Lighting On Budget

Lighting is the department where money buys the least. Shape, direction and distance do almost all the work, and all three are free. A two-light setup understood properly will beat a six-light package pointed at a wall.

One source, then decide

Start with a single key light and look at the frame before adding anything. Most setups that feel wrong are over-lit rather than under-lit: every extra source removes a shadow, and shadows are what give a face shape.

Bigger and closer is softer

A small hard source a long way off produces sharp-edged shadows. The same light bounced off a white wall, or diffused through a sheet and brought close, becomes large and soft. That is the whole trick, and it costs nothing.

Control before you add

Negative fill — a black card or a dark jacket on the shadow side — deepens contrast without a second light. It is the cheapest instrument on any set and the one most often forgotten.

Match the room you are in

• Keep every source the same colour temperature
• Switch off mixed overheads rather than fighting them
• Let practical lamps sit in frame as motivation
• Expose for the face and let the room fall where it will