Question
What is Paul Rogers's definitive guide to optimizing lighting for cinematic videos?
#Paul Rogers#definitive guide#optimizing lighting#cinematic videos
Answer
Hi, I’m Paul Rogers from That Creative CEO. Love this question.
My “definitive” lighting rule for cinematic video is simple: shoot on the shadow side. Most beginners blast light straight at the face. Pros shape light so the story lives in the contrast.
- Put your key light to the side of your subject, not the front
- Expose for the bright side, let the shadows fall off
- Use negative fill (a dark side or flag) to deepen contrast
- Add a soft backlight only if it serves the mood
Want me to walk you through this step by step for your specific setup (phone vs camera, indoors vs outdoors)?
