Three Point Lighting Starring TK!

 

In my TV Production class we have been covering different lighting techniques. 

This exercise covers three point lighting, long a mainstay of video and still-shot photography. 

Three strategically placed lights can help produce a high quality, flattering look for someone at the center of it, whether in a video interview, a modeling scenario or a professional head shot for Linkedin or a newspaper or magazine placement. 

Ryan Stubblefield is in this image. 

Makayla Dotson sits for the three-point spotlight. 

Next in this post, I'll break down the steps needed to get the most out of the three-point lighting setup. 

Two years ago I wrote a similar post. Check it out here.

Full Sail University has on YouTube this tutorial on this popular and widely used lighting technique. 

TK Ayinmide is the model for this presentation. First we see her with the three lights turned off. You see the three lights: the key light (front right), the fill light (left) and behind TK is the backlight. 

Butterfly, Rembrandt and Other Creative Lighting Techniques

Here at SC State we are stepping up our lighting game after our previous two lessons with a reflector disc and three-point lighting. Using this video as guidance along with some handout material, we captured images using the following lighting techniques: flat frontal, side, butterfly and Rembrandt. And then we had a little fun with the students giving their best scary face!  Here the results: 

FLAT FRONTAL LIGHTING

Communications students Sharlene Luke and Lawson Danley pose for our "flat frontal" example. Here only one light is used, the key light that is placed at eye level next to the camera. It's not a bad look on these two good-looking young people. I think this one is first on our tutorial list because, as explained in this photography link, "Basically, flat lighting is lighting that produces very little contrast in your scene. Flat means there's very little difference (contrast) between the highlights and shadows in flat light." 

Lighting it Up with a Reflector Disc

 

This handy production device can, in a flash, rescue a low or poor-lighting situation. 

Reflector discs, like the one held by Sylvester Brown, folds down to the size of frisbee and fits in a carry bag. It's a vital tool to have among a video producer's cameras, microphones and lights. 

This short video from YouTube shows a disc reflector in action.

Last week, after explaining the how and why of reflector discs, my television production students and I went outside for a demonstration. 

Sometimes you cannot avoid taking photographs or shooting video into the sunlight. This can shut down the camera's iris and make a person's face look darker than is desirable. 

Here is Sharlene Luke's "before" photo. 

Now we see her after the reflector disc is deployed. Note the improvement. 

(For Sharlene's blog post for this assignment, click here.)

Here we see the choreography of where the video camera and disc are positioned. 

Fixing Poor Lighting in Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is a truly powerful editing tool used mostly for video but also still photographs.

This post shows how video clips can be lightened or darkened. Ideally, interviews, b-roll and other types of video shots look perfect when done in the field.

But should that not be the case, this brief tutorial found on YouTube can help.

Here is an example of using this Premiere Pro lighting tool to improve a video clip. Below are still shots before and after. 

In my video production and editing class I gave the students a basic first assignment to post a 30-second video. Introduce yourself and/or talk about what you like about going to school at SC State.  Pretty simple assignment, but one that also brings into play on-camera presentation and delivery and shooting, composing video and getting good audio.

Delighting with Three Point Lighting!

Three point lighting is a production set up used commonly in photography, videography and cinematography. It's important for students interested in these areas to understand the importance of this concept and how to make it happen using three studio or field lights.

I had my TV production and editing students go into our studio and properly execute and photograph three point lighting.

In this photo, Isaiah Hughes (seated left) is being interviewed by Shay Bowman. Wymark Barton is operating the video camera.

The three lights are called the following: key light, side/fill light, and back/hair light.

Four Classic Lighting Techniques

Television, cinema, video, photography- anything involving cameras- require some thought about lighting. Lighting can be powerful force in conveying feeling, emotion, tension, even danger.

My video production students were challenged in the studio to properly light a classmate in what are termed by professionals the four "classic" lighting techniques: Rembrandt, Split, Broad and Butterfly Lighting.

Lighting Sets the Mood!

In my television production class we continue to work with lighting and how it can be used to look proper and professional but also to set tone and mood.

The exercise here is to demonstrate three common lighting applications used by photographers, videographers and cinematographers alike.