Do your videos look dark and pixelated? Not loving the end result because they don’t represent your true bright self?
Not to fear ! There are many different ways to create better lighting for your videos and I’m going to show you how!
Lighting in your videos is super important because it sets the tone and mood. There’s a reason why horror movies are shot in dark places! Lighting creates a feeling that you can’t recreate with just images alone. How you light yourself in your videos could completely change the way your audience perceives you.
Use natural daylight!
This might seem super obvious, but there truly is no better lighting than the stuff we get from the sun! You might want to consider shooting in a different room, or shooting at a different time of day to capture that glorious natural light.Make sure that you’re set up facing the light, and not with a window behind you. Because then you’re backlit, and then you might as well be shooting in your basement.
Get some bulbs!
Maybe daylight isn’t an option for you, so you need to create some lighting. Totally da-able! Professional lighting packages can be super expensive, but you can head on over to your local hardware store and pick up some DIY supplies.Grab three bright (like 125W) bulbs, three clamp lights, three AC cables (the kind with a plug on one end, and an empty light bulb socket on the other, and either some PVC piping with clamps, or 3 cheap camera tripods.
You’ll want to set up these lights using the well-known 3-point lighting system. One key light that lights your face from the front. One fill light, which is placed on the other side to cancel out any weird shadows on your face. And one back light to light the space behind you. Keep in mind that you’ll probably have to hit record and do a few light moves before you find the perfect set up. We are looking for beautiful natural lighting, not the Blair Witch Project!
Turn up your ISO!
Your ISO is essentially how sensitive your camera’s digital film is to light. Under normal daylight shooting conditions, I usually have my ISO at around 300, but if I’m shooting at night or in a dark place, I crank that ISO to 1600 or even 3200. Sometimes carrying around extra lights isn’t an option either, so using your camera’s ISO settings to compensate for the darkness is a really handy feature you should be using!
Fix it in post production!
Often when people don’t like the lighting in their videos, it’s not exactly the lighting that’s the problem, but it’s that the images don’t have a level of color saturation that looks pleasing.If you are using editing software, you can easily adjust the color saturation levels, and even the exposure levels to what you find pleasing. If you find that your videos are too bright, you can use the exposure settings in your editing program to calm down the light too.
I hope that this video has given you some ideas to fix the lighting in your videos. There are often lots of DIY solutions that don’t involve spending an arm and a leg for expensive studio lighting.
Awesome post! I need to change my bulbs for sure. Lighting is extemely important. The worst is the yellow lighting. 😉
Thank you Siedah! Lighting is SOOO important 🙂 I’m glad you found this post useful! :D)
What a great post, Emmy! I kept thinking of getting around to maybe doing some videos (can you tell I’m procrastinating) and this is a well-timed resource – both the post and you (how did I now know this is what you do?!) – I’ll be back.
Thanks so much, Emily! I’m so glad that you found this useful! Did you happen to see that I’ve just started a free training series on creating your own promo video? You’ll learn all the steps to create video content that you can be proud of! Sign up on my site and you’ll have access to the first module right away! Thank you again! :D)
Thanks for this! Good to know there are some inexpensive DIY lighting options out there. For now, I will remember to never again film in my office at night…
Ha! You’re so welcome Nicole! And your comment totally made me smile 🙂
Yay for natural daylight! It’s really the best. Glad to know where to put the bulbs though when I need it, messing with the lighting always feels so tricky. I don’t do any video at this point yet, but I’ve been having some fun with my dslr camera taking pictures and I think this translates well for that too!
Thanks Megan! Yes, natural daylight is beautiful 🙂 If you ever want to try shooting video with your DSLR, I’m sure that you’ll be soooo impressed with the images!
Fantastic content thank you! So many practical tips to demystify the area of lighting. well done.
Glad you found it helpful Michael! Thanks for popping by! 😀