If there’s one area of content creation I’ll admit I need to brush up on, it’s artificial lighting. In this age of constant lighting, I’m sure I’m not the only one guilty of thinking: “That looks about right,” instead of spending more time delving into lighting theory.
However, video lighting is a broad subject, which can make it difficult to know where to start. That’s why I think this YouTube video by award-winning cinematographer and Academy nominee, Curren Sheldon, is so useful. Curren has reverse-engineered the topic by identifying six amateur lighting mistakes and how to avoid them.
With Curren’s lighting pedigree, it would be easy to overcomplicate things, but this is a great video for beginners and more experienced videographers alike. For example, mistake number one is very much a beginner mistake, flat lighting, whereby the videographer mounts the light – typically on the camera – so that it’s beamed onto the subject in the same direction as the camera is pointing. It’s essentially the same reason why, in photography, many photographers scoff at built-in flash; it essentially creates a similar washed-out effect.
The tips get progressively more advanced as the video continues, but things never get overly complicated. It’s a great springboard for you to identify areas of improvement, which you can head off and research further. A lot of ground is covered in barely 10 minutes, from lighting the space/scene to making sure that you’re using the right lighting equipment and learning to light with intention. I’ll certainly be bookmarking this video so I can refer back to it in the future.
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