Learning to speak and use the language of lighting can go a long way to creating images that move the audience, immersing them even further. It will also make working on set much more efficient, helping you create more powerful images in less time with your crew.
This article will cover basic lighting types, so you can become familiar with what is available.
Lighting Ratios
When I studied film production in college, we learned that a lighting ratio was the comparison of the key light plus the fill light to fill light alone (K+F:F). However, I’ve met fellow cinematographers who insist that it is key to just fill (K:F). I’ve even seen some people add complex calculations involving trigonometry and it is all just too much. Kodak always warned about not shooting higher than a 3:1 ratio unless you wanted a special effect. So, for the purposes of this article, I will refer to lighting ratios using K:F, as that seems the simplest. Whatever term you use, just be sure that everyone in your crew agrees on it beforehand. Usually when discussing lighting ratio, you are referring to the relative brightness of the light falling on a person’s face.
- 1:1 – This example shows the key and fill lights equally bright. This is a 1:1 ratio and sometimes referred to as “flat.” Flat lighting is considered simple, as there is no shadow to give shape to the face. This lighting is used a lot in news reporting, when the camera has a portable light source mounted above the lens, lighting both sides of the subject's face head-on.
- 2:1 – In this diagram, the key light is twice as bright as the fill light. This is often your starting point as it tends to feel more natural. Think about it: if you aren’t directly facing the sun, or in a room with flat even lighting (like a museum), then one side of the face will naturally be brighter than the other. This adds dimension to the shot. Do note that there is no blanket rule that a fill light must be placed at a 45-degree angle. This is just an example!
- 3:1 – In this production, the key light is three times as bright as the fill. This is where things get interesting. When you position your light so that the key extends into to the fill's field of light, it gives even more shape to the face, while the fill exaggerates the differences. It can be used for moodier effects where the shadow is just as important as the subject.
Soft vs. Hard
Hard light casts strong, well-defined shadows, sharp and definite. Soft light creates gentler shapes, creating a blend between subject and shadow. Which one is best? It will depend on the style of the scene and the mood you are creating. I will say, soft light is easier to work with, as shadows tend to be gentler on a human face, while harsh shadows can be distracting to your audience. Conversely, when creating patterns, hard light works better than soft to create well-defined shadows. Also, hard light tends to have a longer throw from the fixture and is easier to cut and control spill.
When it comes to mood, I feel that hard light is more suited to conflict, while I would make the case for soft light being used for a softer, gentler, perhaps more romantic mood. That isn’t to say that you can’t create a romantic mood using hard light, but it does take more work to do so. In general, soft light is easier to work with than hard light, as shadows are far less noticeable when using soft light. There are also different types of hard light—open face, Fresnel lensed, or ellipsoidal—each with their own unique characteristics.
Hard lights tend to have longer throws than soft light. You can always soften a hard light using diffusion or softboxes, which makes them a popular choice. There are many, myself included, that like the look of the light through a Fresnel on the human face, as open face lights tend to be extremely harsh.
Natural vs. Artificial
The sun is still the most powerful available light source out there and it's free to use. Of course, it does move over the course of the day and, depending on weather conditions, it can vary in brightness. Additionally, cloud cover can certainly affect the hardness of sunlight. If you are shooting outside, stand-mounted reflectors are a great tool to help you direct light so you can add definition. You can use a back or edge light or add fill to a strong key as well. Those foldable reflectors or bounce cards are good for close ups, but if you are fighting a bright sun or in a medium shot or wider, then stand-mounted reflectors are the way to go. Plus, stand-mounted reflectors are available in a variety of finishes: mirror, for an extremely strong and directional light bounce, as well as shiny, flat, dimpled, and diffuse, allowing you to manipulate the sun's light for your desired purpose.
Of course, you can always supplement natural light with artificial light. Be aware though, to compete with the sun on a bright day, you are really going to need quite the punch from your tungsten or LED light source. HMI lighting is a wonderful option for this! It's powerful, already daylight balanced, and you don’t need to worry about setting the color temp or losing light to color-correcting gels.
You may at some point be tempted to light interiors from sunlight through windows, and why not? After all, window light is how many people light up their rooms during the day. You can use the natural sun either directly or bounced through windows (and sometimes that is the best option), just remember that the sun is inconsistent, which, when shooting a film, can make things more difficult in postproduction. This is why even modestly budgeted films that shoot on location will use large lights to blast through the location’s windows to simulate sunlight, keeping the light consistent no matter how long it takes to shoot the scene.
Grip Tools
A great set of tools are cookies, tape, flags, and nets.
Cookies (shorthand for cucoloris) are panels (usually wood) cut with a shapes that allow light to pass through and create random shadow patterns. It is most effective when used to cast soft shadows. The patterns look more natural that way. I also like to carry around an empty frame and use tape to create a custom pattern. It's a cheap, easy, and quick alternative to carrying around big boards all day!
Shooting on a stage, I was able to create the feeling of being in a penthouse apartment by using tape to create a wide pattern and lighting the scene through that as if it was the sun illuminating the penthouse's large windows. The lighting pattern really solidified the idea that we were in a building, high up in an expensive penthouse, especially as the actors moved through the light and it bounced off of them the same way it would've in a real penthouse. Though it did take an entire roll of tape to pull the effect off, it was a lot cheaper than renting that space. This is, of course, a variation of the venetian blind effect, and yes, I know filmmakers that carry around their own venetian blinds, to be mounted on stands and shine a light through one of them to create instant windows.
Flags, also known as solids, are also excellent tools used to help cut light from where you don’t want it to go. Set the flag near the light fixture for a soft edge to your shadows or move it away from your fixture to create a harder edge. Nets accomplish similar goals and are used to reduce exposure to certain areas without blocking all the light altogether, unlike a flag.
One of the many uses of a flag/net is to fake a sunny day when shooting during overcast. Though I learned this trick with a 20 x 20’ large black fabric, with proper framing you can pull it off with something smaller. Place the flag/net above your subject to darken the light landing on them and shoot so that you can see the unflagged background past them, which will be brighter. Expose your subject and let the background go hot and bright; it makes for a convincing sunny day!
I hope you have found this short introduction to the concepts and tools of crafting images useful. Remember to examine and question the effectiveness of not only your work, but the work of others. Look at what it does, why it works or not, and do not forget that today’s mistake can always be tomorrow’s amazing effect.
