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Finally, there is almost always light coming from behind you – usually either the sky or some reflected light from the sun.  If this light overwhelms the light of the sun (the key light), you will be silhouetted; if it is fainter, it will wrap around you from behind as a rim of light.  This is the back light.

Radiancefield

The artist himself—whose works have been displayed everywhere from London's Victoria & Albert Museums the Sharjah Museum of Art in the UAE to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum right here in New York—said of the project: “Light has always played a major part in my life and work, and for me, is a natural medium to use. With the light installation at Freedom Plaza in Manhattan, I intend to stimulate the imagination and senses of any viewer by creating a breathtaking immersive experience that utilizes every hue of light to create a visual Eden.”

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Depending on the sun’s location, it will cast shadows on one side of your face or the other, but these shadows are softened by the other lights in the environment: either light from the sun that has been reflected off of other objects or other sources of nearby illumination.  These softening lights are the fill.

When you are setting up three point lighting, you have a few factors to consider.  How harsh should the shadows be?  How intense should the back light be?  Which side should the back light be on?  These are largely a matter of personal preference and can change from one setup to another.  I personally think that the back light looks best on the opposite side from the key, but many lighting diagrams show the opposite.  The important thing is to be conscious of how these choices affect your scene.

Portablefieldlights

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Measuring light in stops is useful because it allows us to compensate these various factors and maintain the same exposure.  If I decide to move from f/4 to f/2.8 to gain a shallower depth of field (going up one stop), I can compensate my changing my ISO from 400 to 200 (going down one stop).

Soccerfieldlights portable

Have you ever noticed that on most cameras, the ISO values double with each increment?  Most cameras start at ISO 100, then jump to 200, then 400, 800, 1600, and so on.  It makes sense that a camera set at ISO 800 is twice as sensitive to light as a camera set at ISO 400, which means that going from 400 to 800 adds a stop of light.  Shutter speed works the same way: going from a shutter speed of 1/30 of a second to 1/60 of a second takes away a stop of light and vice versa.  Aperture is the same, although the numbers aren’t quite as logical: you double amount the light going from f/1 to f/1.4, then f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16, and finally f/22.

Measuring light in stops is different than measuring light in lux, in two important ways.  First, stops are used when measuring the amount of light coming into a camera, as opposed to the amount of light on the subject being photographed.  Second, a stop of light describes light in relative terms, not absolute ones.  Every time you add a stop, you are doubling the amount of light; and every time you lost a stop, you are cutting the amount of light in half.

We have two light meters in our equipment collection: a digital meter and an analog meter.  The both do the same thing, but you operate them in slightly different ways.  Here are video instructions for both:

In the first lesson, we discussed the basic properties of light: its color value, measured in degrees kelvin; and its brightness, measured in lux or foot-candles.  However, there is another measure of light that you will probably hear discussed in relation to photography and video: the “stop.”  It’s common to hear photographers talk about gaining or losing a stop of light – so how much light constitutes a stop?

LED stadiumlight

Honoring New York City as "a beacon of freedom and home around the world," per a press release, the installation will consist of an array of 17,000 lowlight, fiber-optic stemmed spheres that will illuminate with a range of colors, creating a landscape that will almost look painted. The spheres will be powered by solar energy, "the nexus of art, technology and nature."

For the next project, we are going to work as a group.  Set up a key, fill, and back light in front of a black backdrop.  Using the same key light, we’ll adjust the fill to create different contrast ratios: low contrast (less than 4:1) for high key shoots, average (around 4:1), and high contrast for low key shoots (greater than 4:1).  Everyone should take turns being in front of the camera so that the entire group gets a chance to operate the equipment.

In terms of actual numbers, an average contrast ratio is somewhere around 4:1.  In a film with high key lighting, the faces of the actors might be lit with a contrast ratio of 3:1 or 2:1.  Ratios lower than 2:1 are not often used, since at that point you start to lose the details of an actor’s facial features.  Films with low key lighting might use a contrast ratio of 6:1 or 10:1 or higher – the greater the contrast ratio, the more dramatic the lighting.

