LIGHT AND ITS PROPERTIES .

Light is an essential thing to make any subject visible and is the primary requirement to form an
image. In scientific terms, light is a narrow band of electromagnetic radiation that is made up of
little packets of energy called photons and travels in a straight line.

Importance of light in production

Light is not only essential to illuminate and bring out the details in the subject properly, but also
to determine the mood or environment of a scene. It can make a frame more dynamic and the
emotions more dramatic.

● The light’s intensity (brightness) affects exposure.

● A light’s quality refers to whether it is concentrated “hard” shadow forming light or

diffused “soft” shadowless illumination.

● The direction of the light has an effect on the appearance of the subject.

● The light’s color temperature refers to its overall color quality.

To make use of light effectively as a cameraman, it is important to understand how the

properties of light work.

The basic properties of light are as follows:

1. Reflection

Reflection of light occurs when a ray of light falls on an object’s surface and bounces back.

It is due to this property we are able to see things in our surroundings through our retina.

Law of Reflection states that the angle of the incident light ray is equal to the angle of the
reflected light ray. Here the ray of light approaching the mirror is known as the incident ray and
the ray of light that bounces off the surface is known as the reflected ray.

Whenever we use a reflector to reflect light in photography or video production, this rule is
necessarily followed.
 2. Refraction

You may have noticed that an object’s shape looks distorted when viewed through a glass full of
water.

This happens due to refraction of light. It refers to the change in direction of a wave caused by a
change in speed as the wave passes from one medium to another.

Using props like crystal balls, wine glasses, water, etc., you can create a dynamic effect by
bending images.

3. Dispersion

Light is not actually white in colour. It is in fact made up of a whole spectrum of colours. White
light only appears white because it is composed of every color on the visible spectrum.

Dispersion of light is the splitting of white light into its constituent colors (Violet, Indigo, Blue,
Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red) due to the refractive index of the surface and the wavelength
of the light.

Each colour has a different wavelength. Red has the longest wavelength, and violet has the
shortest wavelength.

Rainbows are a natural example of dispersion. Another example is of colored rays of light
coming from a prism which has been hung in a sunny window.

4. Colour Temperature

Colour temperature is a measure of a light's colour. It describes the appearance or tint of a

particular light. The colour or warmth of white light is ranked on a scale called the Kelvin scale
and measured in degrees of Kelvin (K).

The term was coined by William Thompson Lord Kelvin measured in units of absolute
temperature. Higher colour temperature provides cool colours like 5000K (Blueish white) and
lower colour temperature like 3000K delivers warm colours (yellowish tone).

The colour temperature depends on the source of light as well as the time of the day if you are
shooting in natural light. While this temperature can be adjusted in the post production editing, it
is advisable to set it as per requirements while shooting itself.

To instruct the camera to read white light as white, we adjust the white balance. In this process,
we put a white sheet in-front of the camera and focus on it for a fraction of a second after putting
white balance switch on the manual.
 5. Intensity

The intensity of light is basically the quantity of light and it refers to how bright or dim the light
source is.

As we increase the intensity of light source, it produces hard light while reducing the intensity of
light source converts hard light into soft light.

It can be used to establish the character and the intensity of an event, draw attention to the
subject, create a particular mood or environment etc. Example: Bright light is perceived as
cheerful or dramatic and dim light as mysterious or melancholic.
 DIFFERENT TYPES OF LIGHT .
Light can be divided into four broad categories on the basis of:

1. NATURE OF LIGHT SOURCE

● Natural: It is the available light, such as that produced by the sun or the moon,
and is used for outdoor shoots as the main light source. As we cannot control it in
terms of direction, angle, distance, or intensity, we need to take special care of
the time of the day and place of recording.

● Artificial: It is produced via another source, such as a studio strobe, electronic

lamps, your camera’s pop-up flash, or even streetlights. As they can be
controlled and manipulated in terms of direction, angle, intensity, and distance, it
is used in indoor shoots, and also as a supporting light in outdoor production.

2. EFFECT OF INTENSITY

● Hard: Hard light casts sharp shadows and amplifies texture by bringing out finer
details like cuts and wrinkles on the subject’s face. It produces vigorous, bold,
well-defined effects to make the subjects appear strong and serious. For
example: We can use hard light to show negative characters like the villains in a
horror film.

