Lighting

Stuff You Need to Know

Colorful array of apples

Understanding CRI & TLCI: The importance of color rendition

Cinematography is all about light, but filmmakers soon learn that all light is not created equal. The human eye is immensely versatile at adapting...

Film lighting 101: The tools and techniques you should know

Understanding film lighting tools and techniques is essential to making great film and video.

Three-point lighting — the first lighting technique to master

Three-point lighting the easy answer to a myriad of questions. It's very adaptable, doesn't necessarily requires three lights, and luckily, it's not terribly difficult to learn.

White balance for film and video: A beginner’s guide

When is white not really white? When it’s headed toward an unprepared camera sensor. Understanding white balance and the color difference between light sources...
The Five Most Difficult Lighting Scenarios

The Five Most Difficult Lighting Scenarios and How to Handle Them

We caught up with a 40-year industry veteran and university professor for some lighting advice.
The KISS method to lighting a scene

An Easy, 4-step Method to Video Lighting

In this article I will share with you the KISS method — or Keep It Simple Stupid — as it pertains to various aspects...
Our medium isn’t our hardware. Our medium is light. Let’s talk about luminance and the inverse-square law.

Understand luminance for more control over your lighting setups

One of the more common mistakes many beginning and intermediate videographers make is confusing our tools for our medium. Too many shooters focus on...

Tell Your Story More Effectively with the Correct Application of Hard...

“Lighting is to film what music is to Opera” -  Cecil B. DeMille. As the legendary director was implying, light is the foundation of our...

4 Common Lighting Mistakes (and how to fix them)

Lighting is an art that can take years to master. Avoiding these mistakes, however, is a quick way to improve your results.
The Sun: Everyone’s Light Kit

How to harness sunlight for an amazing outdoor lighting setup

"If you really look carefully at natural light, you realize how complex it is, and how it's constantly shifting. When you put up an...

Video Courses

Church Video Production

How to Plan a Production (Free for Non-Members) Planning is vital to the success of any production. Without a plan, your video likely won’t succeed...

What's New

Set & Location Workhorse: The Fresnel

Fresnel lights: How they work and why they should be in your arsenal

Fresnel lights can be found in studios around the world. Let's take a look at these lights and why they're important in video production.

Fix Your Lighting Flaws: Beginner Tips

In this instructional video, you'll learn to navigate the common challenges of video lighting. We tackle the fundamental mistakes often made by beginners. Through these tips, viewers will gain the confidence to enhance their video production with the right lighting techniques, making their content...

Lighting for beginners

Dive into the world of lighting for video with our comprehensive lighting course. It has been tailored for beginners who are eager to learn the art of illumination. You'll learn everything you need to know from the role lighting has in video quality and...

Shifting Shadows: Light Direction Explained

In this video, you'll learn how shifting light direction can dramatically alter the mood and quality of their scenes. We'll emphasize the importance of matching lighting techniques with the video's genre and practical advice on overcoming common challenges such as sunlight variability and space...

How to Improve Your Lighting on a Budget

In this video, you'll discover that high-quality video lighting doesn't have to strain their wallets. We delve into practical, cost-effective tools and techniques that can significantly elevate your lighting setup. From the transformative power of simple reflectors, which modify light to enhance visual appeal,...

The Role of Light Intensity in Video

In this video we'll discuss the critical role of light intensity in video production. We'll show how variations in brightness can transform the visual quality of your content. you'll learn practical tips for adjusting light sources to achieve the desired effect. In the video...

Hard vs Soft Light: What’s Best?

This video offers a deep dive into the concept of light quality and its pivotal role in video production, distinguishing between soft and hard...

Color temperature 101

In this video, we'll delve into the critical concepts of color temperature and white balance. We'll teach you how different hues influence the mood...

Texture and Tone: Light Quality Explored

In this video we'll equip you with a deep understanding of light quality in video production. We'll highlight the benefits and challenges of using...

Basics of Lighting: A Starter’s Guide

In this video, we'll talk about the transformative power of lighting in video production, showing you how it shapes content's tone and visual quality....
Lighting video featured image

7 lighting exercises to improve your video lighting game

The best way to improve your lighting skills is to practice. Here are seven lighting exercises to get you started.
LED lights for filming

5 non-obvious ways you should be using LED lights on set

LED lighting are great for creating great-looking films. But they can do more than light scenes; they can also help create stunning effects.
5 professional lighting setups for interviews

5 professional lighting setups for interviews

No matter if your interviewing your neighbor or local mayor, having a professional lighting setup is key for capturing a great interview.

The quality of light

Light is essential in cinema. How much light you use and how you choose to deliver it sets the mood and feel of a scene.