A low contrast ratio is often used on films that are meant to be lighthearted, such as comedies.  Since low contrast lighting is usually flattering, it’s also used on romances.  Look at how even the lighting is in this shot from Mean Girls.

Light Field

Scheduled to open this winter for a yearlong residence, English-Australian artist Bruce Munro is bringing his “Field of Light” public art installation to Manhattan’s East Side. The immersive piece will transform more than 6 acres, from 38th Street to 41st Street on First Avenue, at the mixed-use Freedom Plaza space near the United Nations Headquarters.

UPDATE 11/10/23: “Field of Light” at Freedom Plaza will officially open on December 15. Complimentary timed tickets are now available right here.

When we talk about contrast ratios, we are generally talking about the ratio of light between the key side and the fill side of a subject’s face.  To measure the contrast ratio, you can take a reading with a light meter on the key side with the fill off, then on the fill side with the key off.  Here’s another video from light guru wolfcrow about contrast ratios.  He has some specific ideas about measuring contrast ratio in aperture stops that I don’t find totally logical, but the general idea is the same.

You don’t need to go far to find this “natural three point lighting” – the next time you are outside, just take some time to look at the patterns of light and shadow on the people around you.

The Field of Light installation is but one program planned for Freedom Plaza, which will also reportedly see a museum highlighting human rights and freedom of speech, thought and expression. The museum collection will feature artworks from international artists, including large-scale experiential installations, as well as historical artifacts, such as slabs from the actual Berlin Wall. Walking paths, shopping and dining options, a gaming facility and a hotel are also in the works for the waterfront space.

In the first lesson, we discussed the basic properties of light: its color value, measured in degrees kelvin; and its brightness, measured in lux or foot-candles.  However, there is another measure of light that you will probably hear discussed in relation to photography and video: the “stop.”  It’s common to hear photographers talk about gaining or losing a stop of light – so how much light constitutes a stop?

Slowlight

Contact ratio is incredibly important because it can really help establish the mood of a piece.  You will often see a high contrast ratio on highly dramatic or tense films.  Look at how dark the shadows are on Marlon Brando’s face in this shot from The Godfather.

In the studio, we don’t have access to the natural three point illumination of the sun, so we replicate it as best we can.  We use a key light to illuminate the face, a fill light to soften the shadows, and a back light to illuminate from behind.  This method looks natural because it replicates what we see in nature.

Thinking of light in terms of stops can be a bit confusing at first, but it’s really useful for getting – and keeping – proper exposure with your camera.  As we start to experiment with different lighting setups, we’re also going to need to make sure that the cameras we use are getting the images we want.  That means controlling the exposure.

When you are outside, you are probably being primarily illuminated by the sun – that makes it the key light.  The sun can be a hard or a soft light, depending on the weather and time of day; overcast days are generally considered great for filming, since the light is diffuse and flattering.

You’ve probably heard the term “three point lighting” about a million times.  It’s often described as a “basic lighting technique,” but I think that description is actually a bit misleading.  Saying that three point lighting is a “basic” technique implies that there are more advanced methods that presumable use more lights: say, five point intermediate lighting and seven point advanced lighting.  That’s not the case.

Three point lighting isn’t a basic technique, it’s a fundamental technique – the fundamental technique – for lighting a subject.  There may be dozens of lights set up for a shot, but the subject (the actor, generally speaking) will still be lit using three point lighting.  That’s because three point lighting describes how we see other people every day, with different levels of light and shadow.

One of the most valuable tools for getting correct exposure and creating different lighting looks is the light meter.  Here’s a short video showing a light meter in action:

For a very quick overview, here’s a brief video from Full Sail.  There are about a million three point lighting tutorials out there, but this one is concise and accurate.

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“Bruce shares an aligned commitment to the use of sustainable and innovative technologies to spark imagination and push the bounds of creativity. We are thrilled to work with him on this significant project,” said Stefan Soloviev, Chairman of Soloviev Group, which is behind the development of Freedom Plaza.