Lighting HACKS for Shooting in Daylight

SHOOTING EXTERIORS USING ONLY DAYLIGHT

On this weeks episode we cover natural lighting cinematography during different hours of the day. From early morning to late afternoon and silver vs white reflector boards, learn the basics in lighting your subject using natural light through the day!

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[SkinnyCorleone]

Those lighting techniques are great for subjects standing still. But what if the scene has the talent walking or jogging a few feet up to a specific spot before he/she begin their dialogue. How do you light that moving talent, using the same lighting technique?

[Degotelo]

I would love to see how you soften sunlight when doing a one taker.

[flaviopresutti]

For me, when I use the reflector for fill, I try to use it with the light from above the face of the actor, or model, it is much more atractive and flattering cover the shadows under the eyes and chin!
Keep rocking guys! Great videos!

[NRLee]

When shooting in daylight, how do you go about compensating for the change in lighting after many hours have passed to get a consistent look?

[douglasseng]

What if the talents are moving? This tutorial covers lighting them in a fixed position. Does the lighting crew move with the subject (diffusion, bounces etc)? Or is there another way around it?

[davepov]

Great tips. There are now some good 8' x 8' Butterflies available, cheap. If you have C-stands, this can work very well overhead (just make sure you have plenty of sandbags and other weights to keep it on the ground), at an angle or as a huge soft source to shoot through. If you had a couple of Aputure 120T's or even a couple of Light Storm LS 1's, you could put them on a Baby Double-header, on a C-stand, shoot them through the 8x8 and, even outside, you'd have a nice soft source to work with the daylight, especially in shade. An 8x8 might even let your talent take a few steps without leaving the cover of the Butterfly. Shooting outside with the right tools can be such fun because you can get great DOF!

[rgsauve]

Would like to see you guys explore using a net behind the talent (like a 4'x8') to take down the background exposure. Otherwise, I can't see the background not being blown out when you diffuse from above (noon hour) and key with an LED. Great video guys, really enjoyed the white vs silver bounce comparisons you discussed.

[StevenShulgach]

David - Does the way you personally light your subjects "reflect" any particular/favorite DP's of yours, and their style of shooting? And you and Corridor Digital are awesome. Thanks!

[SessionCinemaFilms]

I've heard that backlighting is what makes a cinematic image. When shooting outside would you position the sun as the backlight or the key? Thanks and this video was awesome! Keep it up!

[unicornpropaganda]

I've been shooting in black and white a bit lately. I was wondering if you had any variations for shooting daylight while working under those conditions in monochrome? Obviously, certain things will transfer over well, but I wonder if you have anything you add to create say, a film noir look or a Ingmar Bergman type vibe.

I know a lot of people just do the same set-up they would use for shooting in color, then swap it over to monochrome, but I feel this still creates an obvious "shot on video" image. Is there anything you would recommend to keep in mind, for limiting post-work? I have heard if you gel things in red you will often get a better look for Black and White, but when would be the best times to utilize this?

I also would be curious to hear any other recommendations for shooting in black and white you have in general, although I'm sure your channel has covered that before.

What's a good range of ND filters to use in exteriors for a shallow DOF?
And any tips for shooting a day for night scene on exterior?
Appreciated.

[JakeStaed]

Hi Carmichael! My question is: What can you do in your post processing to bring out the shadows and emulate a camera that has a large dynamic range?

[emmybunn]

Carmichael, I've seen some Corridor Digital shots where the ground supplies a large amount of reflection such as snow and desert sand. Have you ever had to manage ground reflections and if so how? Additionally, I would be interested how practical lighting was done to compliment some post effects such as the smoke in VAPE GOD or the spells in Wizard Cops.

[sinrgy]

If you're doing a mid-day shot how would you deal with a windy/cloudy day where the exposure changes significantly? I'm guessing even with a silk overhead the exposure on the subject would noticeably change, from cloud cover to bare sun.

[MurrayFrost]

what time of day is best to shoot head shots? if you were to use these setups, which will give the best interview look, the best emotional (talent is emotionally crying) feel and the happiest feel?

[benmeredith]

Those Aputure LED's match the daylight well enough? Certainly seems so! Great video.

[christopherpurple]

Here's my question: how do you match up lighting within early morning and late afternoon scenes? I mean the color temp and shots planning are slightly different between these two.

Cheers from Taiwan! And also happy thanksgiving!

[HiItsJonny]

I've been doing a lot of photo work and short videos in wooded areas during the day. I really like the afternoon/ golden hour look with the sun setting behind my subjects to wrap around them. Now if I am a one man everything, what is the best way to be able to light up their face but still have that back light, when there isn't much sun going through the trees?

[Aersonas]

When shooting outside with sunlight coming in, from whatever direction, is it best to expose for the background to have a clean image, then fill the subject with light (in any way)? Or is it better to expose for the subject and then try to regulate the background? I mean, I have an idea on which is the better way to go, but wanted to know opinions and if there's a "best practices" approach to this.

[MotionStoryProd]

For most of the setups, it works for close slots on a budget. How do you handle the same look on wider shots? Because we definitely don't have a huge silk on a budget shoot and countless C-Stands :)