When You SHOULD NOT Use Three-Point Lighting

Three-point lighting. It is the first thing you learn about in your photography and cinematography classes. It is the most universal, ubiquitous, standardized method of lighting a subject. Wikipedia defines three-point lighting as a standard method used in visual media such as theater, video, film, still photography, and computer-generated imagery. I believe that three-point lighting will always have its merits and will always have a place in the world of visual media. But you don't always need three-point lighting for every single one of your scenes. So here are five ways you can light a scene using only two lights. Number one, the double back. You've seen this a lot in sports posters. The lighting is super epic, it makes your subject all the more grandiose and larger than life. To replicate this look, what you want to do is take two large lights and place them behind your subject at around 45 degrees. Then angle them down a little bit. Now you can dial these lights up to increase your contrast, but unless you want a total silhouette, make sure to have some kind of bounce material to simulate a third light and give your subject a little bit of that catch light. Number two, the soft key, hard back, aka F the fill. To get this look, you want to take your key light and angle it to the side of your subject while dialing its brightness down. Then, take your back light straight behind them and dial its brightness up. This will give you a very low-key and dramatic look, and it's essentially a traditional three-point lighting setup, but without the fill. Hence the phrase, F the fill. Number three, the key fill. This setup is probably the simplest and most like an old-school three-point lighting setup. You have two frontal lights and no back lighting. Once you've placed your key and fill lights, you can adjust your contrast ratios to your liking. But since you won't have a back light to separate your subject from their background, you'll want to try some other method to set them apart, like having them wear something that's a strong contrast in the background color-wise. Number four, the space light accent light. This setup's really good when you need to set your subject apart from the background, but only have one frontal light. Put your light into a space light as a generalized key and place it in front of them for a nice, even cast across their face. Or place it to the side of them if you want some nice, soft shadows. Then, use your second light and spot it onto the background to make it an accent light that will distinguish your subject from the background, but also add a little bit of character to the overall ambiance of the scene. Number five, the hard top eye light. For this one, you want to place a strong but soft key light well above your subject and angle it down. Then, shine a second light into your subject's eyes to counteract the shadows you'll encounter from the top light. This setup will give you a really strong wash across your subject's face, and while it's not the most flattering look, it will make them appear extremely prominent and important to the scene. So, there you have it. Five setups you can achieve with two lights. Now, let's open it up to you. What's your favorite two lighting setup? Describe your setup in the comment, and the best answer will win an Aputure M9. I'm Nerds from the A-Team. Happy lighting!