Filmmaking 101 Three Point Lighting

A three point lighting setup is a basic lighting setup that involves three lights. It’s considered a fundamental lighting setup in the film world, and understanding the principles in this basic lighting setup is key to understanding good lighting in general. So let’s jump into what a three point lighting setup is and how you can achieve it.

First up is the key light. The key light is your main source light in the scene… and is usually positioned off to either the left or right of the subject at an angle. I like to use the natural light from a window as my key light to create a large light source that offers soft light.

Next up is the fill light. The fill light is there to... well, fill, and it’s job is to cut down on shadows by fill in the areas of the face that the keylight is missing. It’s positioned on the opposite side of your subject from the key light again at a similar angle.

And finally in the 3 point lighting setup we have the back light. The back light is a major key in your lighting setup to help separate your subject from the background. Similarly to the fill light, it should be placed on the opposite side of your subject from the key. By doing so, it gives your subject an edge of light on their darker side that helps make them pop and stand out from the background.

Pro tip, when figuring out where to position your lights in the scene it’s best to make sure they are motivated by real life light sources. So for example, large windows in your scene can be fantastic motivations for key lights. While general room ambiance or white reflective surfaces can be great motivations for fill lights.

And finally, practical lights in the background such as lamps can motivate backlights. No while a 3 point lighting setup is great, I recommend adding some extra lights to fill out your background.

By adding a light or two to your background, you can add depth and interest to your shot. Just make sure you’re not over lighting your background so your talent can pop from it and remain the focus of the shot.

Now that you know how to do a basic 3 point lighting setup, your shots are sure to be the brightest bulbs in the shed… wait… is that the saying? Oh I got it, the sharpest light in the box! Wait that’s not it… ah whatever you get the idea!

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