1. Lighting Video for the WebUnderstanding essential equipment| 00:00 | A universal truth about people who make
video is that they love gadgets, all of
| | 00:06 | those pieces of gear it takes to do a good job.
| | 00:09 | In this movie, I'm going to tell you
what I think you should have to get started.
| | 00:13 | Whatever your type of production,
one thing you have to have is a camera.
| | 00:18 | Yours might be a webcam that's built in
or attached to a computer, or it might be
| | 00:24 | a small palm-sized video camera.
| | 00:27 | I refer to mine as my dad cam.
| | 00:30 | It might even be the video camera that's
built into your smartphone or tablet.
| | 00:35 | This course is designed for small
consumer video cameras, but lighting
| | 00:39 | philosophy is the same for
all levels of production.
| | 00:42 | I'm going to assume that you are
shooting on a tight budget, but you know you
| | 00:47 | need to do something to make your videos look
better while spending as little as possible.
| | 00:52 | As I said in the beginning of this
movie, it takes a lot of stuff to create a
| | 00:56 | quality product and since we're
trying to do this on a budget, let's take a
| | 01:01 | do-it-yourself approach by looking
around to see what we already have.
| | 01:05 | Your main light can be as simple as
a table lamp or a desk lamp if you're
| | 01:10 | sitting at a computer using your webcam.
| | 01:13 | If you're setting up a little studio
area in your home or office, you could
| | 01:18 | probably get by with a
clamp-on work light or two.
| | 01:20 | It's not fancy, but at
least it's better than nothing.
| | 01:24 | You may be able to find an inexpensive LED
task light at the home improvement store.
| | 01:28 | With a little duct tape,
you can probably make this work.
| | 01:33 | If you are shooting on a smartphone
or tablet then you'll have a variety of
| | 01:36 | mounting systems from which to choose.
| | 01:39 | You can attach a small LED light
right on top of the camera housing.
| | 01:44 | These work best if your subject
is relatively close to the camera.
| | 01:48 | The downside is that
they may be a little pricey.
| | 01:51 | When you're ready for advanced lighting,
you'll need lighting instruments that
| | 01:54 | you may not find around the house.
| | 01:56 | I'll have more on those
when we get to that movie.
| | 01:59 | Oh, by the way, good audio is a must,
and you won't get that with a microphone
| | 02:04 | that's built into the camera.
| | 02:06 | Camera mics are good for only wind noise,
air conditioner noise, traffic noise--
| | 02:11 | the common theme being noise.
| | 02:13 | To get good-quality audio, you'll
have to plug in an external mic.
| | 02:19 | If you're doing a video chat or
recording on a webcam, you should consider
| | 02:23 | getting a decent external USB microphone.
| | 02:26 | If you're looking for a dedicated
audio solution for shooting with a video
| | 02:30 | camera, I recommend you check out the
audio chapter in Fundamentals of Video:
| | 02:35 | Cameras and Shooting, right here on lynda.com.
| | 02:39 | If you're using a compact camcorder or
a palm-sized camera, keep in mind that
| | 02:44 | those will have a 1/8-inch audio input
plug if they have any audio input at all.
| | 02:51 | So if you do start looking at
dedicated audio gear, the mic will probably
| | 02:55 | require an adapter cable
to plug it into your camera.
| | 02:59 | That adapter is referred to as
an XLR to 1/8-inch adapter cable.
| | 03:03 | They come in various lengths.
| | 03:06 | One last piece of audio gear you will
definitely need is a good pair of headphones.
| | 03:11 | Without headphones, you won't know
until much later if there was a problem with
| | 03:15 | the sound, and then it might be too late.
| | 03:19 | So how do you monitor your audio
with headphones when you've plugged a
| | 03:22 | microphone into the only jack on your
phone, tablet, or possibly even your
| | 03:27 | small video camera?
| | 03:28 | There's a simple adapter that allows you to
plug in your mic and plug in your headphones.
| | 03:34 | This is the answer to that prayer.
| | 03:37 | This is by no means the complete
list of things you'll need to produce
| | 03:41 | good-looking video, but it is
what I think you need to get started.
| | 03:45 | We'll be introducing more fun
things throughout this course.
| | 03:48 | While you can certainly watch any movie
in any order, I have designed the course
| | 03:52 | to follow the sequence of
the movies as they are listed.
