Thursday 12 September 2013

SKILLS LESSON 1: Introduction to Lighting



Last Friday, we took a look at the possibilities of lighting. The basis of this lesson was pretty simple and so fairly easy to some up.

The standard form of lighting used in most pieces is 3 Point Lighting. This is where a Key Light and a Fill Light are placed in front of the subject followed with a back light behind.
The key light lights the subject in majority, making it able to see them and is the brightest. In standard 3 point set up, it sits at a 45 degree angle to the subject.
The fill light sits on the opposite side, lighting the area of the subject that is missed, making the lighting more even.
The back light sits behind as is of lower intensity. It helps to make the subject stand out better against the background, giving them more of an outline.
Here is a basic diagram of 3 point lighting set-up:


Though the 3 point technique is the standard, it is by no means the only form of lighting that we can use. In our lesson we experimented with moving the lighting and camera in different places around the subject.
By isolating the key light and placing it behind the subject facing into the camera, we were able to create a silhouette. By applying different coloured gels and intensities of light, we could create a fair array of different moods.

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