Imagine that you have your equipment set up, your subject and crew are ready for shooting, but a shadow casts on your subject. You constantly try to fix the lighting but nothing seems to work out. Getting the right lighting shouldn’t cause you any stress. Let your videos shine with our basic lighting options!

Lighting is one of the most overlooked aspects of film. Getting just the right lighting for your production is imperative, as too much or too little of it makes it nearly unwatchable. Looking at all the options can be overwhelming, and we’re here to help you make your production perfectly lit.

Types of lights:

Before you buy equipment, first consider the types of lights on the market. Incandescent lights are generally the least expensive and provide the most focused light, but also suffer from a short life span due to releasing large amounts of heat. Fluorescent lights last longer, but are also more expensive and give off softer light. LEDs give off more directional light, and also have a longer life span, but give off a softer light, and become less effective over time. Tungsten lights are industry standard and bright, but get hot over time and have short lifespans. Lastly, HMI lights have long lifespans and are more compact, but also are more expensive and have longer warm up times.

Softboxes VS Umbrellas:

2 of the main types of lights used in video productions are softbox and umbrella lights. Softboxes provide more controlled lights that also reduces shadows, but is generally more expensive. Umbrellas are generally less expensive, and lights a wider area, but this also means there is little to no control over the light.

Other Options:

Camera Mounted: Mounted lights are pretty self-explanatory: it's a light mounted to the top of your camera. While this does have limited options as the light source is always coming from the camera, it’s great for beginners and POV shots.

Barn Doors: Barn doors are the things you often see on theatre lights. Resembling, well, barn doors, these give the ability to shape light, giving much more options to filmmakers.

Stands/Mounts: These are pretty simple in that they give more options when it comes to lighting. You can get high and low angles, making your lights much more versatile.