{"id":57462,"date":"2015-06-18T10:24:01","date_gmt":"2015-06-18T15:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=57462"},"modified":"2016-09-13T15:06:31","modified_gmt":"2016-09-13T20:06:31","slug":"cinematography-tips-light-your-scene-with-a-single-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-tips-light-your-scene-with-a-single-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Cinematography Tips: Light Your Scene With A Single Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

It can be a real challenge to light a scene using only a single light source, but these cinematography tips and techniques will help you achieve amazing results even with limited gear.<\/h2>\n

A standard 3 point lighting<\/strong> kit has three lights for a reason. Typically your key light<\/strong> is going to cause shadows that need to be filled in (enter: the fill light) and a background or rim light will round off the look by adding some more polish to the scene. So how can you achieve this aesthetic when working with limited resources, or specifically with only a single light? There are three main options I\u2019d recommend in this scenario:<\/p>\n

1. Use a bounce board as fill.<\/h3>\n

\"Cinematography
\nImage from Wikipedia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Just because you don\u2019t have another light doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t reflect back some of your key light to create some fill. One of the simplest and most effective ways to add another light source (without adding another light) is to grab your flex fill or foam core<\/strong> and place it on the opposite side of your key to fill in the shadows.<\/p>\n

2. Backlight your subject.<\/h3>\n

\"Cinematography
\nImage from Movies Kick Ass<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t always need to go for a 3 point (or even a 2 point) look. In some situations you can get away with only using one light source<\/strong> and<\/i> make it work to your advantage. One of these scenarios would be a backlit scene<\/strong>: by placing your light behind (and above) your talent, you can effectively put them in silhouette<\/strong> and create a dynamic look without having to use a second light. If you want to fill in the shadows a bit more, bring back that bounce board<\/strong> and reflect the back light onto your talent.<\/p>\n

3. Use it as fill.<\/h3>\n

\"Cinematography
\nImage from the American Society of Cinematographers<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re working with a full lighting kit<\/strong> on an interior shoot, you\u2019ve got the luxury of blacking out all the windows and controlling the light with your kit entirely. However, when you\u2019ve only got a single light<\/strong> to work with, sometimes the opposite is required. Rather than cutting out all of your light, find a way to use window light as your key, and use your single light as fill. Keep in mind that you\u2019ll need to add a gel to your light<\/strong> to daylight balance it if it\u2019s a tungsten lamp.<\/p>\n

Working with a single light<\/strong> shouldn\u2019t prevent you from creating a dynamic setup<\/strong>. It only means you need to look for other ways to control, reflect, or harness light<\/strong> using the limited tools you have available to you.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more PremiumBeat<\/a> articles on the subject of lighting.<\/p>\n