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to focus their attention. You can separate (or
“offset”, or “pop”) a subject with focus or color.
The easiest way to do it, however, is probably
with light.
Often, you will want to have the subject
slightly lighter than the background. Fo this, put
an extra light on them or move them closer to
the light. Sometimes, you’ll want them darker
than the background. In this case, splash a light
against the background.
Sometimes it isn’t possible to change your
light values much, like if you are working with
a traditional high-key television lighting setup.
Think of the way a traditional sitcom is lit. By
design, the background and foreground are
similarly lit. So, it would be odd to throw a spot-
light on your performer or splash a light across
the back wall.
In a situation like that, you may want to use a
rim light to offset your subject from the back-
ground. Rim lights are sometimes called back-lights, hair lights or kickers. See this article on
traditional three-point lighting for more on
how to use a rim light.Diff erent color temperatures
There are few things more distracting in a
scene than seeing light the color of warm sun-
light falling onto a subject from one side and
cold, ungelled light from an LED panel com-
ing at them from the other side. You may have
read somewhere that it’s important to contrast
and balance warm and cold tones in any scenic
composition.
That’s very true, but you have to make sure
that the way you use the light makes sense. You
can have warm, friendly highlights and cold-
toned shadows, for example. Fluorescent room
lights, however, should almost never balanceLook at how two rim lights, one from each side,
outline musician Dan Davies so you can easily pick his
silhouette out from against the background. This is an
advanced technique which can really pay off! I shot this
image, but I didn’t light it.A picture of my dinner. Half the light was from an
overhead incandescent light, and the other was white
flash bounced off a sky-blue surface to try to ap-
proximate winter sunlight on a clear day. As a piece of
abstract art it might work, but as a realistic represen-
tation? Probably not.Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, lit with two de-
liberately different color temperatures. The unconven-
tional lighting highlights his internal struggle.LIGHTING JUNE 2019 LIGHTING
against sunlight coming in through a
window. Your viewer will notice and
rebel against it, even if they can’t tell
you exactly what’s wrong with what
they’re seeing.
Like with any other mistake, it’s
possible to use this kind of imbalance
deliberately to great effect. But again,
make sure you’re doing it for a good
reason, and not by accident.For instance, in a picture of my
dinner, half the light was from an
overhead incandescent light and the
other was white fl ash bounced off a
sky-blue surface. It was my attempt
at approximating winter sunlight on
a clear day. As a piece of abstract art,
the image might work, but in terms
of realistic fi gurative representation
— it’s a bust. More successful, Luke
Skywalker in “Return of the Jedi,” is lit
with two deliberately different color
temperatures to represent his internal
struggle between light and dark.Conclusions
Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll
have realized two things. First–com-
mon lighting mistakes are usually
easy to identify and fi x. Second–
common lighting “mistakes” can
actually be very effective artistic
techniques when used with deliber-
ateness and purpose.
The next time you shoot something,
pay attention so that you aren’t mak-
ing any of these lighting mistakes by
accident. After that, why not try using
one or two of them on purpose?385 C03 Lighting.indd 48 4/23/19 2:09 PMVIDEOMAKER >>> JUNE 2019 49
Mike VanHelder is a working writer, photogra-
pher and film buff in Philadelphia, PA. He once
built an overhead camera rig out of a turkey
frying derrick.You can comment on this article by going online:
http://www.videomaker.com/?p=72006577lights, hair lights or kickers. See this article on
traditional three-point lighting for more on
how to use a rim light.Different color temperatures
There are few things more distracting in a
scene than seeing light the color of warm sun-
light falling onto a subject from one side and
cold, ungelled light from an LED panel com-
ing at them from the other side. You may have
read somewhere that it’s important to contrast
and balance warm and cold tones in any scenic
composition.
That’s very true, but you have to make sure
that the way you use the light makes sense. You
can have warm, friendly highlights and cold-
toned shadows, for example. Fluorescent room
lights, however, should almost never balanceA picture of my dinner. Half the light was from an
overhead incandescent light, and the other was white
flash bounced off a sky-blue surface to try to ap-
proximate winter sunlight on a clear day. As a piece of
abstract art it might work, but as a realistic represen-
tation? Probably not.Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi, lit with two de-
liberately different color temperatures. The unconven-
tional lighting highlights his internal struggle.LIGHTING
against sunlight coming in through a
window. Your viewer will notice and
rebel against it, even if they can’t tell
you exactly what’s wrong with what
they’re seeing.
Like with any other mistake, it’s
possible to use this kind of imbalance
deliberately to great effect. But again,
make sure you’re doing it for a good
reason, and not by accident.For instance, in a picture of my
dinner, half the light was from an
overhead incandescent light and the
other was white flash bounced off a
sky-blue surface. It was my attempt
at approximating winter sunlight on
a clear day. As a piece of abstract art,
the image might work, but in terms
of realistic figurative representation
— it’s a bust. More successful, Luke
Skywalker in “Return of the Jedi,” is lit
with two deliberately different color
temperatures to represent his internal
struggle between light and dark.Conclusions
Hopefully, after reading this, you’ll
have realized two things. First–com-
mon lighting mistakes are usually
easy to identify and fix. Second–
common lighting “mistakes” can
actually be very effective artistic
techniques when used with deliber-
ateness and purpose.
The next time you shoot something,
pay attention so that you aren’t mak-
ing any of these lighting mistakes by
accident. After that, why not try using
one or two of them on purpose?YOUR VIEWER WILL
NOTICE AND REBEL
AGAINST IT, EVEN IF
THEY CAN’T SAY WHY.THUNDERBOLT NAS WITH 10GbE FOR
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