Three-Point Lighting Technique

As mentioned in last week's lighting blog, this week we will be talking about three-point lighting, the standard way of lighting any scene.

To achieve this technique, you need to use a minimum of 3 lights.

 

The first and most important of the three is the key light. It is the biggest and brightest light that casts light on part of the subject and casts shadows on another part of the subject.

The second light is the fill light. This is used to fill in the shadows cast by the key light. As we add more fill, the contrast between the two lights cast on the subject is lower and we see more detail in the shadows .

With little fill, you achieve low-key lighting (as discussed last week) because there are more shadows present. You achieve high-key lighting the more fill you add till there is almost no difference between the key and fill lights.

Finally, the third light needed for this technique is a very detailed light. The rim or back light is positioned behind the subject and facing the camera. It silhouettes and abstracts the subject. It makes the subject pop from the background with rim light around the edges.

Check out this video tutorial for a visual explanation of three-point lighting.