YouTube For Artists - Lighting Techniques

Making videos is fun. But to really make them the best that you can be and show your art in it's best form, lighting your work properly is a must. It's one of the things that people forget about the most when shooting their first videos. It can be a bit confusing at first, trying to eliminate shadows, not overexposing the shot and getting your art to show the proper colors. Let's take a look at some simple techniques.
The Key light is the main light that shines directly on your items. In this regard, you need to be careful that it isn't too bright and washed out the finer points of your artwork. Diffusing the light a bit helps. Putting a cloth or tissue between the light source and your piece will tone the light down to a softer brightness.
The Fill light is the one that lights up your piece from the side. It gives your art an extra dimension and especially for sculpture, helps create a 3-D quality. A fill light eliminates shadows caused by the direct Key lighting. A well rounded lighting effect gives you the most detail, most color contrasts and realistic looking shots.
The Back light is an extra light that you will need for three dimensional objects such as sculptures, objects or people. A backlight gets rid of shadows cast by the Key and Fill lights that will be seen on the back of walls or other objects. It also creates a distance effect between the piece and the background. Find out more information to creating cool lighting effects that will bring your pieces to life.