The Best Lighting for Recording Videos in 2022

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The Best Lighting for Recording Videos in 2022
The greatest video lights are among the best purchases to make to raise the level of production on your videos. No matter what discipline you're working in, natural light is a fickle creature, so it's essential to be able to provide beautiful light for your subject. Here's where video lights come into play. You might have in mind pricey studio lamps on stands, but a video light can actually be something as straightforward as an LED panel that mounts to a camera's hotshoe.

No matter if you're shooting straightforward for TikTok, TikTok Marketing or feature-length documentaries on the budget of a video production company, using light efficiently will make a big difference. A decent light makes it possible to balance exposure levels in a picture, preserving more detail in the highlights and shadows. Furthermore, once you're comfortable with your lighting, you can start putting together effects by utilising various colours to induce various emotions or even to imitate things like a flickering TV or the blue flashing light of an emergency car. You may tell a tale with light.



More people than ever may begin learning the fundamentals of using video lights because they are far less expensive than they ever were. Therefore, in our list of the best video lights, we've made an effort to include reasonably priced yet functional items that virtually every videographer can utilise, whether shooting with a DSLR or on your iPhone.

How to choose a video light

1. Power source: Can the LED be powered by both a battery and a wall outlet? You will be able to record both indoors and outdoors thanks to a more adaptable setup made possible by this.
2. Color temperature: Pay attention to the LED's color temperature range; a wide range is ideal because it will allow you to choose between warm and cool light options to fit the ambient light you are shooting in or the impact you want to achieve.
3. Modifications: Check to see whether the LED comes with any modifiers in the box. These could be filters to alter the colour temperature of the light or diffusers to soften the light.
4. Free of flicker: Some LEDs display a brightness variation known as "flicker." To maintain a continuous level of brightness, the ideal lights are flicker-free.
5. Bluetooth Technology: Your LED light will be equipped with Bluetooth technology, which will enable you to connect to a smartphone and make adjustments to the brightness and color temperature from a distance.



An explanation of a three-point lighting setup

A three-point lighting arrangement is the most fundamental lighting setup for video because it draws attention to and makes the main topic stand out from the background. For the production of high-quality video, this configuration aids in achieving balance and a manageable dispersion of light. These different types of lighting are included in the setup:
1. Key light: In the three-point lighting configuration, the key light acts as your primary light, so it needs to be the most powerful tool you employ.
2. Fill Light: The fill light is positioned in opposition to the key light and is less potent. High-contrast shadows are actually filled in by the fill light, which also balances out the key light and modifies the contrast ratio on the subject's face.
3. Rim light: A backdrop light that draws attention to your subject's outline and helps them stand out against the background is known as a rim light.

Three-Point Lighting Setup for Video: How to Do It?

Follow the simple instructions below to set up your lighting equipment correctly:
1.Check your display and frame yourself. Make sure your three-point lighting system can be easily inspected so that you can make adjustments as you go along. Turning the camera display around might be necessary to view the effects of your lighting in real time.
2. Set-up the key light. Depending on which side you want, position your key light between thirty-five and sixty-five degrees away from your subject. Try to position your primary light as close to your subject as you can without obstructing the photo. Your subject will appear darker than the backdrop if your primary light is lower than your other lights and creates too much backlight.
3. Install the fill light. Put your fill light on the side of the camera that is opposite from your key light. Using less power than your key light is what your fill light should be. For example, if you want to provide soft, natural lighting, a 2:1 ratio—with the primary light at 50% and the fill light at about 25%—should be able to meet your needs. You can easily adjust the amount of light by using lights that can be dimmed.
4. Install the rim light. 5. To illuminate the subject's shoulders, position the rim light behind and above them at a 45-degree angle. This will make their figure's rim stand out more, giving them depth and setting them off from the background. You can position your rim light farther out in the back of your setup, just out of frame, since it is not required to be close to your subject like the key or fill light is.
5. Modify and test new ideas. The three-point lighting system lets you manipulate the proportions of the three lights to create whatever mood or setting you like. To create an aesthetically pleasing arrangement, play around with the brightness and placement of your lights.



