Saturday, March 18, 2017

Techniques for Good 3-D Lighting

Lighting can determine the detail and mood of your image and accentuate the surrounding environment. Good lighting will make your image standout from the background and appear 3-D, whereas bad lighting will wash out your image and make it appear flat. The standard lighting setup is the three-point lighting setup, in which you light your subject from three different angles. Varying this setup will enable you to create a 3-D image that properly demonstrates the mood that you're aiming for.

Three-Point Setup

    Three-point lighting makes use of three lights to light the subject: the key light, the fill light and the backlight. The key light is your main light and is positioned to the side of the camera where the source light comes from. The fill light is used to fill in some of the shadows of the key light and is a lower-intensity light placed on the opposite end of the camera. The backlight is placed above and behind the subject to light the back of the subject and separate it from the background.

High Key Ratio

    A high key ratio means that the ratio of intensity of the key light to the fill light is high. This will give you a subject with lots of shadows and natural contrast in the vein of film noir, which is a stylized film technique that uses light and shadows to mirror the dark themes of the story through the visuals. This type of lighting is usually used for nighttime or low-light setups.

Low Key Ratio

    Low key ratio is the opposite of high key, meaning the intensity of the key and fill are closer. This gives you a more evenly lit and less ominous subject. This setup is used for outdoor daylight scenes and scenes with lots of light.

Frontal Light

    Frontal lighting places the key light in front of the subject, usually above pointing down. This can be used to simulate artificial light such as overhead fixtures and to create a specific mood by placing the subject's eyes or mouth in shadow. When using this light, the fill is sometimes unnecessary. If you're using fill, it should be kept at below 50 percent of the intensity of the key.

Side Light

    Similar to frontal lighting, side lighting places your key directly to the side of the subject. This can simulate light coming from a lamp or window. The fill and backlight is then used to illuminate the rest of the subject.

Background Light

    In addition to a three-point setup, a background light can also be used. The background light is pointed towards the background of your composite rather than the subject. This can help emphasize the background as well as further separate your subject from the background like the backlight.


Lighting can determine the detail and mood of your image and accentuate the surrounding environment. Good lighting will make your image standout from the background and appear 3-D, whereas bad lighting will wash out your image and make it appear flat. The standard lighting setup is the three-point lighting setup, in which you light your subject from three different angles. Varying this setup will enable you to create a 3-D image that properly demonstrates the mood that you're aiming for.

Three-Point Setup

    Three-point lighting makes use of three lights to light the subject: the key light, the fill light and the backlight. The key light is your main light and is positioned to the side of the camera where the source light comes from. The fill light is used to fill in some of the shadows of the key light and is a lower-intensity light placed on the opposite end of the camera. The backlight is placed above and behind the subject to light the back of the subject and separate it from the background.

High Key Ratio

    A high key ratio means that the ratio of intensity of the key light to the fill light is high. This will give you a subject with lots of shadows and natural contrast in the vein of film noir, which is a stylized film technique that uses light and shadows to mirror the dark themes of the story through the visuals. This type of lighting is usually used for nighttime or low-light setups.

Low Key Ratio

    Low key ratio is the opposite of high key, meaning the intensity of the key and fill are closer. This gives you a more evenly lit and less ominous subject. This setup is used for outdoor daylight scenes and scenes with lots of light.

Frontal Light

    Frontal lighting places the key light in front of the subject, usually above pointing down. This can be used to simulate artificial light such as overhead fixtures and to create a specific mood by placing the subject's eyes or mouth in shadow. When using this light, the fill is sometimes unnecessary. If you're using fill, it should be kept at below 50 percent of the intensity of the key.

Side Light

    Similar to frontal lighting, side lighting places your key directly to the side of the subject. This can simulate light coming from a lamp or window. The fill and backlight is then used to illuminate the rest of the subject.

Background Light

    In addition to a three-point setup, a background light can also be used. The background light is pointed towards the background of your composite rather than the subject. This can help emphasize the background as well as further separate your subject from the background like the backlight.



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