"The art of cinematography is the art of lighting and making that light tell the story." Stephen H. Burum, ASC http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005664/
Basic Lighting Terminology
Ambient Light - The light already present in a scene, before any additional lighting is added. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_light
Incident Light - Light seen directly from a light source (lamp, sun, etc).
Reflected Light - Light seen after having bounced off a surface.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/phyopt/reflectcon.html
Colour Temperature - A standard of measuring the characteristics of light, measured in kelvins and is important in that film and digital sensors are much more sensitive to color temperature than our eyes are. The scale takes its name from the scientist Lord Kelvin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
Contrast Ratio - The difference in brightness between the brightest white and the darkest black within an image. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_ratio
Key Light - The main light on the subject, providing most of the illumination and contrast. Many key lights may be placed in a scene to illuminate a moving subject at opportune moments. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_light
High-key lighting - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-key_lighting
Low-key lighting - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-key_lighting
Fill Light - A light placed to the side of the subject to fill out shadows and balance the key light. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fill_light
Back Light - A light placed at the rear of a subject to light from behind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlighting_(lighting_design)
Hard Light - Light directly from a source such as the sun, traveling undisturbed onto the subject being lit.
Soft Light - Light which appears to "wrap around" the subject to some degree. Produces less shadows or softer shadows.
Spot - A controlled, narrowly-focused beam of light.
Flood - A broad beam of light, less directional and intense than a spot.
Tungsten - Light from an ordinary light bulb containing a thin coiled tungsten wire that becomes incandescent (emits light) when an electric current is passed along it. Tungsten colour temperature is around 2800K to 3400K. Also known as incandescent light.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_lamp
Halogen Type of lamp in which a tungsten filament is sealed in a clear capsule filled with a halogen gas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halogen_lamp
Fresnel - A light which has a lens with raised circular ridges on its outer surface. The fresnel lens is used to focus the light beam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_lens
Incandescent - Incandescent lamps produce heat by heating a wire filament until it glows. The glow is caused by the filament's resistance to the current and is called incandescence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_lamp
Basic Lighting Terminology
Ambient Light - The light already present in a scene, before any additional lighting is added. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_light
Incident Light - Light seen directly from a light source (lamp, sun, etc).
Reflected Light - Light seen after having bounced off a surface.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/phyopt/reflectcon.html
Colour Temperature - A standard of measuring the characteristics of light, measured in kelvins and is important in that film and digital sensors are much more sensitive to color temperature than our eyes are. The scale takes its name from the scientist Lord Kelvin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature
Contrast Ratio - The difference in brightness between the brightest white and the darkest black within an image. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_ratio
Key Light - The main light on the subject, providing most of the illumination and contrast. Many key lights may be placed in a scene to illuminate a moving subject at opportune moments. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_light
High-key lighting - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-key_lighting
Low-key lighting - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-key_lighting
Fill Light - A light placed to the side of the subject to fill out shadows and balance the key light. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fill_light
Back Light - A light placed at the rear of a subject to light from behind.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backlighting_(lighting_design)
Hard Light - Light directly from a source such as the sun, traveling undisturbed onto the subject being lit.
Soft Light - Light which appears to "wrap around" the subject to some degree. Produces less shadows or softer shadows.
Spot - A controlled, narrowly-focused beam of light.
Flood - A broad beam of light, less directional and intense than a spot.
Tungsten - Light from an ordinary light bulb containing a thin coiled tungsten wire that becomes incandescent (emits light) when an electric current is passed along it. Tungsten colour temperature is around 2800K to 3400K. Also known as incandescent light.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_lamp
Halogen Type of lamp in which a tungsten filament is sealed in a clear capsule filled with a halogen gas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halogen_lamp
Fresnel - A light which has a lens with raised circular ridges on its outer surface. The fresnel lens is used to focus the light beam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fresnel_lens
Incandescent - Incandescent lamps produce heat by heating a wire filament until it glows. The glow is caused by the filament's resistance to the current and is called incandescence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_lamp
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