Last update: Aug 17 2025
It’s hard to say one part of video production is more important than another. We won’t debate that here, but lighting definitely plays a key role. It’s no coincidence that the saying goes: lights, camera, action. Lighting impacts the quality of your video and sets the mood. Depending on what you're trying to express, lighting can create intimacy, mimic the glow of a fireplace, or even suggest danger using effects like flickering or thunder flashes.
There are standard lighting rules you can follow. But once you're comfortable, you should experiment and find what works best for your style. In this guide, we’ll share three popular light setups. These will help you understand light positioning, background lights, and practical lighting. Don’t stop there. Treat lighting as part of your branding. Your goal is for viewers to instantly recognize your style or brand when they see your video.
This setup consists of three main lights. First, the key light—your main light source. Place the key light to the right or left of the camera, depending on where your subject is looking. If you're using a second camera (B-cam), place the key light on the opposite side of that camera angle. The key light is usually the strongest light and shapes the subject's face.
Next is the fill light. Its job is to soften the shadows created by the key light. The fill light is usually placed opposite the key light, about 90 degrees to the side. It should be less intense than the key light. This maintains natural shadows while keeping the subject visible. Sometimes, we position the key light directly in front and slightly above the subject’s head. Then, we angle the fill light at about 45 degrees from the key to reduce harsh shadows.
The third light is the backlight, also known as a hair light. Place this light behind the subject to create separation between them and the background. This helps your subject stand out and gives the image more depth and polish. Here is a visual example of how a 3 point light would look like:
Let's talk now about the 2 point light, in this case basically have the key light and the hair light becomes a mix between fill and hair light, this light is usually called edge light and is position against the key light, behind the subject a little to the side. Usually used for interviews you will find this type of setup specially if the camera is a little to the side of the subject, so they are not necessarily talking to the camera directly, but talking to someone, maybe the interviewer next standing next to the camera, but like we mentioned before, you can play with this.
And now let's talk about the 1 light setup, this is basically using a key light and then using a board or something that can bounce back the key light into the subject to soften the shadows.
Lastly let's talk about the background light setup, this is very fun, because everything we have talked about so far has to do with the subject, but having some extra lights in the background will complete the scene, this can go from having an RGB light pointing to the back to change the color of the background or having some little lights on some shelves or stands in the back this can be as simple as a table lamp and or decoration lights or professional lights that you can control better when it comes to color and temperature.
Now we will share with you some links to some lights we have worked with in the past and some of them we continue to work with. Some of these lights can be used for a home studio or in our case for professional studio, we hope this explanation is helpful to you as well as the list of products listed below.
If you are creating content in low light situations or if you want to give some color to your scene this is a great light for that, super lightweight and comes with magnets in the back so you can attach it to any metal surface or you can use a little arm and connect this to your DJI Pocket 3 rig system. We have use this for night events and can't tell you enough how this light helped us in those situations.
This Led Bi-Color Video Lights with APP Control made of Aerospace aluminum alloy, non-slip, high heat dissipation, comes with a U-mount bracket design, making it easier to adjust lock knob toward different angle for the best shooting. Attaching barn doors to light sources creates a beam spread of light, making light more focused on the subject. Comes with an AC Adapter and could be powered with Sony F970/750 Li-ion battery for wireless operation (Battery sold Separately).
RGB Multi-color / Bi-color Output Ways: RGB video light Consists of 168 LED beads and 84 RGB beads. The first mode is where the color temperature is between 3200K and 5600K. The second mode allows you to adjust the hue output and color saturation of red, green, and blue from 0% to 100%. Which means you can quickly match the current ambient with a knob.
Amaran 150c is Amaran’s first-ever full-color 150W Bowens Mount point-source LED light, combining RGBWW full-color control, optical and soft light Bowens Mount versatility, integrated controls, and most importantly, high-quality light output. the Amaran 150c produces stunning color quality throughout its expanded bi-color CCT range of 2,500K to 7,500K with green-magenta adjustment and 360° HSI color control with >90% coverage of the Rec.2020 Color Space. And with high CRI/TLCI [95+], SSI (D56) [71], and SSI (Tungsten) [83] scores, the Amaran 150c can reliably output color-accurate light to achieve faithful skin tones.
High Quality 60W LED Bead :Powerful 60W LED bead offers high light brightness and stable illumination, Sepcially designed protect cover to proect the LED bead
If you're looking to start creating content for your own business—or even offer content creation as a service for others—you're in the right place. Whether you're just starting out or looking to take your content to the next level, having a solid strategy and the right tools can make all the difference. Check out our article, "How to Create Great Content for Social Media as a Business" where we break down actionable tips, content ideas, and tools that can help you build a strong online presence, connect with your audience, and grow your brand with purpose and creativity.
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