Lighting P3(c)

Three-point lighting

Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media and it's always use for video,film,still photography and computer generated imagery.The aim of three-point lighting is to achieve the object has no shadow or part of the shadow in the object.The photograph can be darker or lighter,it depends on the position of the lights.

Key light

This is the main light. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. The key light also is the first and usually most important light that a lighting cameraman, or other scene composer will use in a lighting setup.The purpose of the key light is to highlight the form and dimension of the subject.

Fill light

This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To acheive this, you could move the light further away or use some spun.

Back light

The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and let it stand out to provide a three-dimensional look.

Class Task

In the class,we set up a white background in the classroom.We took some photos of person who was sitting in the middle of the chair and we tried arrange of photos with different light setting.

First of all,we tried all three lights set up (key,fill,back).In this case,we selected the manual setting and it allowed us to set shutter speed,ISO and ApertureWe set the aperture to f/1.8 which allow the image had a depth of field and it focus on the main subject (the person).We think the ISO in 100 would match with the hight brightness light perfectly.The shutter speed with 1/125 sec would allow enough light comes in.

 

Secondly,we turned the key and back lights off and we took photos with only fill lights.As a result,we can see the person's right party is darker than the left part and it caused by sitting the fill light at the left side of the person. For these two images,we selected the manual setting which allow us to make a decisions about all 3 settings (shutter speed,ISO,Aperture). We set up the same aperture to f/1.8 which allow the image had a depth of field and it focus on the main subject (the person).Next,as the shutter speed,we think 1/64 sec would be suitable because it allow in more light.Finally,we used 125 ISO to set with the high brightness lights indoor.This allows people's attention attacked by the person's left face.

We took this photo with only the back light on,compare to the photo with key and fill lights on,we can see the person's face became darker but it give a feeling the person stand out from the background.This allow people focus on the person.