Lighting Your Video

Without enough light your video will look like mud, it's as simple as that. So it's really important to have enough light when you're shooting. But you don't want too much light, either. You can't control every shooting situation, but you can make the best of whatever light is available with our tips below.

Indoor Shooting

If you're shooting inside, it probably won't hurt to turn on all the lights in the room. If you can, arrange the light sources so that they point to your subject and are beside the camera. You don't have to rearrange furniture ( especially if it's not your house), but you may want to move your subject to accommodate the available light.

One common mistake is to have a subject face the camera with his back to the light source. When the light behind him enters the lens, your camera tries to compensate for the disparity in light between the subject and the light source. But it can't, so you often end up with a silhouette instead of a recognizable person ( Figure 4.7 ).

Figure 4.7. In the image on the left, the light is directly behind the subject. Position the light source in front and to the side of the subject for better results.

A light directly over a subject can also create problems, such as harsh shadows on the person's head or face ( Figure 4.8 ). To remedy this, move the subject a few feet to the side, out of the direct path of the light. That way your subject can catch any light that's being reflected from the floor, ceiling, or wall. You can also position a subject near a window to use daylight as a lighting source. Position yourself and the camera near the window, facing your subject. Don't let the subject stand between the camera and the window, or you'll end up with another silhouette.

Figure 4.8. Overhead light creates extreme shadows. Move the subject, or the light, for higher quality images.

Outdoor Shooting

Several of the principles that apply to shooting inside, also apply to shooting outside. For example, never position your subject's back toward the sun. Once again, your camera will try to compensate for that big ball of fire shining directly at it and turn your subject into a silhouette. On the other hand, you have to be careful when facing people toward the sun. You don't want them to have to squint to keep from being blinded.

Another common mistake is to shoot with your subject partly in the shade and partly in the sun. Your camera will try to compensate and end up making the shady part too dark or the sunlit part too bright. Often, what works best is to find a nice shady place out of the direct sunlight ( Figure 4.9 ).

Figure 4.9. The image on the left shows the harshness of direct sunlight. Indirect light can create a much smoother, more attractive image.

Framing Your Shots

Framing is what you do when you zoom in or adjust the camera's position to select the size and placement of your subject within the viewfinder. You probably have an intuitive sense of how framing works from watching TV and movies, and you may be familiar with basic shots. But since your video is destined for the Web rather than Hollywood, let's review framing and shots with a videoblog in mind.

You can move closer or farther from your subject in two ways: by zooming in and out with the camera lens, and by physically moving the camera. These two methods produce slightly different results. The close-up shown in Figure 4.10 was shot at a distance by zooming in on the subject. The close-up in Figure 4.11 was shot with the camera at arm's length from the subject. Notice how the background in the first close-up is out of focus, while the background in the second is in focus. Both close ups keep our attention where the vlogger wants it, on the subjects being taped.

Figure 4.10. In this close up from "Segue (Hiatus)," a video from his Taxiplasm Vlog about high school graduation, Brian Gonzalez zooms in from a distance to blur the background and focus our attention on a friend. http://guitseretni. blogspot .com/2005/06/segue-hiatus.html

Figure 4.11. In this close-up from Chris Weagel's "LAC St. Clair" from the Human Dog Laboratory vlog, the camera is zoomed out but close to the subject's face, which keeps the background in focus. www.human-dog.com/lab/?p=62

The opposite of the close-up is the wide shot. Use wide shots to establish the location of your subject, capture a lot of action, or follow someone moving quickly. To shoot a true wide shot, you need to both position your camera far from the subject or scene and zoom out. In Figure 4.12 , Sara Weagel uses a wide shot to establish that she's practicing alone on a soccer field

Figure 4.12. In this wide shot, the viewer can see Sara Weagel alone on the field as she practices her game in "Oh Boy, Soccer!" from her vlog, Sara's Corner. www.human-dog.com/sara/?p=17

In a videoblog, wide shots like Sara's are best used for only a few seconds at a time. That's because once the video is resized for the Web, a distant figure will be extremely small and hard to see. Longer wide shots can work on the Web if whatever fills the frame is the main attraction. The mountain scene shot during Josh Leo's hike in Germany is a good example ( Figure 4.13 ).

Figure 4.13. In "German Hiking Part 2," from Josh Leo's Vlog, Josh uses a wide shot to show us the view while hiking in the Bavarian Alps. http://joshleo.blogspot.com/2005/11/german- hiking -part-2.html

In the medium shot, your subject is still prominent but viewers can also see where the action is taking place or what's around your subject. In Figure 4.14 , Charlene Rule uses a medium shot to show us the excitement of a friend just moments before she is married, and the rush of activity around her.

Figure 4.14. In "Vero Strut" from Charlene Rule's vlog Scratch Video, Charlene films her friend strutting down a back hallway on her way to the altar.

In the same video, Charlene uses a two-shot to capture a moment she shared with a friend ( Figure 4.15 ).

Figure 4.15. A few seconds later Charlene and her friend share a laugh .

Some vloggers use a variety of shots within a single video, while others just use one or two. Television and film have stylistic rules about which shot to use when, but as a vlogger you have a slightly different set of visual concernsnamely the small viewing size and short length of your video. So before you start recording, ask yourself how you can frame your scenes so they translate effectively onto the (really) small screen.

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