Lighting diagram for an interview
The classic shape: a soft key high and 45 degrees off the camera-subject line, a bounce on the other side doing a third of the work, and a rim from behind the shoulder to cut her from the background. The key goes through diffusion, not because rules say so but because a face in an interview holds the frame for minutes at a time and hard light gets tiring to watch. The background light is a practical decision, not an afterthought: without it the wall goes to mud two stops down.
- Subjectat 3.0, 2.2 m
- A camat 3.4, 4.2 mEyeline just off the lens
- Keyat 1.5, 3.3 m45°5600KThrough a 90cm softbox
- Fillat 4.7, 3.3 m100°30%4x4 bounce, a third of the key
- Rimat 4.3, 0.9 m25°5600K60%Spotted, flagged off the lens
- Backgroundat 0.9, 0.9 m60°3200K40%A slash on the wall behind her
- Key · Through a 90cm softbox
- Fill · 4x4 bounce, a third of the key
- Rim · Spotted, flagged off the lens
- Background · A slash on the wall behind her
- Softbox · from the lighting plans
- Lighting diagram for a two-person interview
- Lighting diagram for a night exterior
- Lighting diagram for a car scene at night
- Lighting diagram for a green screen
- Lighting diagram for a portrait
- Lighting diagram for a product shot
- Draw your own in the free lighting diagram maker
- Three worked scenes from a real production
In a production, this plan sits next to the shots it lights, and the packing list above lands on the gear list for the day.