5 Quick Photo Lighting Tips

Lighting  •  Photography Tips

Lighting is the most important factor in photography and videography. After all, photography is about capturing light. In this video, Emmy award-winning director of photography Fletcher Murray shares five simple lighting tips:

1. Use the Subject’s Nose for Key Light Placement

Note the direction in which the subject’s nose is pointing. Extend an imaginary line out from their nose and place your key light on the other side of the line. You then shoot from the dark side of their face.

2. Bring a Head Lamp

Murray recommends using the Outdoor Pro Gear 1000 light when shooting outdoors. It has a lens that can zoom and can give you a hard shadow needed for the film noir look.

3. Add Warm Lights to Change Day to Night

If you want a late in the day shot to look like night, you can achieve it by changing the Kelvin temperature of your camera to blue. Then, add a warm practical lamp in the background.

4. Take the Green Out of LEDs with Gels

Cheap LED lights have excessive green in them which can confuse the camera’s white balance. You can remove the green by putting a minus green gel or filter over the LED light.

5. Bring Out Skin Color with Polarizers

Most people have oily skin that causes a glare. You can easily get rid of the glare using a polarizing filter. This allows you to capture the deep, rich color of the skin.

These quick and simple tips might help you during your next shoot. Make a note of the ones that you like the most and let us know if you try them out!