How to create amazing lighting in your videography

Who says corporate videography has to be boring? Starting out as a videographer in London often means lots of creative projects, which are of course a joy to work on. However, the reality of working as a videographer, especially in London, means that not every project will be obviously creative. I work on lots of corporate video productions and often gets called in on jobs as the go to corporate videographer in London. The saying goes that life is what you make it, so do videographers really need to see corporate videography as boring? I certainly didn’t and when my business boomed in the realm of corporate videography, I saw it as a challenge to make it fun and visually beautiful. So how can you make corporate films look more cinematic and like a film? In this post I’ll give my top tips on how to create amazing lighting in your videography.

Light control - the number 1 rule for videographers.

What is it that makes a visual interesting and dynamic. There are in fact a number of things such as camera movement and dynamic acting but light is the key element that visually brings a scene to life. It’s also one that a corporate videographer can easily transfers over to their own video productions. So how can you create amazing light on a fast turnaround corporate filming job? Well firstly, turn off the room lights. This gives you total control of the light. If there is natural light in the room then you can look to control this too via blinds. A simple single source soft light will create a great look on its own. It will create a mood that elevates your visuals and makes them more interesting. If everythgin is light, there is no anticipation, there is no wondering what might be. This is somewhat over the top for a corporate film but subconsciously, it’s there in the audiences head, whether they realise it or not.

As a videographer, I use the technique time after time. Turn the lights off and bring out a single light and cerate some lighting shape. the mix of the shadows and light is what makes it interesting. This might not be the look you want for every film but for a lot of the corporate videography jobs I do, it works wonders. This enables your work to stand out. Many videographers shoot their b-roll material in the ambient light. In a way this is lazy as its takes only a little more effort to get the lights off and light your own scene,

How videographers can easily light an interview

Interviews are a huge part of your work if you’re working as a videographer in London. Many top videographers will film interviews a couple of times most weeks. So how can a videographer elevate their interview lighting to look special? Light control also applies here. Get the lights turned off and start from scratch. This way you have the control over your visuals. Even with corporate videography, you can cerate some shape in your lighting. Dont want your visuals to look too moody? The bring your key light rod the face a little more and then a tiny amount of fill. You’ll notice you have shape in your image without it feeling too moody. Typically four lights will allow you to achieve this so every videographer should try and carry these in their kit bag. these for lights consist of a key light. Something large and soft like an Aputure 600D and use lots of diffusion to soften it down and make your subjects face look radiant and soft. A fill light which can be a smaller light, still soft. maybe an Aputure 300D with soft box of similar. A backlight which I personally like to keep harder than a key or full light. A light panel would do the job nicely here. And finally a room light. This will allow you to bring your background to life. Controlling the levels of your background will enable you to completely control the overall look.

Dont be a lazy videographer

The real take away here is to make the effort in the videography. take the extra amount of time to play with lighting. It doesn’t always have o take long but has a huge impact over your work as a videographer. Feeling relaxed enough to do this does come with experience but it’s something all videographers shoudl practise in their video productions.