It is directional, so it can easily be restricted to illuminate just the desired areas.

Low key setup and equipments like spotlight are used to get hard light

● Soft: Soft light or diffused light, usually known as a floodlight, scatters in all
directions. It does not create distinct shadows, so texture and surface contours
are not pronounced in the picture. It makes your subject appear warm and
welcoming. It can help smooth wrinkles, hide acne, and bring out the light in
someone’s eyes.

It occurs naturally, when the sun is obscured by clouds and whenever sunlight is
reflected from rough light toned surfaces.

Soft light is used to fill the shadows cast by hard light sources so that details are
visible. High key setup is used to get soft light. We can convert hard light into soft
light by using accessories like softbox, reflector, diffuser, etc., or by increasing
the relative size of the light source in relation to the size of the subject.
3. TRAVELLING OF LIGHT RAYS

● Spot: A spotlight casts a narrow beam of light, usually no wider than 45 degrees.
This beam is more concentrated and easier to point and control. It is mainly used
as a key light to highlight a particular area of the subject.

Some types of spotlights are open-faced focusable spotlights, lensed focusable

spotlight, and ellipsoidal spotlight.

● Flood: A floodlight can have a beam spread of up to 120 degrees. It can

illuminate a larger amount of space with the same wattage and lumen output as a
spotlight. Because the light is so diffused, the shadows created by it are soft and
transparent. It is also used as a fill light to fill the shadows created by the
spotlight.

Some common floodlights are scoops, softbox, and the broad.

4. LUMNINANT USED IN THE LAMP/BULB

● Incandescent: It generates light by heating up a filament with electricity.

It ranges from 2400K-2600K and provides a nice orange light that makes lighting
seem natural, like the bright daylight on a sunny summer day.

● Fluorescent: It generates light by activating a gas-filled tube to give off

ultraviolet radiation. This radiation in turn lights up the phosphorous coating
inside the tubes, similar to the way the electron beam lights up the television
screen.

It ranges from 2700K-6500K and is more efficient than tungsten bulbs in terms of
energy.

● HMI ( hydragyrum medium arc-length iodide): It generates light by moving

electricity through various types of gases. This creates a sort of lightning inside
the bulb, which is the discharge that creates the light.

It produces light with a color temperature of 5,600K, the outdoor standard.

 OTHER TOOLS USED IN LIGHTING .
1. Diffusers

A diffuser is a semi translucent material placed between a light source and a subject which
scatters light beams to soften light. It reduces glare and harsh shadows.

Diffusers eliminate unattractive contrast, and even out the tonality in the image.

An example of a diffuser is a softbox which is placed around a strobe with diffusion material on
its front face.

The sun is a hard light source which is often diffused with a scrim. By placing a scrim between
the sun and the subject, the light rays are scattered and harsh sunlight becomes softer.

2. Reflectors

A reflector is any reflective surface that is used to redirect light towards a given subject. It can
bounce light into the scene to fill in the shadows.

It is placed on the opposite side of the subject to the light source. The idea is to catch the rays
of light from the light source and bounce them back onto the object.

If you are shooting a portrait outdoors during the day, a reflector can be used to fix odd shadows
on the face, or even to prevent a backlit subject from becoming a silhouette.

Reflectors come in different types of surfaces and colours, and both may change the light that’s
bounced back.

For instance, a very shiny surface like that of a gold reflector is designed to reflect bright,
‘contrasty’ highlights on your subject and change the color of the light by warming it up a bit with
an orange tone.

If you prefer more even, soft, or diffused light, then a matte surface is better such that of a
traditional white reflector.

3. Cutters

Flags, also known as cutters, are pieces of thick black cloth, usually duvetyne, that are
stretched over a metal frame. They are typically used to completely block light from falling onto
a certain part of the frame, which is accomplished by manipulating the position of the flag in
relation to the light by using a c-stand.

4. Gels

A gel is a transparent material made of thin sheets of polyester or polycarbonate that has color
on it. Light is projected through the gel to create coloured effects in the scene being
photographed.

Some gels modify the light for colour correction. These have specific colour to compensate for
particular light conditions. Non-corrective colours are used to create mood, atmosphere or
dramatic conditions in the scene.

They are mounted in a frame which is slipped into the front of a light fixture in the light beam.