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| Setting up a home or office shooting environment| 00:01 | If you're producing your own content,
creating your environment and preparing
| | 00:05 | your background is just as
important as the lightning.
| | 00:09 | All too often, people pay no attention
to the background when they do things
| | 00:13 | like take pictures, shoot
video, or appear on a webcam.
| | 00:17 | So, what type of background is best,
| | 00:21 | a paper or cloth photographer's background,
plain white wall, green screen, a real room?
| | 00:28 | To answer that, you must consider your end
product and weigh the pros and cons of each.
| | 00:33 | Let's take the real room first.
| | 00:36 | When using a room in your house or
your office, make sure you declutter.
| | 00:40 | Unless you have a pristine space with
nothing out of place, then tidy up a bit.
| | 00:45 | You don't want the person on the other
end wondering what all that stuff is and
| | 00:49 | why it isn't put away.
| | 00:51 | Look past your treasures you may have
stacked everywhere and try to make the
| | 00:56 | background area as sparse as possible.
| | 00:58 | Also, try to use the largest or longest
room, and be sure to step away from the wall.
| | 01:07 | I don't know why people feel the need
to stand right up against the wall, but
| | 01:11 | it's not very flattering.
| | 01:12 | Besides looking like a mugshot,
the shadows will be distracting.
| | 01:17 | So, move a few feet away from the wall.
| | 01:20 | This gives the shadows a place to
fall where they won't be seen, or at least
| | 01:25 | won't be so dominant.
| | 01:26 | The pros do this so that when they zoom in on
the subject, the background goes out of focus.
| | 01:32 | Achieving this shallow depth of field
is difficult, even if your camera has a
| | 01:36 | zoom control on it, because these small
cameras are built to make everything in
| | 01:41 | focus as much as possible.
| | 01:44 | If you'd like to know more about how to
get that soft background look, check out
| | 01:48 | the lynda.com course
Fundamentals of Video: Cameras and Shooting.
| | 01:53 | Windows can either help you or hurt you.
| | 01:56 | It would be ideal to be
able to cover them completely.
| | 01:59 | That way you'd have
complete control over the lightning.
| | 02:02 | Perhaps you plan to shoot on a
regular basis for a podcast or a series of
| | 02:06 | informational videos.
| | 02:08 | In that case, you would definitely
want to control the lighting so you would
| | 02:12 | have a consistent look. But that's more
advanced and will be covered in another movie.
| | 02:16 | For now, let's just deal with them.
| | 02:19 | Close any curtains or draw any shades
that may be on them, unless you need them
| | 02:24 | as your light source.
| | 02:25 | Either way, above all,
don't shoot towards a window.
| | 02:28 | Keep windows out of your shot.
| | 02:31 | The light coming through is just
too bright for you to work with.
| | 02:35 | Let's move on to other types of backgrounds.
| | 02:38 | Graphics will look great over a plain
background, but plain is, well, plain.
| | 02:43 | A white wall certainly focuses attention on you.
| | 02:48 | This is a very clean and simple look
that would also work well for placing
| | 02:52 | graphics in the shot.
| | 02:53 | Photographers' backdrops come
in either cloth or paper rolls.
| | 02:58 | They hang from a rod, placed between two stands,
and come in a variety of colors and styles.
| | 03:04 | However, for shorter periods or
occasional use, or if you need mobility, a fold-
| | 03:09 | up background might be just the ticket.
| | 03:12 | Some of these come double-sided
with chroma-key green on one side and
| | 03:16 | another color on the other.
| | 03:18 | A green screen will let you be anywhere
in the world, but if it's not lit well
| | 03:22 | or you don't have the right software,
you might end up looking like a small-
| | 03:26 | market meteorologist.
| | 03:28 | If you do use a green screen, just
make sure your background image works with
| | 03:32 | you, not against you.
| | 03:35 | The background communicates to your viewer.
| | 03:38 | What it communicates is up to you.
| | 03:40 | The audience will lose your message if
they're reading the titles of the books
| | 03:44 | on the shelf over your shoulder, or if
the shadow behind you is overpowering.
