Directions: Lighting Workshop 1

Lighting Workshop 1

In our first lighting workshop with Fergus, I learnt a lot about different types of lights and the variety of accessories that are available to use in order to enhance the light or give it a completely different look. 

We first had to learn the basics of lighting and that was Three-point lighting. This consists of having a back light of low intensity, a Key light, usually the brightest of all the lights, facing the subject and a Fill light, usually medium intensity but its purpose is usually to fill in the shadows of the subject.  

We went through the basics of the health and safety when setting up the lighting, for me the most important one for me to remember was making sure the switches for the lights are off before plugging them in. You could easily damage the equipment and the eyes of either yourself and anyone else. We went through the uses for the sand bags, using gloves when handling the barn doors.

Another important element of the workshop was learning the different uses for the ND filters and gels. One thing to remember is that ND filters (natural density filter) changes the level of the light, not the colour. Whereas a gel changes the colour and not the level of light that comes through. They can both be conjoined and used together. As well as looking at the lighting itself, we also looked at the settings on the camera which made a big difference in terms of how much light was being exposed on camera. The ISO, F-stop and exposure levels were altered in order to balance the light. It was interesting because sometimes altering the settings on the camera meant that you didn't need to change the lighting itself. This is important for me to understand so I know what I will need when using lighting on location.  

We were then asked to create our own three point lighting set ups and experiment using the ND filters and gels. 

lighting Set up 1

Here we had; 

• Key Light Leo's Left side with barn doors closed
• Fill light on Leo's right side, open but diffused to eliminate burn out
• Back light facing Leo's back, separating him from the background a little bit.

Lighting Set up 2

here we went for an interview style set up.

• Key light was diffused and on his left side.
• Fill light on Leo's right side with an ND filter.
• Back light is facing the background but at an angle  

Lighting set up 3

Here we went for a film noir look, creating a high contrast shot with Low key lighting.  The main set up was; 

• Key light towards my eyes (my left side) but with the majority of the barn doors closed, only leaving it slightly open to target my eye area only.
• Fill light on my right side and diffused
• Back light bouncing onto the backdrop

Lighting set up 4

Here we wanted to experiment with the coloured gels;

• Key light on her left with a red gel
• Fill light on her right side with a blue gel
• back light on the background with an orange gel

This session with the lighting was very interesting because this was the first time that we got to set up our own lighting ourselves and it was clear that there is a lot to consider with lighting. One important thing I learnt and will take with me when setting up lighting is that tungsten lights give off a warmer tint and there are ways that you can eliminate that, both on the camera and with gels. I need to remember that it is not just about adjusting the lighting, the camera settings play a big part in the final result of the shot.