Lesson 6 of 9 · 14 min
Light
Cinematographers are also called directors of photography, and photography means "drawing with light". The camera only records what the light shows. Where the light comes from, how hard it is, and how much shadow you keep decide the mood of a scene.
In this lesson
- Build three-point lighting: key, fill and back light.
- Control contrast with the key-to-fill ratio.
- Know hard and soft light, high key and low key, warm and cool.
Try it Light a face
Move the key light around her and up and down. Watch the shadow of the nose. Then add fill to soften the shadow side, and a back light to separate her from the background. Try the presets when you want to see a classic look.
- Build three-point lighting by hand: key from the side (25–60°), some fill, and a back light.
- Make it low key: a key-to-fill ratio above 7:1.
- Make it high key: a ratio below 2.2:1.
- Make a silhouette.
The name for it Three-point lighting
- Key light
- The main light. It sets the direction of light and shadow. Usually to one side of the camera and a little above the eyes.
- Fill light
- A weaker, soft light on the other side. It lifts the shadows, so you control how dark they are. It can be a lamp, a white card or a wall.
- Back light Rim, hair light
- Behind the subject and above. It draws a bright edge on the hair and shoulders and separates the subject from the background.
- Background light
- Lights the set behind the subject. Brighter background, more open feeling. Dark background, more drama.
Three-point lighting is a starting point, not a rule. Real scenes start from motivated light: light that seems to come from a real source in the story, like a window, a lamp, a fire or a screen. The key light pretends to be that source.
Contrast and quality
- Key-to-fill ratio
- Brightness of the lit side compared with the shadow side. 2:1 (1 stop) is soft and open. 4:1 (2 stops) has shape. 8:1 (3 stops) and more is dramatic.
- High key
- Bright, low contrast, few dark shadows. Comedy, family films, adverts.
- Low key
- Mostly dark, high contrast, deep shadows. Film noir, horror, thrillers.
- Hard light
- From a small or far source, like the sun or a bare bulb. Sharp shadow edges. Strong, harsh, honest.
- Soft light
- From a big source near the subject, like a cloudy sky, a window or a light through cloth. Gentle shadow edges. Flattering, calm.
Colour temperature
Light has a colour, measured in kelvin (K). Tungsten bulbs and candles are warm (about 1900–3200 K). Daylight is about 5600 K. Shade and overcast sky are cooler and more blue (6500 K and up). The camera's white balance decides which colour looks white.
In the lab the camera is balanced for daylight. A key at 3200 K looks orange and warm. Many films mix the two on purpose: a warm lamp inside, cool blue moonlight outside the window. Warm often means safety, home, the past. Cool often means night, distance, danger.
Check Four questions
Which light separates the subject from a dark background?
The back light draws a bright edge around the subject, so the shape stands out from the background.
You want softer shadows on a face. What do you change?
A bigger source (compared with the subject) gives softer light.
The lit side of a face is 8 times brighter than the shadow side. How do you describe the look?
8:1 is 3 stops of difference: dramatic, low-key lighting.
The camera is set to 5600 K. A tungsten lamp (3200 K) is in the shot. How does the lamp light look?
Light with a lower colour temperature than the white balance looks warm.
Field exercise Find the key
Pause on a close-up in any film. Look at the shadow of the nose and the bright spots in the eyes (catchlights). They tell you where the key light is. Is the light hard or soft? Is there a back light? What real source is it pretending to be?