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| Understanding color temperature| 00:00 | Have you ever noticed that some
white light looks different than others,
| | 00:04 | how sunlight seems to be more on the
blue side while a small night light
| | 00:08 | looks kind of yellowish?
| | 00:11 | That is because they have
different color temperatures.
| | 00:14 | In this movie I'm going to explain,
simply enough I hope, why that is.
| | 00:19 | Quick science lesson. Bear with me
here because this really is a basic
| | 00:23 | knowledge regarding lighting.
| | 00:24 | A long time ago a British scientist
named William Thomson the 1st Baron Kelvin,
| | 00:31 | otherwise known as Lord Kelvin, figured
out that different light sources emit
| | 00:36 | different colors, and he assigned a
temperature, measured in degrees Kelvin, so
| | 00:41 | the rest of us could understand it.
| | 00:43 | In between light waves we cannot see--
infrared on one end of the spectrum with
| | 00:48 | ultraviolet on the other--is
the range of visible light.
| | 00:52 | Candlelight has the lowest temperature,
between 1 and 2000 degrees, and sunlight
| | 00:58 | is the highest, between 5,000 and 10,000
degrees, or more depending on the time of day.
| | 01:04 | Average sunlight is
considered to be 5600 degrees Kelvin.
| | 01:08 | In between those two extremes is fluorescent
light that is typically about 4000 degrees.
| | 01:14 | It falls in the green range as the
visible light color changes from red to blue.
| | 01:19 | As you might imagine, green light isn't very
flattering, so try not to use fluorescents.
| | 01:24 | The lower temperatures are referred to as warm,
while the higher temps are said to be cool.
| | 01:30 | Confusing, I know. It seems backwards,
but it has to do with how the light looks
| | 01:34 | rather than the number.
| | 01:36 | This matters to you because if you mix
a bluish light--sunlight--with a reddish
| | 01:41 | light like an incandescent lamp,
you will end up looking funny.
| | 01:45 | Part of you will red and the
other part of you will look blue.
| | 01:49 | For that reason you should
avoid mixing your light sources.
| | 01:52 | Color balancing this type of shot can
be very difficult to fix in the editing.
| | 01:57 | All dedicated video cameras are designed
for using lights at 3200 degrees Kelvin.
| | 02:03 | That's the color temperature of most
studio and professional portable lights.
| | 02:07 | Your small handheld video camera may
have a menu setting for white balance using
| | 02:12 | different light sources, typically
either sunlight or indoor light.
| | 02:16 | These settings help the camera
produce more pleasing pictures.
| | 02:20 | The cameras in your smartphone,
tablet, or a webcam are strictly automatic.
| | 02:25 | A trained human eye can detect
variations in light color, but most humans just
| | 02:30 | see it all as white.
| | 02:31 | Cameras, however, aren't so forgiving.
| | 02:34 | Sure, they automatically adjust the
color balance, but by understanding the
| | 02:38 | concept of color temperature,
you can improve your picture quality.
| | 02:42 | You're going to want to know more
about this because we'll be using this
| | 02:45 | information in the next movies.
