Forum Thread: How to Create a 3 Point Lighting Setup for Video

Creating a 3 point Lighting setup for video can be really easy to do and will make your videos much more beautiful to look at. Here are the 3 light you will need and what they are used for.

Key Light

This will be your main source of light. For the basic 3 point lighting setup, we will be placing this light next to the camera at eye level with your actor. This light is usually your main source of light.

Fill Light

The fill light will be placed at 45 degrees in front of your actor to the opposite side of your Key Light. This light is usually used to fill in the shadows created by the key light so that the there is a softer transition from light to shadow.

Rim Light

The rim light will be placed 180 degrees around the actor from the fill light. We will also place the light a little bit higher and aim it down toward the actor. This light will help a little strip of light around one of the sides of your actor that helps separate your actor from the background and bring the attention of the audience to that actor.

Experiment

Above I have explained how to create a basic 3 point lighting setup for video but this can be tweaked depending on what the narrative you are trying to tell is for your video. Try adjusting the height of each of the lights, the intensity of the lights, or even the positioning of the light around your actor, and see how that changes the mood of your video.

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