Best Lighting for Video Recording: Tips From Marques Brownlee

Entertaining and accessible, Marques Brownlee’s in-depth video reviews of the latest and greatest technology have made him one of the biggest vloggers in the world. The content creator’s YouTube channel, MKBHD, began with a simple at-home studio setup and has attracted more than 15 million subscribers.

MKBHD has also featured high-profile interviews with tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and former US president Barack Obama. For his videos, Marques draws from his interest in the technology behind video production.

The most basic lighting setup for video is a three-point lighting setup, which highlights the main subject and makes them stand out from their background. This setup helps create balance and a controllable distribution of light, which is essential for high-quality video production. The setup comprises the following types of lights:

1. 1. Key light: The key light serves as your main light in the three-point lighting setup, so it should be the brightest instrument you use.
2. 2. Fill light: The fill light is a less powerful secondary light opposite the key light. The fill light balances out the key light and adjusts the contrast ratio on the subject’s face, literally filling in high-contrast shadows.
3. 3. Rim light: The rim light is a background light that exposes the outline of your subject and makes them stand out against the background.

To properly set up your lighting equipment, follow the beginner-friendly tutorial below:

1. 1. Frame yourself and check your monitor. Ensure you have a way to easily check the progress of your three-point lighting setup, so you can adjust it while you work. This could involve flipping the camera monitor around, so you see the results of your lighting in real-time.
2. 2. Set up your key light. Set up your key light at a thirty- to sixty-degree angle either to the left or right of your subject, depending on your preferred side. Try to get your key light as close to your subject as possible without it intruding on the shot. If your key light is lower than your other lights, you will end up with too much backlight, which will make your subject look darker than the background.
3. 3. Set up your fill light. Place your fill light on the opposite side of the camera from your key light. Your fill light should be less powerful than your key light. If you’re hoping to achieve soft, natural lighting, for example, then a 2:1 ratio—with the key light at fifty percent and the fill light at around twenty-five percent—should accomplish what you need. Lights with a dimmer or dimming ability enables you to easily control the light output.
4. 4. Set up your rim light. Place the rim light behind and above the subject at a forty-five-degree angle so that it pours light onto their shoulders. This will highlight the rim of their figure, which will give them depth and separation from their background. Unlike the key light or fill light, your rim light does not need to be near your subject, so you can place it farther away at the back of your setup, just out of frame.
5. 5. Adjust and experiment. The three-point lighting setup plays with the balance of the three lights to create a mood or atmosphere preferable to you. Experiment with the brightness or the positioning of your lights until you achieve an aesthetically pleasing combination.

You can create a good lighting setup for videos without professional studio lights or a lighting kit. Follow these lighting tips from Marques Brownlee to get a professional lighting look at home:

1. 1. Use desk lamps and hardware lights. For a budget-friendly setup, Marques suggests using a hardware clamp light or ring light as a key light, a desk lamp or goose-neck lamp as a fill, and a tall floor lamp as a rim light. “These household and hardware-store lights can be, effectively, for any budget,” Marques says. “They're all much less expensive than a dedicated, super-high accuracy, super-high-powered studio light.”.
2. 2. Start with a neutral lighting setup. Begin with neutral lighting and “go up or down from there,” according to Marques. Figure out the desired effect, then play with color temperatures, light output and brightness (especially if you have dimmable lights), and lighting options. “Lighting can help set the tone for the video immediately by setting the mood,” he says. “If it's bright, high-key lighting and very happy, or if it's very dim or very grungy.” You might want to work toward a light setup with harsh shadows for a more dramatic lighting effect.
3. 3. Use your monitor. When vlogging, it is helpful to check the lighting setup and adjust it in real-time to find the right lighting. “My go-to setup when I'm lighting myself is I’ve turned the monitor around on the video camera [to] facing me,” Marques says. “And then I can start moving the lights around, moving the camera around, playing with the lens and everything. And in real-time, checking the monitor to see how they affect me and how they hit me so that I can land on something that I like.”
4. 4. Place the key light next to your camera. It is best to place the biggest light source closest to your smartphone, camera, or webcam. “If you can get it literally right next to the camera, right out of frame, it's gonna give you the biggest, softest light that it possibly can,” Marques says.
5. 5. Use natural light as a light source. If your room has a lot of windows and natural light, position yourself so the light is in front of you “basically at a forty-five-degree angle, acting like a key light,” Marques advises.
6. 6. Go for LED lightbulbs. Marques recommends LED lights for video lighting, including LED light panels or an LED ring light. “They'll give you a big range of light,” he says. “They're pretty color-accurate, and they don't heat up too much.”
7. 7. Use softbox lights. “The softer the light appears, the better,” Marques says. Add a softbox to diffuse the light if your key light is too harsh on the subject’s face. You can also use a reflector or a piece of white cardboard or styrofoam to bounce the light. “Typically, you can mount it on a stand with a clamp just out of frame, and that's gonna provide the same fill, maybe even a better softer fill than a separate light actually would,” he adds.
8. 8. Match the temperature of the lighting. The lighting sources should be roughly the same kelvin value for consistency. “Not every light is the same temperature,” Marques says. “Some are a little bit warmer, a little bit more orange or yellow, and some are a little bit cooler, a little bit closer to blue. So the warmer lights are a lower kelvin value.”

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