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Chapter 16 Lighting Applications 353
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Casual Video
Lighting without Equipment
When you capture passing events
spontaneously with a mobile phone, a tablet, or
a still camera, you have to use whatever light is
available. Though you may not be able to control
the lighting, you can make the most of whatever
you find. To do this, make sure you have enough
light. If the image on your screen looks too dark
or lacks detail, see if there is any more light
you can turn on. If your camera’s sensitivity can
be adjusted, increase it to handle the low-light
situation—many still cameras with video capability
will do this automatically. A grainy image is better
than almost none at all.
Here, the down lights over the sink were turned on
and the subject was moved under them.
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The many lights themselves are the subjects of the shot.
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The bright fireworks silhouette the subjects and tell
the story.
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Outdoors at night, you can sometimes let your
subjects be their own light sources. As always with
video intended for e-mail or the Internet, avoid
excessive panning, which can cause visible light
sources to smear as they move across the screen.
Since the charm of video snapshots lies in
their spontaneity, elaborate lighting defeats their
purpose. Nevertheless, you can often improve the
lighting without making the scene appear “lit.”
Avoid bright backgrounds and excessive
backlighting. If you can change your position,
move around until windows and other light
sources are out of your frame. Alternately,
expose for the background and silhouette your
subjects.
Look for good lighting. If you have the
chance, use the most expressive lights
available and, if possible, move your subject
into them.