Name: Tips for making better video: How to Light Products
Uploaded: 2018-09-26T02:53:55.000Z
Duration: 5 min 54 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

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Though you may be aware of what three point
lighting can do for a subject, it doesn't

always work when you are lighting product
shots. Products can be either transparent,

Adverbs of manner

translucent, opaque, or all three - all factors
which strongly affect how well they handle

light. In order to master how to control light
with any surface, we'll give you some tips

on how to place lights so that your products
can look both tempting and professional.

Objects that are transparent allow light to
travel straight to another object behind or

beneath them without obscuring their image.
Things like glass, plastic, and water are

all transparent objects that can be notoriously
difficult to light - but not impossible. In

fact, transparent objects can often give off
the most interesting light since they can

reflect or refract light in unexpected ways.
The thing to keep in mind is that transparent

objects don't take direct illumination well.
The light simply passes through them. The

best place to start is by p up a strong spotlight
placed to the back and side of the product.

Especially if you have a dark background - this
backlight will define your product's edges.

Next, to show off the contours of the surface
without getting overexposed highlights, place

a large soft-box or diffusion frame close
and to one side of the object. This will draw

a line down the object's surface showing off
its contours and texture. You'll probably

find that multiple areas of shadow and highlight
end up looking best, so count on having to

use plenty of diffusers, white bounce cards,
and flags to achieve the best effect. Also,

if you'll be lighting colored glass or liquid,
you may want to build a simple light box to

achieve a more pleasing light gradient near
the bottom of your product. To build one of

your own, you'll need to get a medium sized
cardboard box, a pane of glass to cover the

top of the box, a small light stand, black
fireproof cloth, scissors to cut a hole in

the box and cloth, and a light dimmer. Using
your scissors, you'll want to carefully cut

a small 1-foot by 1-foot flap into the cardboard
box and a small hole on one side of the black

cloth. These openings will provide access
to power for our light. Then place the black

cloth into the open end of your cardboard
box and the put your light stand on top of

it. Be sure to trail the power cord and dimmer
through the black cloth and box before you

cover the box so that you can turn on the
light from outside the box. Lastly, place

the pane of glass over the top and arrange
your products artfully on top. Now, using

your light dimmer, you can slowly bring up
the intensity of the light inside the box

until the liquid seems to glow. If done right,
this can make any product look both interesting

Translucent objects on the other hand, allow
light to pass through without being able to

see the image behind or beneath it. Common
translucent objects include smoke, fog, steam,

etched glass, and gems. With these kinds of
objects or products, the most important light

will be a backlight. Backlights will give
these objects a very defined rimmed highlight

which will help prevent them from getting
lost in your scene. If the product has a bit

of texture on the surface you may want to
put a spotlight near the side of the object

in order to cast areas of light and shadow
over its ridges. It's important to have a

dark or completely black background when setting
up any scene with translucent objects because

a light background may make the objects difficult
to see.

The last kind of surface is one that is opaque.
Opaque objects simply absorb or reflect light.

The bulk of objects you'll encounter will
have this quality. Those surfaces that absorb

light, or the matte surfaces will be the easiest
to light. These kinds of products will work

well under the same principles that govern
three point lighting. As such, having a backlight,

to separate the object from the background
as well as a key and fill light angled 45-degrees

downward will end up looking best. The hardest
lighting situation of all is to control overexposed

areas on glossy or shiny surfaces. Even so,
there are some simple lighting techniques

you can use to dampen them. By making your
light quality as soft as possible, you can

come very close to eliminating highlights.
You can use large framed diffusers, reflected

light from large white surfaces such as foam-core
board, and as a last ditch effort, a light

tent. A light tent is a fabric that surrounds
an object with a white or diffused material

in order to hide the edges of specular highlights.
They work by having light shine in from as

many directions as possible while seamlessly
diffusing or spreading it evenly across the

object. Usually there is a small hole cut
in one side of the tent for the camcorder

or camera lens to shoot through. Though these
tents work incredibly well for object close-ups

they don't make for very realistic backgrounds
so they shouldn't be used if a natural background

Knowing how to light a variety of surfaces
in a professional way is an important skill

for any cinematographer. Not only does it
give you a starting point for knowing where

to place lights in almost any scene, it gives
you the comfort of knowing that no matter

what the product looks like, you'll be able
to make it look great.

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Tips for making better video: How to Light Products

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