Lighting

Your students will be better able to connect with and learn from your video if you are well-lit. These tips from Digital Learning Services will help you use the lighting you already have in your home or office to your advantage.

Your goal:

Your lighting setup should be flattering and make you brighter than your background without creating harsh shadows on your face.

Experiment with light sources you already have to achieve this goal. Make test recordings with different setups to determine the best one.

• Use natural lighting if at all possible. Position yourself so light from windows shines on your face.

• Don’t position windows directly behind you. This creates a silhouette effect where you will be much darker than your background.
• Remember that depending on the time of day, your natural lighting will shift. Record your lighting tests at the same general time you will be recording your videos.

• Use lamps and/or turn up the brightness of your computer monitor and/or use the flashlight on your phone for additional light if needed. As with the window, position these lights in front of you.

• White walls or white fabric (blanket, towel, sheet) in front of you or on the table where you are sitting will bounce light onto your face.
• Be careful with overhead lights. They tend to be less flattering and create harsh shadows. If you must use overhead lights, we recommend using a second light source somewhere in front of you.

Case study 1: 

How to improve an at-home lighting setup

• Light source behind but not in front. This is not a good lighting setup. The only light source is behind the subject of focus. Note how your eyes are attracted to the bright windows and objects in the background, instead of the subject’s face.

• Additional light on the subject’s right side. This is already much better, but not great. Note how your eye is drawn more to the subject but how there the left side of the face is in shadow.

• Third light on subject’s left side. This is a great lighting setup! Note how your eye is drawn to the subject and you can see both sides of the face.

Case Study 2: 

Using natural light with an artificial light source

• In this setup, the subject’s face is lit by windows and a ring light is being used in front of the subject to help light the remaining parts of the subject’s face that the window light isn't reaching.