3 Point Lighting for < £50

Last night we played around with some make-shift lighting. We basically got hold of a couple of work lights from Wickes (click here to get some). They are about £25 a pop and come with a 500W bulb in. They are adjustable in height and direction.

We didn't have any gels around and were short of anything to soften the light with, so we plugged in a couple of 150W bulbs instead and used some white polystyrene board to bounce the light.

I'll pop up some results so you can see the outcome but all-in-all it looked pretty good for the time we spent and lights we had.

We used one of the lights as a kicker and placed it to above and to the side of the camera.

We used another as a fill light and placed it to the side of "the talent" (Rob!), pointing down and reflected the light using a piece of white polystyrene.

It worked pretty well, softening up the shadow and illuminating his face.

Finally, we placed a small halogen lamp behind him to act as a back light.

Okay, so this was pretty make-shift guerilla 3 point lighting but the result was quite acceptable for less than £50s worth of lighting kit.

We got some shadows but this was because we weren't lighting our back cloth (a pair of white curtains).

Basics: Lighting - 3 Point Lighting

In between film things going on, I thought I'd cover some of the lessons we have learnt over time. Some will be basic, some more advanced and I thought I'd start with something basic.

3 Point Lighting
If you understand 3 point lighting then you're well on the way to having a good handle on lighting (well enough to get by). 3 point lighting is a standard method of lighting and will give a pretty decent look.

For 3 point lighting, you need, guess how many lights? Yep, 3.

The first light would be your main light and is called the key light. It is placed so that it is to the side of the camera, illuminating the subject so that one side is well lit and the other has some shadow.

Light number 2 is the fill light and this is placed on the opposite side to the key light. It is used to fill in some of the shadows cast by the key light and soften them up. The fill light is usually softer than the key.

Light number 3 is the back light. The back light is placed behind the subject and is used to provide highlight and definition rather than direct lighting.

To see 3 point lighting in action have a look at the 3-Point Lighting Simulator