Lighting techniques for cinematographers

Lighting techniques have become priceless for filmmakers at any level of work. Well-crafted lighting techniques can facilitate communication between the director and the cinematographer. The following tips will help get acquainted with some elementary lighting techniques that can give your work that elegant cinematic feel. Regardless of what aspect ratio you prefer to shoot in, these invaluable techniques will augment your skills in ways that you couldn’t have even imagined!

1. Natural lighting: This unique style encourages you to utilize the light that’s already available in the location that you are planning to shoot. You must try to visit the area beforehand to get accustomed to the weather and the level of sunlight exposure that this place enjoys. Not knowing these aspects of the site can cause unexpected problems while shooting. Sometimes, you might expect the sunlight to provide you with proper lighting and then later be flummoxed by the scarce sunlight that seeps into the area. So, get to know the amount of natural light that the place enjoys at different parts of the day so that you can go there prepared for the worst-case scenarios. Some of the common recommendations include using bounce cards or flags to control the amount of natural light that you wish to be exposed to.
2. High Key lighting: The meaning of high key lighting could be a variety of lighting for film and other kinds of media like photography and television that decreases the lighting ratio within the scene. Within the first few days of film, this is usually accomplished to cope with high contrast, but now it’s employed by filmmakers to adjust the mood and character of a scene. Some of the main aspects of high key lighting are the white tones that emanate from sparkling lights. In this form of lighting technique, the use of blacks and mid-tones are kept in the lower end of the spectrum. Most of the times, the tone is pretty sanguine and joyous.
3. The three-point lighting setup: In this form of lighting, the key light, backlight, and fill light all come together to produce a confluence of techniques. This is a ubiquitous method employed by various cinematographers in movies, television and other forms of visual media. The most significant advantage of this style is its unique three-position setting. By employing three distinct positions, the cinematographer can lighten up the character in any way they desire, in addition to keeping the shadows produced by direct lighting in check.
4. Side lighting: As the name clearly states, side lighting refers to any form of lighting that enters the frame from various sides to highlight the main character or any other subject. This could also be used to illuminate an object in the setting. These are also known as parallel lights, and they tend to furnish the scene with a soft fill. They are usually utilized to add drama and mood to a specific scene, and these lights can be conspicuous in movies that belong to the genre of film noir. Some auteurs refer to this style of lighting as “chiaroscuro” lighting too. For successfully hitting the sweet spot of lighting, you require a heavy contrast and low-key to emphasis the various contours of your subject. If the sidelight is necessary to thoroughly saturate the scene, you need to try and bounce it or else you must try and deal with it using high key effects.
5. Motivated lighting: If you are unable to find natural light sources on the set, you can resort to motivated lighting as a replacement. This is a potent tool that can be utilized to mimic natural light sources. It can be used as a replacement for many common light sources like car headlights, moonlight, sunlight, and even street lights. Flags and bounces can be employed to aid in the process of creating such artificial lights and altering them to suit your diverse needs.
6. Ambient light: Not every cinematographer shoots their scenes in complete darkness. Not every scene requires them to do so too. So, when a shooting takes place during the other times of the day, there is always the risk of some lamplight, overhead light or some sunlight penetrating the setting. This could jeopardize the aesthetic appeal of the scene. The light that enters like this is known as ambient light. Any photographer or cinematographer must look to account for this ambient light, particularly when he/she is looking to shoot outside or within the proximity of windows. But as the wheel of time rolls on and the time of the day slowly changes, the amount of ambient that enters the scene will also change proportionately. So, you being a cinematographer must be prudent while choosing the location and time of shooting when you are planning to work for a long time.
7. Bounce lighting: If you have a whiteboard or some form of a white card at your disposal, you are in an excellent position to apply this brilliant technique. Sometimes, the settings and location will not be conducive for shooting due to the lack of light within. To solve this predicament, you can resort to the white cards and the whiteboards. Using these, you can redirect the light from the Sun, lamps or any other lighting kit through the simple principle known as reflection. You can highlight a subject or an object that is mired in obscurity. Bounce light also gives a much larger area of uniformly diffused light.