Lighting for Video: Hard and Soft Light

When lighting your video, understanding the difference between hard and soft light can help improve the look of your video dramatically. It is also important to understand how to make light hard vs. soft, and know when to use which. We cover the basics here.

In this episode, we used the Aputure COB120 lights which are nice because with the add-on accessories, you can use this as a soft or hard light source. Here we used the Light Dome, the new fresnel lens, and some barn doors on the front of the lens.

Kamerar BrightCast LED Light Panel Review

LED lights have finally improved in quality and come down in price to make them more accessible to enthusiast filmmakers. This new light from Kamerar called the BrightCast V15 is a flexible LED panel with 256 color tunable LED chips and can be powered via battery (Sony v-mount style batteries) or via AC. Color quality was a big problem on sub-$1000 LED lighting instruments in the past, but the BrightCast has a CRI of 97 and our tests confirm that the color quality is very good. This means you won’t end up with video footage which looks all funky in terms of color. Overall, the BrightCast is a great, compact, light-weight option for location work or shooting in very small spaces like many of us do. I give this one two thumbs up!

Like most LED panels, in some cases you can run into an issue where there are multiple shadows because the panel has 256 light sources. You can easily fix this by diffusing the light coming out of the panel. One way that works great is to use Kamerar's D-Fuse softbox which works nicely with the BrightCast.

Versatile Video Light: Aputure Light Storm COB 120d Daylight LED Light

In this episode, we take a look at the Aputure Light Storm COB 120d, an incredibly versatile daylight balanced LED light for video and film. Aputure has a history of finding a very nice balance between affordable pricing and quality products. The COB 120d is a perfect example of that. This is a single LED light with a Bowens S mount. This means that with some additional accessories attached to the mount, the light can be a soft light (with a softbox, scrim, or bounce board), a hard light (with a fresnel and/or barn doors attachment), or a flood light with the included reflector. Color quality is a high priority for me because I don’t have time to invest in a lot of post color correction. Fortunately, the COB 120d delivers on that front as well in our color chart tests compared to tungsten lighting (the best color rendering light source second only to the sun).

Aputure plans to begin shipping the Light Storm COB 120d in the first part of 2017

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box for COB 120 LED Light

For video talking head or interview shots, my go-to choice for my main light is a softbox. Ever since I got the Aputure Light Storm COB 120t LED light a few months back, I’ve been waiting for their Light Dome softbox to start shipping. And I am not disappointed. This softbox produces beautiful soft light for interview shots, feels like a quality product, and is reasonably priced.

As a bonus, because the COB 120 has a bowens mount, you can use the light dome on any other LED lights with a bowens mount.

The light dome will start shipping soon. Check back for updates.

Softbox for LED Panel Lights: Kamerar D-Fuse

For interview or talking head video shots, I like to soften my Aputure Light Storm LED Panels (LS1s) to ensure that the light looks as flattering as possible. But one of the problems is that to do that, I’ve been setting up an additional light stand in front of the light and mounting a shoot-through scrim. This works beautifully in terms of softening the light but it is a bulky setup.

Kamerar just released a new series of softboxes made specifically for LED panel lights called their D-Fuse line. In this episode we take a quick look at the D-Fuse and compare its results with a shoot-through umbrella and plain old diffusion paper.

They have a version with an opening for 12"x12" panels and another with a 9.25"x9.25" opening for smaller panels (those with 500-ish LEDs). The opening can be a little larger than your LED panel and still work well. They'll also be releasing a grid attachment for the softbox that will help to control where the light spills making a soft, but contrasty look which is often used in photography. Looking forward to trying that out in the next few weeks.

Full disclosure: Kamerar gave me this softbox free of charge. They did not pay me further to do this review and did not specify what I was able to say or not say.

LED COLOR RENDERING DATABASE OF 2016

Indie Cinema Academy has posted an interesting set of color quality measurements for a bunch of LED lights available on the market. Measurements of CRI, TLCI, and others were made with an Asensetek Lighting Passport Color Spectrometer. I was pleased to see that the Aputure Light Storms did well overall, particularly the new COB 120t.

If you're in the market for LED lighting, this list is worth a look because you'll get a good idea of how well each light renders the visible spectrum of color and how natural your talent and set will appear in video.

How to Light for Close-Up Product Shots & Reviews

How do I shoot a close-up product video with a white background? Here are the basics on how I do it. The biggest secret is to soften the light by shooting it through an umbrella or similar scrim (such as the type included in a 5-in-1 reflector.)

I use a foam core poster board for the background, mounted to a table with spring clamps. My favorite light for this task is the Aputure Light Storm COB 120t which we reviewed a few weeks ago. I boom the Light Storm above the poster board with a C-stand and shoot the light through a white umbrella. This makes the light incredibly soft and prevents those distracting shadows.

Aputure Light Storm COB 120t LED Light Review

Aputure just started shipping a new LED light for filmmakers called the Light Storm COB 120t. This is a tungsten color balanced single LED flood light which has a Bowens S mount so it can accept all sorts of light shaping tools like a soft box, barn doors, beauty dish, snoot and even a fresnel lens. This makes the 120t an incredibly flexible light. It also has great color rendering with a CRI of 97 and puts out plenty of light to use as a key light for interviews or talking head video or still photos. Here we review the 120t in detail.

Aputure LSC20 LED Fresnel Accent Light

At NAB 2016, Aputure announced a very cool little LED fresnel light they call the LSC20. This is designed primarily as an accent light, comes with barn doors and the ability to zoom the beam angle like a traditional fresnel. It also includes a slot for gels to either match your main lights or add a colorful accent. In addition, the light can be powered with 5-18V DC power which means you can use the included DC adapter, a USB charger such as those most phones use, or professional batteries like Sony VLock or Anton Bauer gold mount batteries. Looks like a pretty nice flexible and lightweight addition for location lighting kits.

The only bad news: they're not available just yet, but we should see them in the September 2016 timeframe.

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series.

Triad Orbit Light and Microphone Stands

At NAB 2016, we talked with Ryan at the Triad-Orbit booth. Triad-Orbit makes an ecosystem of premium stands for lights, microphones, and most other production equipment. If you’re investing for the long-term, Triad-Orbit stands and accessories are worth a look.

Special thanks to Scott Vanderbilt who was kind enough to bring his brand new Sony FS5 camera to film this series and schlep it around most of the Las Vegas convention center - no small feat.

Pricing links (this is a modular system so you buy the pieces separately):

T3 Tall Tripod Stand at B&H Photo

T2 Tripod Stand at B&H Photo

OR1 Boom Arm at B&H Photo