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| Creating a basic lighting setup in a home or office| 00:00 | Before you can begin to set the light
for your shot, you have to know what the
| | 00:05 | shot is, how much will be seen, and who
will be in it--and this is true no matter
| | 00:09 | what type of camera you're shooting.
| | 00:12 | There's an old saying in Hollywood that
you can't light air, meaning that you
| | 00:16 | have to have somebody there so
you know where to aim the lights.
| | 00:20 | In this movie, we'll cover the basics
for both using a webcam and for shooting a
| | 00:25 | scene with a small video
camera, smartphone or tablet.
| | 00:29 | Let's do the webcam setup first, in an office
where we've pulled the shades on the window.
| | 00:35 | Where you sit for your webcam
shot will be a personal choice.
| | 00:39 | You'll need to find a balance between
appearing distorted if you're too close,
| | 00:43 | and getting lost in the
background if you're too far way.
| | 00:47 | Let's assume you'll be sitting at a desk.
| | 00:50 | It would be best if you had someone to
sit in for you so you can set the lights.
| | 00:55 | Another good idea is to raise the
computer screen or webcam high enough to have
| | 01:00 | the camera at your eye level.
| | 01:03 | There are two reasons to do this.
| | 01:05 | One, you'll look better when the viewer
isn't looking up your nose, and the other
| | 01:10 | is so the viewer will see less ceiling.
| | 01:13 | Overhead lights are better than
nothing, I guess, but not by much.
| | 01:17 | If that's all you have, then
that's what you'll need to use.
| | 01:21 | The problem with using only overheads
is that the light falls straight down,
| | 01:25 | casting unflattering shadows under your eyes.
| | 01:30 | If you happen to have track lights on
your ceiling then a simple redirect into
| | 01:34 | your chair location can make a big difference.
| | 01:37 | The ideal angle will be about 15
degrees to 20 degrees on either side of the
| | 01:41 | camera or monitor and a few feet away.
| | 01:44 | You may want to reposition your
computer location to accommodate the fixed
| | 01:49 | position of the track light.
| | 01:51 | The best thing about fluorescent lights:
the off switch. Turn them off if at all
| | 01:56 | possible and use a table or desk lamp.
| | 02:00 | And even if you can't turn them off,
then at least supplement the lighting.
| | 02:04 | Do yourself a favor and never appear on
camera lit solely by fluorescent lights.
| | 02:10 | You can thank me later.
| | 02:11 | The reason is they cast an indistinct
shadow straight down, and to a camera it's
| | 02:16 | an ugly shade of green.
| | 02:18 | There's absolutely nothing
desirable about a regular fluorescent light.
| | 02:23 | So just what should a basic
webcam lighting setup look like?
| | 02:27 | Well, here's a subject in a room with the
windows shaded, lit by just a table lamp
| | 02:32 | with an incandescent bulb.
| | 02:34 | You might see these in the store
labeled as soft white or something like that.
| | 02:39 | It's supplementing the
overhead incandescent light.
| | 02:42 | Consider this the best basic setup
because you're in control of the light.
| | 02:47 | There's light both on him, thanks
to the table lamp, plus some light
| | 02:51 | illuminating the background,
thanks to the overhead.
| | 02:55 | A close second best case scenario
for basic webcam lighting uses the desk
| | 03:00 | lamp under fluorescents.
| | 03:02 | The color temperature of fluorescent
is somewhere between incandescent and
| | 03:05 | sunlight, so mixing these light sources isn't
as bad as mixing incandescent with sunlight.
| | 03:12 | You may need to place the desk lamp on
some books or something to get it higher.
| | 03:16 | The goal is to have the light a
little higher than your head.
| | 03:19 | A third best basic setup is to use the
window as the main light, so we've opened
| | 03:25 | the blinds on our window.
| | 03:26 | Of course the problem of relying on
the sun is that it's always moving and
| | 03:32 | not always shining.
| | 03:34 | But let's say the sun is out and that
it's coming in your window just right.
| | 03:38 | In this case it might be
all you need. Not bad, huh?
| | 03:42 | And if your computer isn't at the right
angle for the sunlight to shine on your
| | 03:46 | face, then adjust it until you are illuminated.