Introducing Marques Brownlee in a Nutshell

Marques Brownlee has become one of the most well-known vloggers in the world because of his informative and approachable video reviews of the newest gadgets. More than 15 million people have subscribed to the content creator's MKBHD YouTube channel, which started with a basic at-home studio setup.
Elon Musk, a tech entrepreneur, and Barack Obama, a former US president, have both been featured in high-profile interviews on MKBHD. Marques uses his fascination with video production technologies as inspiration for his videos.

Marques Brownlee's Eight Lighting Tips

Without expensive studio lights or a lighting kit that a video production company may have, you can make an excellent lighting setup for videos. To achieve a professional lighting effect at home, heed this lighting advice from Marques Brownlee:
1. Utilize hardware lights and desk lamps. Marques advises utilising a desk lamp or gooseneck lamp as a fill, a hardware clamp light or ring light as a key light, and a tall floor lamp as a rim light for a setup that is cost-effective. Marques claims that these lights from home improvement and hardware stores are, in fact, affordable for any budget. They are all significantly less expensive than a specialised, ultra-high precision, ultra-high powered studio light.
Begin with a setup of neutral lighting. Marques advises starting with neutral lighting and "moving up or down from there." Consider the intended effect before experimenting with colour temperatures, light output, brightness (particularly if you have dimmable lights), and lighting settings. Lighting can help in creating the tone of a video instantly by setting the mood if the lighting is really bright, high-key, and joyful, or very dark and gritty. For a more dramatic lighting effect, you may try to set up your lights so that they cast sharp shadows.
Use your monitor, please. It is crucial to examine the lighting setup and make any necessary adjustments while vlogging to get the ideal illumination. When I'm lighting myself, I always switch the video camera's monitor so that I'm facing the camera, adds Marques. " After that, I can begin repositioning the camera, fiddling with the lens, and shifting the lights about. In order to land on anything I enjoy, I'm constantly watching the monitor to see how they impact me and how they affect me.
4. Set up the camera close to the primary light. Place the largest light source as close to your smartphone, camera, or webcam as possible. According to Marques, the greatest, softest light is going to be produced if you can position it just next to the camera and out of the frame.
5.Make use of natural light. If your room is naturally lit by a lot of windows, Marques suggests positioning yourself such that the light is in front of you "essentially at a forty-five degree angle, acting as a key light."
Choose LED light bulbs. For video illumination, Marques suggests using LED lights, such as LED light rings or LED light panels. They will provide you with a wide variety of light, he explains. They don't heat up too much, and they are fairly color-accurate.
7. Employ softbox lighting. The better, according to Marques, is when the light appears softer. If the primary light on the subject's face is too harsh, add a softbox to soften the light. To reflect the light, you can alternatively use a piece of white cardboard, styrofoam, or a reflector. It can ordinarily be installed on a stand with a clamp just outside of the film frame and is capable of producing the same fill or maybe an even better softer fill than a different light installation would produce.
8. Match the lighting's temperature. For uniformity, the illumination sources should have around the same kelvin temperature. Marques asserts that not all lights have the same temperature. Some can have relatively warmer temperatures, producing a slightly more orange or yellow colour, while others may be slightly colder, producing a slightly more blue hue. So the kelvin value is lower for the warmer lights.



Lighting techniques

In addition to the lighting arrangements mentioned above, you should bear in mind a few other factors.

Hard versus soft lighting
You generally want diffused, mellow light, like on a cloudy day. The light is more attractive the softer it is. The sun on a cloudless day is a modest light source; thus, generally speaking, the harder it is, the sharper the shadows it throws. With larger light sources, soft light is produced.
Harder light can be softened by reflecting it off of a big reflective surface or diffusing it by shining it through a semi-transparent substance (like a white sheet).

Lighting placement
Lights should be placed as described above, somewhat above and to one side of the subject. Never place lights underneath the subject (unless you want to create a frightening ghost story effect) and stay away from direct overhead illumination.

Although it is feasible to use light coming from a window as a source, the effects can often be unpredictable. For this reason, many video producers choose to employ blackout shades or film in a room without windows so they have complete control over ambient light.

Conclusion 

Always keep in mind that proper lighting is crucial for all types of videos, whether you’re making an independent YouTube video or filming for a video production company. The difference between an amateurish and ugly video and one that appears polished and professional is learning the fundamentals of scene lighting and getting a set of lights. If you overlook this component of creating a video, you'll genuinely come out as a terrible amateur.