About Lighting Applications
This chapter takes the lighting tools and
design principles covered in the two preceding
chapters and puts them to work in real-world
situations. We will see how to light subjects,
locations, and night scenes, how to solve
common lighting problems, and how to
approach several types of frequently encountered
lighting assignments.
There is some necessary content overlap among
the three lighting chapters.
Lighting Subjects
Most of your time, of course, will be spent
lighting people. From the simplest production
to the most elaborate, there are only two basic
approaches to this task: classic studio lighting
and soft “natural” lighting.
Classic Studio Lighting
Classic studio lighting uses three lights
on the subject and usually one or more on the
background, Figure 16-1. This is often called
three-point lighting, despite the frequent use
of additional instruments.
Key Light
The key light provides the main illumination,
typically mimicking an actual light source like
a lamp or ceiling fi xture. It is often placed at
about 4:30 and 15°–30° higher than the subject’s
face, Figure 16-2.
The key light is typically a spotlight, so the
hard-edged beam is often softened with a sheet
of spun glass clipped to the barn doors. Even
so, it throws distinct shadows on the subject’s
cheek, upper lip, and neck.
Fill Light
The fi ll light literally fi lls in the shadows
created by the key light, Figure 16-3. Placed
opposite the key light, the fi ll is often farther to
the side and not as high as the key, which helps
reduce the cheek, lip, and neck shadows.
Lighting on a “Clock”
For convenience, the horizontal placement of
lights is often described in terms of a clock face:

The subject is at the center, facing the
six o’clock position.

The camcorder is at six o’clock, facing the center.

The lights are at various “hours” around the
clock face.

The background, if shown, is at the
twelve o’clock position.
Although this diagram shows the key on the right
and the fill on the left, their positions are just as
often reversed.
Rim light
Back
light
Fill
light
Key light
(View from above.) A four-light setup diagrammed on
a clock face, with the back light at 2:30, the key light
at 5:00, the camera at 6:00, the fill light at 8:00, and
the rim light at 11:00.
Figure 16-1 A classic lighting setup, including key,
fill, rim, and background lights.
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