| | 03:49 | But it might also be that the sun is
too strong and coming in at an angle that
| | 03:55 | creates a dark shadow on one side of your face.
| | 03:58 | In that case you would need to shine
a little light to fill in that shadow.
| | 04:03 | Here, we're using a little desk lamp
that has an LED bulb that matches closely
| | 04:08 | the color of sunlight.
| | 04:10 | I have more about this idea in
the movie "Advanced video lighting."
| | 04:14 | The concept of having a light shining on
your face from an angle is called keylighting.
| | 04:19 | The idea is to imply that the light
is coming from the sun, the biggest
| | 04:23 | keylight of them all;
| | 04:25 | then we're just directing
and controlling the shadows.
| | 04:28 | That's where we'll start with basic
lighting for a video camera on a tripod
| | 04:33 | shooting someone talking.
| | 04:35 | Much like I just described in lighting
for webcam shot, lighting for camera on
| | 04:39 | a tripod should include a keylight.
| | 04:42 | The main difference is distance and depth.
| | 04:45 | You'll need lights that throw a little farther.
| | 04:47 | Again, if overhead lighting is all you have,
| | 04:50 | then at least use it.
| | 04:52 | Making a decent picture in what I call
available darkness is very difficult to achieve.
| | 04:58 | Even though today's video cameras
handle low-light situations much better than
| | 05:02 | in the past, they will make prettier
pictures if you have light on your subject.
| | 05:08 | If you're on a very tight budget, go to
the hardware or home improvement store
| | 05:12 | and pick up a clamp work light
with the aluminum cone reflector.
| | 05:16 | Attach it to something taller than your
subject and aim it at him or her, then
| | 05:21 | watch your monitor as you move it
around to find the best place for it.
| | 05:25 | It's not an elegant solution, but it will help.
| | 05:28 | While you're at the store,
look at the light bulb selection.
| | 05:32 | Bulbs these days come in a variety of
color temperatures, and sometimes it's even
| | 05:36 | listed on the package.
| | 05:38 | This will help you greatly in
matching your light sources.
| | 05:41 | The soft white bulbs I mentioned
earlier are in the 3,000-degree range.
| | 05:45 | They match the overhead
incandescent lights really well.
| | 05:48 | I use daylight balanced compact
fluorescent bulbs in my editing studio and
| | 05:54 | fluorescent tubes in my dressing room.
| | 05:56 | I also use daylight CFBs
for my webcam keylight.
| | 06:00 | Lighting is an area of production that
intimidates many people; it shouldn't.
| | 06:05 | It doesn't take much to add a little
light, but oh, what a difference it
| | 06:09 | makes in your video.
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| Creating an advanced 3-point lighting setup on a budget| 00:00 | For this movie on advanced video
lighting, I'm going to assume that you are
| | 00:04 | familiar with the basic information I
represented in the earlier movie regarding
| | 00:09 | keylighting, and that if you are
watching this then you're ready to take it to
| | 00:13 | the next level and incorporate
some techniques used by the pros--
| | 00:17 | namely three-point lighting.
| | 00:20 | However, before we do, I need to let you
know that in the grand scheme of things,
| | 00:24 | what we're calling advanced
is really basic to the pros.
| | 00:28 | They start with three-point
lighting and build from there.
| | 00:32 | The three points in a
three-point lighting setup are
| | 00:34 | key, fill, and back.
| | 00:37 | And for a bonus we'll
also use a background light.
| | 00:41 | This concept applies to both webcam
shooting as well as with a camera on a tripod.
| | 00:47 | As in the movie about basic lighting,
we'll start with webcam and we'll cover
| | 00:51 | various types of key lights
before going to fill and back.
| | 00:56 | Okay, now let's see what we can do on a budget.
| | 00:58 | This won't be a zero-dollars budget,
but you shouldn't have to sell your car to
| | 01:02 | buy a lighting system.
