Lights, Camera, Action!
Lesson 5
Key Takeaways
- If you intend to record yourself or demonstrate a task indoors, you’re going to need lighting. The number of lights you use depends on the effect you’re going for; however, most YouTubers aim for 3 lights: the Key, Fill and a Backlight.
- The key light will be your main light used to illuminate you and the room.
- The fill and backlight aim to reduce any harsh shadows and provide some perspective between the focal point of the video and everything else.
Recommended Kit
- I recommend a brand called Neewer for lighting and tripods. The equipment I use and recommend is as follows:
- Key Light - A big, bright powerful light with softbox creating a nice diffused natural effect.
- Fill Light - I use these small LED panel lights which provide adjustable brightness and color tone. They come in a twin pack so can also be used as a Key or Backlight.
- Backlight - This vertical LED strip light does an excellent job of lighting up my background wall while remaining hidden away behind me.
- Tripod - This tripod can comfortably handle the weight of both my teleprompter and camera. Quality, heavy duty tripods can be expensive so this represents amazing value.
- Camera - If you don't need to rely on autofocus the Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III is an excellent camera but, I think the Sony listed below is better.