They have a limited life as the light shining through them fades the colours. Gels with more
saturated colours fade faster.
 BASIC LIGHTING TECHNIQUES .
Importance of lighting

Lighting is fundamental in video production because it shapes and defines the objects in the
scene, and creates a visual mood, atmosphere, and sense of meaning for the audience.

● Lighting impacts contrast, which is the relative brightness of the lightest and darkest
areas in the shot.

● Lighting tells the audience where to look. The lighting setup guides the eye to a specific
actor, prop, or part of a scene.

● Lighting reflects the psychology of characters. The amount, size, color, and harshness of
light surrounding a character can be adjusted to match their emotions.

● Lighting defines and supports the genre of the film. Lighting is the tool that conveys
mood most clearly. For example, one of the film genres most known for its distinct
lighting style is film noir, characterized by stark contrasts between light and dark,
dramatically patterned shadows, and unique framing and composition choices.

1. THREE POINT LIGHTING

The Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video,
film, still photography and computer-generated imagery.

The lighting in this technique is all about creating a three-dimensional look. By placing three
light sources at strategic points around the subject, each light source illuminates a separate
dimension of the subject and creates an image with greater representation of height, width, and
depth. It uses three lights called the key light, fill light and back light.

● Key Light

A key light is the primary light point for your scene. It is usually the strongest and has the most
influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side
is well lit and the other side has some shadow. Its angle can range from 15 and 70 degrees,
with 45 degrees being most commonly used.

● Fill Light

A fill light is the second light for your scene, and its purpose is to fill the shadows created by the
key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. It is often placed in front of your
subject, opposite to your key light, also at an angle to continue to create some depth, but also to
bring out detail on the other side of your subject.
 ● Back Light

A backlight (rim light, or hair light) is the third light for your video lighting setup, and its purpose
is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. It approaches from
behind your subject, often at an angle on the same side as your primary light point. It
dramatically helps visually separate the subject from the background.

2. FOUR POINT LIGHTING

If we add a background light to the 3 point lighting setup, it turns into 4 point lighting.

It illuminates the background elements such as the backdrop and walls to show its texture,
shape, and depth relative to the subject. It is often used to locate the subject in the set, that is,
to show the relationship of the subject to the background. It can give the viewer a better
understanding of volume within the shot.

3. FLAT LIGHTING

Flat lighting means that you light for optimal visibility with minimal shadows. It occurs when you
place your key in front of the subject in the same direction of your camera angle. The result is a
flat, even spread of light across the subject’s face. It hence decreases wrinkles and
imperfections.

This style of lighting is commonly used in comedies, romances, and commercials, as the lighting
presents the viewer with a brighter, more attractive subject.

4. CROSS KEYING

Cross keying involves two light sources illuminating the subject from opposite sides. In this
lighting setup, the key light for person A (the camera-near person) also functions as a back light
for person B (the camera-far person), and the backlight for person A is the key for person B.

It is often used as a quick setup in cases where you have two characters standing talking to
each other and you need to do a two-shot and an over-the-shoulder of each.

5. LOW KEY LIGHTING

In low key lighting, shadows and deep blacks are more predominant than mid-tones and
transitions between highlights and shadows are harsh. Typically in a low-key lighting setup, a
cinematographer utilizes little to no fill light at all. If a fill light is used to create a bit more depth
and dimension, the key light vs fill light falls somewhere around 8:1 in favor of the key.

This type of lighting is typically used in thrillers, horrors, or dark dramas that have a more
serious tone.

Another style to use low-key lighting is Rembrandt lighting, where fill light is used minimally to
allow the contrast on the face.

6. HIGH KEY LIGHTING

High key lighting has minimal shadows, less contrast, and more highlights. The key vs fill light in
this setup is almost or equal to with a ratio of nearly 1:1. This eliminates almost all shadows and
contrast.

It creates an optimistic, upbeat, and light mood in the scene.

Lighting Ratio

A lighting ratio essentially expresses the relationship between two light sources, typically a key
light on the highlight side and fill light on the shadow side.

The higher the ratio, the higher the contrast. So, if your subject is evenly lit and exposed, it will
have a 1:1 ratio, but if you've got some bold shadows going on, with the "highlight side" of your
subject being one, two, three stops brighter, your ratio will be 2:1, 4:1, or 8:1.