than any other direction. You should rarely light just from below the subject.
Too much light
Be aware of having too much light for your subject.
If your subjects are people, if you use a lot of light you will need to use make-up to counter-act the lighting.
This is not a bad thing, but you have to choose how much effort you will go through to make a presentation.
If your lighting balance is just right you can get away without using make-up (or if you normally use make-up, then
without having to use a base).
While adjusting the lighting, take a look at the subject and make sure they aren't washed out.
Watch broadcasts and learn
Watch the News a few times with an eye towards "How are they lighting this" as opposed to listening to the speech.
You'll notice they handle all of the basics we cover here but you may catch something that you'd like to add.
These "rules" sound rather vague and if you have one or two lights, you can get much better lighting.
If you are willing to invest a little bit more of your time and money in your lighting, we suggest that
you learn about what is called "Triangular Lighting" or "Three Light Setup".
Although this may sound complicated, it's actually quite simple, and involves setting up three lights
(or potentially using natural light as one of the lights), in a formula that gives you a good balance.
Key light / Main light
This is the strongest of your lights, and does most of your work of lighting.
This light normally comes from one side of the camera (say, the left), and is a little raised.
You could actually take a picture with just the main light, but you'll see shadows.
Fill Light (soft, directly in front of subject)
This is a very soft light which is simply to remove shadows and give the "fill" of the image.
Is usually direct (same level as the head of a person, for example), and usually comes from the same
area as the camera (or just to the side and behind).
If you take a picture with just fill light, your subject will be way too dark. It only adds to the
main light to "fill in" the shadows.
If your Key light comes from the left of your camera, your fill light should come from the right, and visa-versa.
Back-light / Rim Light (directed from behind the subject and above)
This is the hardest light to explain, but it is the "accent" of your subject.
If you look at high-school yearbook pictures, you'll notice that the top-left (or top-right) part of
all those head shots have a highlight of light -- that is the back-light or "rim" light.
It is also called "rim" light because it makes a slight rim around the edge of the top part of the head of your subject.
This light normally comes from behind the subject, often from above, and is focused.
Be sure it is not directed at the camera.
Most serious lighting starts with these three basic lights.
There are some great sites on the web that describe these techniques in great detail.
Here are some:
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