When it comes to creating video content, there are many factors that can affect the quality of the final product. One of the most important of these is lighting. Good lighting can make all the difference in a video, whether it's a marketing video, product demo, or explainer video. Not only does it help to create a professional-looking video, but it can also have a significant impact on your sales and engagement rates.
Before we look at types of lighting used, lets look at WHY good lighting is so important in video production:
It Creates a Professional Look
One of the most obvious reasons to invest in good lighting is that it helps to create a professional-looking video. This is particularly important for businesses and brands, as it can help to build trust and credibility with your audience. A poorly lit video can look amateurish and unappealing, while a well-lit video can make your products or services look more high-quality and desirable. the Color of the light makes a substantial difference as it can make the video feel "put together" have a slight hue of company colors splashed in certain parts of the video can make your product merge better with the video. similar to how nike will have their signature orange in some of their videos or coca cola will have the white polar bear wearing a red scarf. introducing those colors through light is a unique way to establish brand for example a red light outside of a truck stop while someone is drinking a cold coke can be a good way to introduce company colors through lighting as well as through clothing.
It Enhances Visibility
Good lighting can also enhance visibility in a video, making it easier for viewers to see and understand what's happening on screen. This is especially important for product demos and explainer videos, where you want to showcase the features and benefits of your product in a clear and concise way. With good lighting, you can ensure that your product is clearly visible and that viewers can see all the details. Who can tell what they are looking at if the image is too dark. This can work great for dramatic effect like when you are trying to reveal a new product and are introducing light flares to give "glimpses" of a product but if those light flares are lit well enough, it takes away the dramatic effect. This can happen in various ways throughout your video if the lighting isn't implemented correctly.
It Increases Engagement
Research has shown that good lighting can have a significant impact on engagement rates in videos. In a study by Wistia, videos with good lighting were found to have higher engagement rates than those with poor lighting. Specifically, videos with "professional" lighting had an average engagement rate of 68%, while videos with "poor" lighting had an average engagement rate of just 36%.
It Can Boost Sales
Finally, good lighting can also have a direct impact on your sales. In a study by HubSpot, it was found that videos that were well-lit and had good production quality had a 24% higher conversion rate than those that did not. This suggests that investing in good lighting and other production elements can have a positive impact on your bottom line.
There are several types of lighting used in videography to create different moods, effects, and levels of brightness. Here are some of the most commonly used types of lighting:
Key Light: The key light is the main light source in a scene and is typically placed at a 45-degree angle to the subject. It provides the primary illumination and helps to define the shape and form of the subject. This is also typically the largest and softest light source. This sets the scene as the angle its placed at can make for either more or less dramatic shadows on a persons face. In the image to the left you can see the only light used for this image is just the key light. It creates a significant dramatic effect by having the rest of the image dark and ominous.
Fill Light: The fill light is used to fill in the shadows created by the key light and create a more even distribution of light across the subject. It is usually placed on the opposite side of the key light. In this image to the right, we can see the red light on the left of her face is the main light or "key light" and to the right of her face, there appears to be a dim white light used as a fill light to bring up some of the shadows. Additionally, both the red and white light match the lights from the gas station in the background connecting the subject to the rest of the scene.
Back Light: The back light is used to separate the subject from the background and create depth and dimensionality. It is typically placed behind the subject and above their head. the color of this light is preferable to match surrounding light or some type of light that is visible in the scene. Our brains subconsiously work by association. if there is a fire in the
background and we see an orange glow around our subject by a light thats not scene our brain will deduce that the subject is being lit up by the fire vs if we introduced say a blue light. It could have a confusing effect on the audience taking them out of the viewing experience.
(This image to the right serves as both a back light AND as an accent light. Its placed in the background visibly as a regular piece of the scene. It provides lighting around the subjects hair to separate him from the background. it is a redish color that offsets the blue tone in the image and it casts a red tone on the device he is using, which is where his focus is and where the scene wants our eyes drawn to. It ties everything together.)
Accent Light: The accent light is used to highlight specific areas of the scene, such as a product or a piece of scenery. It is usually a small, focused light that is placed to the side of the subject. This can be a neon in a bar, a fireplace if the subject is facing it, it's meant to light a focus point that we would like to draw our viewers eyes to.
Ambient Light: The ambient light is the natural light in a scene and can be used to create a specific mood or atmosphere. For example, a warm, golden hour light can create a romantic or nostalgic mood, while a cool, blue light can create a more mysterious or suspenseful mood. ambient light typically needs to match the time of day or scene. If we are attempting to create a specific scene artificially we need to be concious of the color and warmth of the light.
(This image is a perfect example of how practical lights are used to create an warm ambience. it is a perfect merging of practical lights being used as ambient lights. the lights from the ceiling, the back light and the light on the table all have the same warm tone so they produce a warm ambience but are also typical lights you would see in this environment. This is a great use of lighting to set a mood with minimal effort.)
Practical Light: Practical lights are lights that are visible in the scene, such as lamps, candles, or streetlights. They can add to the realism of the scene and create a more natural-looking lighting environment. These are the lights that "explain" the other lights we use. we amplify the practical lights in the room and make them really pop. In a bar if there is a red neon, we can blast red lighting in various spots near the neon and its explained that the red comes from there even though in a real life scenario a red neon might not emit so much light, aesthetically, it looks very good on video.
Special Effects Light: Special effects lights are used to create specific lighting effects, such as lens flares, spotlights, or colored lighting. They can add drama, interest, or a unique style to a scene. This is where the creativity comes in if we are going for a more out of the box look. Sometimes you want the flash and unexplainable that gets people out of their seats. many movies have focus points that have lighting and colors that are there artistically and they draw the viewer in. The beautiful thing about lighting is the possibilities are endless as long as they are executed properly.
In conclusion, good lighting is an essential component of any successful video production. Whether you're creating marketing videos, product demos, or explainer videos, investing in good lighting can help to create a professional-looking video, enhance visibility, increase engagement rates, and boost your sales. lighting is a critical component of videography and can have a significant impact on the final product. Understanding the different types of lighting and how to use them effectively can help to create a more professional-looking and engaging video. So if you're looking to take your video content to the next level, consider investing in some quality lighting equipment – your audience (and your wallet) will thank you for it!
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