| | 01:04 | I realize that you may not be able to
turn out lights or even cover windows;
| | 01:08 | I'll show you how to handle
those situations in a little bit.
| | 01:12 | Let's begin though, by using the sun as our
keylight with the overhead lights turned off.
| | 01:17 | As we saw in the previous movie,
the purpose of the keylight is to
| | 01:21 | illuminate your face.
| | 01:22 | The keylight is the main light, and it
should always be the first light you set.
| | 01:27 | In this case it's the sun, the
biggest keylight of them all.
| | 01:31 | When using the sun as your keylight
try to have it shine on the front of your
| | 01:35 | face or at a slight angle at most.
| | 01:38 | The good thing about the sun as a
key is that you have nothing to set up.
| | 01:42 | Of course, the downside is that you have no
control. But you can control where you sit.
| | 01:48 | Try a few different
positions and see what works best.
| | 01:52 | No. let's try setting in a keylight
that you can control for webcam shot in an
| | 01:56 | office with the window blinds closed
and the overhead lights turned off.
| | 02:01 | You may already have what
you need for a keylight.
| | 02:04 | A strategically placed desk lamp
or floor lamp can work really well.
| | 02:09 | The main thing is to have it shine on
the front of your face from a position
| | 02:13 | higher than your head.
| | 02:14 | A lamp with an incandescent soft
white bulb will cast a softer shadow and
| | 02:19 | be better for this than a halogen high-
intensity lamp that creates a hard-edged shadow.
| | 02:25 | Another inexpensive type of instrument
to use as a keylight is the old aluminum
| | 02:30 | clamp workshop light.
| | 02:31 | It's not elegant, but it gets the job done.
| | 02:35 | If you're ready to invest in a
keylight more like what the pros use, you might
| | 02:39 | try something like the Ego Light by Lowel.
| | 02:42 | This is what I use for my webcam keylight.
| | 02:45 | It costs just over $100 and looks
quite striking on your desk, even when
| | 02:50 | you're not using it.
| | 02:52 | It has two daylight-balanced compact
fluorescent bulbs and provides very
| | 02:56 | soft flattering shadows.
| | 02:59 | It was originally designed to use for
product photography, but I think it makes
| | 03:03 | a wonderful webcam keylight.
| | 03:06 | Another high-end type of light
you could use is a small LED panel.
| | 03:10 | These are quite common these
days, so they should be easy to find.
| | 03:13 | A few brands the pros use are
Litepanels, FloLight, and ikan.
| | 03:18 | There are many others, and the prices
range from under $100 to almost $1,000.
| | 03:24 | Be aware though, that almost all of
these are battery-operated only, as they're
| | 03:28 | meant to be mounted on a camera.
| | 03:31 | I'm really fond of the Blender, by Lowel;
it's an LED panel that also runs on AC.
| | 03:36 | The downside is the cost.
| | 03:38 | A kit that includes a stand and
other accessories will run around $600.
| | 03:44 | It's called the Blender because it
puts out either tungsten--warm light--or
| | 03:48 | daylight--cool light--
depending on which knob you turn.
| | 03:52 | It also comes with a variety of
filters to help soften the shadows.
| | 03:57 | No matter what type of instrument you
use as a keylight, one thing to be aware
| | 04:01 | of is that the light may be
too bright on the subject.
| | 04:05 | If you don't have a dimmer,
the easiest thing to do is to just put in a lower-
| | 04:09 | wattage bulb. Or you can
move the light farther away.
| | 04:12 | You may have to raise it a little
higher to keep the light at an angle.
| | 04:17 | Once the keylight is set, the next
one I work on is the back light.
| | 04:21 | I save the fill light for later
because I may not need it or want it.
| | 04:25 | I'll definitely set one in a minute,
but for now, I want to make sure that my
| | 04:29 | subject doesn't blend into the background.
| | 04:32 | The trick to back lighting is to use
enough to separate your subject--in your
| | 04:36 | case, you--from the background but
not so much as to make it obvious.
| | 04:40 | The back light should be very subtle.
| | 04:43 | For this back light I'm using a little
LED task light I picked up at the home
| | 04:48 | improvement store for about $12.
| | 04:50 | It doesn't have a fader, but it does
closely match the color temperature of sunlight.
| | 04:55 | Notice the shadow here caused by the keylight.
