There is always a necessity to light your subject

Even if you don’t use any lighting equipment there is always a necessity to light your subject. How does the natural light fall on the subject? Are there lighting elements behind the subject that are part of the scene? Are they a distraction? What is the proper balance of light? And what about over exposure of light?

All of these questions come into play when I look at a scene. Whether that scene be a controlled interview or when I am shooting hand held capturing live action. And on a side note, the beauty of shooting handheld is the ability to quickly adapt your shot to accommodate the scene without losing valuable time and losing the connection with your subject.

Lighting on a tight schedule

When shooting video for corporate or business we are always on a tight schedule to set up the scene. This could relate to the budget, time slots that people are available or just the amount of time before the project is due. For this reason it is important to quickly find your scene and adapt your lighting to the scenes lighting.

Use what is available already and supplement.

Look to see what the house lights are doing. How are they set up on the switch(es)? All on and off or in sections? It is always faster and more natural to eliminate what you don’t need and add a little than to eliminate all the available light and light the scent from scratch.

The exception would be if you have access to a budget, equipment and crew that can light a scene from scratch. Many marketing video jobs nowadays do not have that type of production budget. Congrats to you if you do. I’ve always enjoyed lighting from scratch, but there is a certain challenge in adapting to what is in the room already that is equally enjoyable.

Pay attention in your everyday light

Pay attention in your everyday life to how light is working and what exactly it is doing. Whether it be the sun or your table light. Break the rules if the scene allows. And most of all have fun in creating your scene.

Sample Video