Good lighting can make your video (and you) look fantastic. It can make you appear friendly, approachable and healthy.

If the lighting isn’t right sometimes your background can appear clearer than you are (which can be a distraction). If there’s only light on a part of your face it can make you look hostile, un-approachable or even scary.

If you're filming outside

If the weather is great and you have the perfect location get outside where you’ll find the best lighting rig there is, the sun. And it's free!

Just remember that you are lighting the most important part of the video which may be your face. So the sun needs to be behind the camera and facing you. Even if it’s off to one side this can create  shadows which will make one half of your face appear darker than the other.

The best time to do this is when the sun is lower in the sky. So later in the afternoon or early in the morning.

If you're filming inside

You can still shoot your video indoors but make sure you follow the same rules when it comes to the direction of light. You may be able to use natural light but you might also need to light your subject artificially.

Pick a room that has a large window and shoot on a clear bright day. Place the camera pointing away from the window so you are facing the light.

If you do this the other way around, with the window behind you, your background will be nicely lit and you won’t. This will draw the eye towards the well lit background and away  from you.

If you need to use artificial lighting try to avoid yellow light. Most domestic lights and lamps will have a warm, yellow glow. They can be pretty unflattering on a video.

You might be better off investing in a ring light or maybe a softbox light. You can pick them up relatively cheaply on Amazon and they will make a massive difference to the finished video.

What's three point lighting?

If you decide to shoot inside and use some artificial lighting you can get some really great effects. Well positioned indoor lighting can flatter your subject. It can also have the opposite effect.

The best way to light something using artificial light is with a method called three point lighting. This means you'll need three lights rather than just the one. If you're thinking about investing in something like ring light then don't bother. Lighting your subject head on with one light can make your subject look flat, two dimensional and can often be pretty unflattering.

With three points of light you can give a subject depth and create depth within the image too. Take a look at the diagram below to see how three point lighting works then take a look at any of my headshot videos to see this method in action.

Want to learn more about lighting?

If you'd like to learn more about the best way to use lighting for you own videos, why not get in touch and book a 20 minute call. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.

Alternatively you can get together with some friends or colleages and book a workshop where we can cover lighting and a whole lot more. Click here to take a look.New paragraph