We'll take care of that with the fill light.
| | 05:01 | An easy and inexpensive way to soften
that shadow is to simply turn on a nearby
| | 05:06 | floor or table lamp.
| | 05:07 | You will probably need to move
it a bit to find the best place.
| | 05:12 | I'm using a small desk lamp that uses
an LED bulb that closely matches the
| | 05:16 | color temp of sunlight.
| | 05:19 | The purpose of the fill
light is to do just as it sounds:
| | 05:22 | it fills in the shadow from the keylight.
| | 05:25 | Again, don't use too much or it will
become your keylight and we certainly
| | 05:29 | don't want that to happen.
| | 05:31 | So if the lamp you want to use for fill
light is too strong, you can always use
| | 05:36 | a lower-wattage bulb.
| | 05:38 | Another inexpensive method of fill
lighting setup using the sun is a keylight
| | 05:42 | is to put a daylight-balanced compact
fluorescent bulb in your table lamp.
| | 05:47 | Make sure to let it run awhile
before needing to use it, as it takes a few
| | 05:49 | minutes for it to reach full strength.
| | 05:53 | This is actually the bulb used in
the Lowel Ego Light I just showed you.
| | 05:57 | And a really inexpensive way to fill
in the shadows caused by the sun is
| | 06:01 | to bounce the light.
| | 06:03 | This is a trick that the pros use all the time.
| | 06:05 | You can use a piece of foam core that
you can get at the hobby or craft store.
| | 06:10 | Once you have your lights set for
your sitting position, it's time to take
| | 06:14 | another look at the background.
| | 06:15 | Rather than throw a whole bunch of
light on the back wall, try this: get a
| | 06:20 | little plant up light to place it near
the back wall and aim it to throw a slash
| | 06:25 | of light at an angle.
| | 06:27 | You can even put a colored
bulb in it to add extra interest.
| | 06:31 | If you want to be really fancy, get
one of those clamp lights, put a frosted
| | 06:35 | bulb in it, and cover it with aluminum
foil, then tear a few holes in it to
| | 06:40 | create an abstract pattern.
| | 06:42 | Use this with your colored-up light
and you'll look like the folks being
| | 06:46 | interviewed on the Today Show.
| | 06:48 | This would be a good time to turn on the
overhead lights to see if it helps or hurts.
| | 06:53 | As I mentioned in the previous movie,
mixing sunlight with fluorescent is not as
| | 06:57 | bad as mixing sunlight and incandescent.
| | 07:00 | You can even sometimes mix fluorescent
and incandescent or tungsten or halogen
| | 07:05 | if you pay close attention to your monitor.
| | 07:08 | These same techniques work for
shooting the subject from a tripod-
| | 07:12 | mounted camera well.
| | 07:13 | The main difference will be one of distance.
| | 07:16 | Your studio area may be larger and
the size of your shot may be wider.
| | 07:20 | If that's the case, then you may
need lights that are a little bigger.
| | 07:24 | In very simple terms, the bigger
the light the longer the throw.
| | 07:28 | In general, you want lights and
reflectors as close as you need them without
| | 07:32 | being in the shot, unless of course you
need them to be farther away to reduce
| | 07:36 | the amount of light falling on the subject.
| | 07:39 | I encourage you to experiment
to see what works best for you.
| | 07:43 | As I mentioned in the beginning of this
movie, the pros start with a three-point
| | 07:47 | light concept and then get creative.
| | 07:49 | There's no one absolute right way to
light; the best lighting looks natural.
| | 07:54 | The only wrong way to light is
what makes your subject look bad.
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