{"id":48521,"date":"2021-04-05T11:28:50","date_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=48521"},"modified":"2022-06-08T11:50:40","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T15:50:40","slug":"basic-cinematography-lighting-techniques","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/basic-cinematography-lighting-techniques\/","title":{"rendered":"Types of Lighting in Film: Basic Techniques to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Proper film lighting techniques are essential in creating stylized and natural-looking film scenes. This is why film sets always seem to be overly lit or packed with many different light sources that serve different purposes. This requires technical knowledge in cinematography, which means using the most appropriate cinematic shots<\/a> and types of film lighting techniques to get your message across perfectly in each and every scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re aiming to become a cinematographer<\/a>, director, writer, or any other person who holds a creative role in a film crew, you\u2019ll need to learn some of the basic lighting techniques and types of lighting used in filmmaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is cinematic lighting?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cinematic lighting is lighting for film that evokes a feeling and has a style. It’s the lighting we see in the movies we watch, be they big budget or independent. While the term cinematic lighting is not a precise term and is in fact very subjective, there are some lighting techniques that generally lead to this look. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emulating lighting styles from famous paintings such as Rembrandt or going for a “chiaroscuro” look will give you cinematic lighting. Playing with ratios of lighting within the frame is often the differentiator between cinematic lighting and flat or boring lighting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lighting your subject to be slightly or more bright than your background helps draw your eye to the subject. Also, if the subject is a face, lighting the face from behind, opposite the camera (also known as upstage lighting), helps give the subject’s face some more definition as the shadows are falling towards the camera. There are many types of cinematic lighting for film that you can employ to get the mood and shot you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 Film Lighting Techniques<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Image via Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cinematography and film lighting is closely similar to photography lighting<\/a>. You\u2019ve probably heard many of these techniques, especially if you\u2019ve done some studio photography in the past, but it helps to learn how they can uniquely benefit filmmakers in creating different moods and atmospheres in every scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also important to note that these techniques are not clear-cut, so many of them can actually take the form of several other film lighting techniques. What matters is that you learn what each is good for and are able to make the best use of them for achieving your cinematic goals. The following are all the different types of lighting in film:<\/p>\n\n\n\n