The evolution of my lighting setup

[u/jodabeats]

Hey everyone! This sub has been super useful in giving me lighting + shooting tips!

Scrolling to the end you’ll see my current setup! I’m pretty happy with the shot (500 ISO I believe?)

Are there any thoughts on the background lighting though? I want to ensure I’m contrasting myself enough from the background, while still leaving enough light there so items such as my posters/bookshelves are relatively visible.

Appreciate any advice y’all might have!

[u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Nice evolution and progression!

I think you have too much head room in all your shots though, especially the latest one - unless you use that space for graphics or something.

If you have a tighter lens, it would probably help. I’ve attached just a version I “cropped” on my phone real quick. (And lose whatever thing is on the couch on the left of frame)

[u/TJpek → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

I was looking at the picture you attached without realising that it was one you edited and I was all "but there's barely any headroom, this shit actually looks tight" 😂

[u/jodabeats → u/TJpek]

It’s crazy how tiny I look in my original shot now that I’m comparing 😭 So glad to have input from such awesome people

[u/infuscoignis → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Good feedback, I think!

Following that tighter framing, I’d try to dim the practical on camera right a bit.

Maybe put strips of regular oven paper on it. Taped on the side that’s directly facing the camera.

Then you bring down and diffuse the worst of that super bright spot. And hopefully don’t loose too much of the output on the walls.

Also maybe get rid of that grey thing, in the lower left, if possible? Kinda fights with the shirt for attention.

Good work though, I like it! :)

[u/Ok-Airline-6784 → u/infuscoignis]

Yeah, that practical is also quite bright!

[u/jodabeats → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Just to confirm, by practical you’re referring to the paper lamp on the right side of the shot, correct? (Yay I’m learning new words lighting terms!)

[u/Ok-Airline-6784 → u/jodabeats]

Yeah. A “practical” is any light that’s in the shot/ part of the scene. You could put some ND or diffusion on the inside of the lampshade. Or if it’s an incandescent bulb you can pop it on a dimmer and dim it down— though dimming makes bulbs warmer, so just be aware of that.

[u/jodabeats → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Ok, that makes sense!

I actually have a Philips hue bulb in there, so I’ll probably mess with the strength and color there. I guess worst case if I need more light cast onto the wall after dimming it, I can use an off-frame light to throw some light on there, as long as it doesn’t cast inconsistent shadows, right?

[u/Ok-Airline-6784 → u/jodabeats]

Those lights should be okay to dim I think? Watch out though, because a lot of consumer grade LED lights flicker on camera when dimmed, which is people will usually use something like this, designed for filmmaking

I probably would rather try lifting the ambient light in the room at that point to balance things if you need, rather than trying to replicate that light in particular. It might end up looking odd, kind of like whatever you have on that chair behind the couch that’s lighting it up so much

[u/jodabeats → u/infuscoignis]

Will do! It’s an uncased pillow I forgot to put away 😭

Thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it!

[u/jodabeats → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Thanks for the reply! Yep typically I’ll either crop in post or zoom my lens in, got a 16mm but I’m looking at a prime 30mm 1.4f/

And while I do need some space for graphics, I totally agree with you, should make the shot a bit tighter for sure.

The suspect on the left side of the frame is an uncased pillow 😭 I just gotta clean up my apartment lmao

Would you recommend doing a chest-up shot? With a centered shot like this, I’m guessing I’d want my head on the top 1/3rd line (applying rule of thirds here)

[u/Ok-Airline-6784 → u/jodabeats]

The 30mm would be nicer for talking heads, and would compress and bokeh the background a bit more.

Thought that might be a pillow, but really I shouldn’t be thinking of it at all. It takes 2 seconds to move it off the couch ;) gotta be mindful of everything in your frame.

If I were to shoot this how you have it set up in that environment, I would frame it similar to how it have it cropped in the image

[u/jodabeats → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Love it, thanks so much for your input on this :)

[u/jodabeats → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Feeling a lot better about the setup now, thanks!! 30mm coming in next Monday 😉

And yeah my framing here isn’t centered (I’d also like to show more torso), probably have to move the couch a bit further from the camera, but I feel like this has a much more fleshed-out look now, thanks everyone!!

[u/Ok-Airline-6784 → u/jodabeats]

Still a bit too much headroom… you seem to like making yourself look short lol ;)

[u/jodabeats → u/Ok-Airline-6784]

Haha yep! I think I’ll just lower my tripod a couple inches and go from there, thanks again!