Male Feet Video Director's Guide: Lighting

Getting the lighting right for a film shoot is one of the most important things that a director can do. The most important (and simplest) piece of advice that we can give is this:

Make sure that you control the light of any photo shoot.

It sounds simple, but it can be a challenge in some photo shoots. For example, if you are relying on natural light on a cloudy day, or near sunset, the amount of light could change considerably during the shoot. If you are doing a pedal pumping video while driving, going under a bridge will cause the light getting into the car to vanish.

How are these challenges overcome? With proper planning, preparation and a few tips.

Planning: Whenever possible, know where the light is going to come from on your shoot. Try to get a consistent light source that is strong enough to illuminate your subject, but not so strong that detail is lost. Room light can be sufficient, as can a handheld light. Natural light can be fine, too, but beware of clouds!

Preparation: Sometimes you may film in a place without enough light. In such a situation, you may need to plan for that by bringing in a light source. In any event, you should make sure that your equipment is able to adequately capture the scene, otherwise filming will be a waste of time and no one wants that!

A Few Tips:

Make sure that the lighting is adequate. Too much light and footage can be whited out. Too little and footage will be too dark.

It is better to film a little too dark than too light. It's easy to brighten footage later.

Film with the light source behind you. If the light is behind the action, for example if you are filming feet in front of a window, that light source will be too bright for your footage and can ruin otherwise fine footage.