Basic Cinematic Lighting Techniques

Proper lighting is important to make a scene natural. There are different lighting techniques which help to create a good scene.

Here are some basic lighting terms :-

Key Lighting :- First setup is done of key light. It is main light for a scene. It can be kept anywhere.
Fill Lighting :– It is used to remove shadow areas. It is kept in the opposite direction to the key light so that darker area can be removed.
Back Lighting:– It is three point light setup. It faces to the subject and higher from behind. Which creates a gap between background and subject.
Side Lighting:– It is used parallel to the subject. It give dramatic mood to a scene. Strong side Light create a strong contrast.
Practical Lighting :– It is used to create night time scene using candle, lamp or TV. These lights are used to make a scene more real. Some supplementary lights are also used.
Bounce Lighting :– It is used reflect strong light. It also helps to create colored surface using reflector.
Soft Lighting :– It is not much necessary. To reduce or eliminate harsh shadow. It is mostly used to create drama.
Hard Lighting :– Sunlight and strong light is used. According to scene it is used. It is usually applied to draw attention.
High Key :- It is used to create a very bright scene. It is used where there is no shadow.
Low Key :- This lighting is used for mystery, suspense drama. In this light is focused on character, which helps for horror and thriller.
Motivated Lighting :– It is used for natural source of light. In this sunlight, moonlight, and street lamps are used. It helps to make a scene natural as possible.

Light is like life of a scene.