Whenever you are shooting video or taking a picture, you always want to create some kind of mood. High-key lighting can help you create a feeling visually. It’s important to know what high-key lighting is and how you can use it to add depth to your film’s atmosphere and style. There’s a lot to u

Shooting in low lighting conditioning is often seen as a bad thing. Many videographers and photographers avoid shooting in low-light conditions. However, there are a lot of stunning and beautiful things you can do in low light. Low-key lighting is a very powerful lighting technique that can invoke

There’s an old axiom in the art world: A good artist is the master of their tools. A great artist is the master of their medium. As filmmakers, one of our mediums is light. Understanding film lighting is essential. No matter how brilliant the performer, no matter how perfect the framing, if th

Every successful film or television project needs a talented, well-organized gaffer working at the helm of the electrical department. They play a critical role in ensuring the cinematographer’s lighting plan is executed correctly, ultimately helping the director tell the story they want to tell.

The biggest difference between professional and amateur looking video isn’t the cost of the camera, the artistry of the shooter or the ability of the editor. It’s all about the color, quality and position of the lighting. When it comes to capturing beautiful images, lighting is the most critical fa

One of the best ways to make a production look and feel professional is to use the right lights at the right time — although this is easier said than done. There are many different light types for video production that all come with their own advantages and disadvantages. It’s imperative that yo

In a nutshell Color temperature measures the color of light, existing on a scale between a lit match (1700 K) and skylight (10,000 K)The most common light sources are daylight (5600 K) and indoor tungsten (3200 K)The lower your light is on the kelvin scale, the redder it looks; alternatively, th

Shooting at night is a major hurdle for many productions, big and small. Without the right camera, lighting kit and crew, nighttime shooting is nearly impossible. While technological camera advancements and affordable lighting make it more achievable, shooting at night just isn’t feasible for

I know we say this a lot, but it’s worth repeating; whether you’re a wedding videographer, narrative filmmaker, hobbyist, documentarian or YouTube video producer, the most important visual element of any shot in any project is the lighting. Light in filmmaking is like salt in food. You may

A lot of people mistakenly believe that shooting with a better camera will give them better footage. In reality, shooting with a top-of-the-line cinema camera often does more to reveal the flaws in your shots than it does to improve them. A film will never be as beautiful as it could be without goo

Cameo lighting sets the subject against a dark background. Thus, this technique allows the focus to fall strictly on the subject, rather than what is in the background. In short, the technique is often employed as a way to convey something about the highlighted character — that they are somehow iso

Making a video isn’t that difficult. You get a camera, plan your shots and start shooting. One of the trickier tasks is lighting the video. Without perfect lighting for your video, even the most well-composed shots can look amateurish and substandard. However, with the right technique, you ca

In the last ten years, cheap color-changing LEDs have started to make gels and filters obsolete. With color-changing programmable RGB LEDs, you can change the color of the light in your scene, practically as you’re shooting. And that’s with just one lighting fixture, instead of having to use

When is white not really white? When it’s headed toward an unprepared camera sensor. Understanding white balance and the color difference between light sources is critical to getting the best look from your camera, which also makes it a crucial part of cinematography where everything in the frame n

A cucoloris is a device for casting shadows or silhouettes to produce patterned illumination. You may sometimes hear it referred to as a cookie or even a kook or a coo-koo. Why do we use them? The cucoloris was created to give artificial lighting a more natural look. Cookies break up the ligh

There’s a lot of lighting terminology out there and it can be a lot to memorize. We’ve compiled a list of all the lighting term definitions you might need to know. No matter if you’re a beginner videographer trying to learn the jargon of pros, a student writing a paper on lighting or a pro looki

For a camera to pick up a quality image, you need to have light. In many ways, the lights you use and the way they are set up is more important than the camera you use. This includes professional film cameras and even the camera on your smartphone or laptop. Many more people are meeting on video ca

Do you need some help picking out the lighting for your vlogs? Here are some light setups you can consider using for your projects. Often times, when your lighting doesn’t look good, people don’t take you or your vlog seriously. As you’ll see in The Slanted Lens’ video, good lighting is the key

Douglas Miller, MFA, is the Associate Professor of Cinematic Arts at the Zaki Gordon Center at Liberty University. His resume includes film and network television with productions ranging from soap operas and commercials to PBS documentaries and special events. Professor Miller has worked his way up

For those of us who contribute daily to the motion content business, eventually you will be asked to light a large subject or group of subjects within a single frame.  This will involve a different set of criteria than just lighting just one actor, or object.  You must think broadly &mdash