Scouting for the Perfect Video Shoot Location Part 2: Lighting

Previously, we discussed how scouting a video shoot location will help you with your composition, that is, how your video will be composed using background, foreground, your subject, and any other visual components. In this post, the second in our series, we’ll tackle some questions about lighting. To be clear, this isn’t a post about how to set up lighting for a video shoot, but rather a post about what you should look for in a location with regard to lighting options as you scout and plan for your next video.

Choose Your Own Lighting Adventure

As a general rule (and if you don’t remember anything else from this post at all, remember this), the best locations provide ample available light that you can control. The less light a location provides, the more work you’ll have to do to produce a quality video. That said, as you consider a location for what it provides in the way of lighting there is one question that absolutely must be answered – all other considerations will hinge upon this…

Will you bring additional lighting or only use what is available on location?

Since I don’t know which answer you’ll choose and, perhaps, you don’t even know yet yourself, I’ll continue this post by addressing considerations for each scenario.

Available Light: Friend or Foe

When scouting your location, pay attention to the available light and ask a few questions like “Hello window, can we get along or I am going to have draw the drapes over you?” Here’s a list of conversations you should have with the available lighting your potential location provides:

Window(s)

If you will bring your own lighting to the location, it may be best to cover the window(s) entirely so you can more carefully control your lighting overall. So, ask yourself when scouting the location, “Will I be able to cover the window(s)?” If so, great! If not, well, you’re stuck with making the best of them. Proceed to the next paragraph.

How harshly will light pour into window(s) during the time of day you plan to shoot? If, for example, a window faces the east you’ll deal with a much harsher light source if you shoot in the morning versus the afternoon. If you can’t cover the window(s), or you don’t have your own lighting equipment to use instead, you’ll want to place your subject facing the window(s). So make sure, when scouting the location, that you will be able to arrange your shoot in a way that puts that harsh light in front of your subject instead of behind – otherwise your video will come out looking like an interview of someone in witness protection (see the example above).

Artificial Lighting

Similarly, artificial lighting can be a friend or foe. If you will bring your own lighting you’ll probably turn off those drab overhead fluorescent lights anyway. That is, as long as you a) can figure out how and b) are allowed to. When scouting your location, check to make sure you know how lights are controlled and what limitations you’ll need to contend with if you plan to start flipping switches to the “off” position. If you aren’t bringing your own lighting, or your potential location provides you with some light you can’t control, there are a couple of things you can do to go with the flow.

First of all, remember what I said in the beginning – light, any light, is better than no light. So, while scouting for your shoot location if you have the option of a room with lots of artificial light, go for it over a room with little or no light. The next consideration, though, is what flexibility do you have with that light? Ask the light, “Are there places in this room where you are less annoying?” and “If I move my subject over here will you be a little nicer to him?” Whenever I’m present on location and I see our team lighting a set, guess what – they move things around, A LOT. Don’t be afraid to do the same. You may be surprised what a difference it will make if you move your subject over just a few inches or if you trade your camera places with your subject entirely.

The Sun

Since you can’t really get rid of the sun, it may be a little less relevant if you plan to bring your own lighting or not. So, here’s the deal: I can’t even begin to cover how to use the sun for lighting your video in this short post about location scouting, but what I can tell you is that if you plan to shoot your video outside do it around dawn or dusk. You might be tempted to think that you’ll get the best light around midday when the sun is brightest, but in fact what you will get is harsh, very difficult to work with shadows.

In conclusion, bad lighting is one of the most obvious signs of bad video that can frequently be prevented or at least softened with some careful scouting and planning ahead. So whether you’ll arrive to your next shoot location with lights of your own or not, make a few of the considerations outlined in this post. Most importantly, test as many lighting options as you can before you begin your video shoot. Up next, we’ll explore how you can choose the best locations for sound while out scouting for your next video shoot – stay tuned!

Read more:

• Scouting for the Perfect Video Shoot Location Part 3: Audio
• Video Editing Software for Small Businesses to Improve Video Marketing