Indoor filming presents challenges that differ from your sunlit moments outdoors. When indoor shooting you cannot generalize or ignore the lighting situation. Many of our happy amateur shooters find that this is a great challenge. Welcome to some of our hot tips for indoor filming.
Everyone’s sad when a great family outing or memorable moment video is missed or are ugly because the video looks dark. This is caused by ignoring the light situation. Indoor video shoots simply require preparation and forethought–and good lighting.
The Ideal Solution to Dark Video
Dark shadows cast by tourists making videos…Technique or mistake?
To put it simply, add some lights! Now if you can’t do that, just look around for available light. Figure out where to put the people in relation to the light sources.
- The light should show on people’s faces. If you do not see it when you shoot, it won’t be there when they view the film.
- Watch out for overhead lights. They light the top of the heads well, Maybe too well. However, they leave the features of the face full of shadow and dirty looking splotches.
- Such footage is the bane of indoor filming. It’s okay to leave those overhead lights on. But then look at the light and think. You could move in floor lamps and table lamps to throw a little light on those expressions of folks in the foreground.
Position Lights for the Look You Want for Indoor Lighting
Of course, you can bring in TV lights. They will give you crisper detail and better focus. But, “ouch!”
You don’t want hospital light or surgical spotlighting. Thus, we conclude, “Good lighting involves more than blasting your subject with as much wattage as you can find.”
The Standard 3 Light Setup:
For nice “deep” shots with good light, we recommend a 3 light- setup. It is of course, legendary. Briefly, it involves 3 lights in special positions:
You don’t have to be a pro to make better videos–and you don’t need that pro rig.
A. The Main Light: This is the one directly on the subject, directed at a height to light faces or the subject of interest.
B. The Back-light: How much of the background do you want in your shot? It might be better to leave a cluttered background in the dark. This is part of your pre-planning or forethought. When you prepare, “experiment to get dramatic effects.” See how it looks by turning out all the lights in a room and using only your own equipment to highlight what you want.
C. The Fill-Light: Fill light, as its name suggests, will fill shadowy areas left unlit or partially lit by the main light. Only by experimenting with it will help you understand how it looks.
Check out more lighting tips and hints for your amateur indoor filming needs at this reliable online resource.
Smart Phone Video Tips: Using that Camera Everybody Has
And now we move on to our second half of this blog article. We are continuing to boost general knowledge about hot tips for filming your significant life moments. Forgive us if we center our discussion around Apple Smartphones, as we are most experienced with them. Other brands will have many of the same features, but perhaps slightly different nomenclature. Please be aware that our special indoor filming tips above will help you shoot your memories with your iPhone, just as they will with your video camera.
Smart Phone Video: You’ve Come a Long Way Baby!
At first, the phone video was pretty miserable and frankly sad. However, technology has greatly improved. The newest iPhones are capable of filming stunning 4K footage.
Shooting the Show: Look closely and see all the film-makers.
This doesn’t mean you can just pop it out of your pocket, talk to Mom, and then hit record to create a great video of the grandkids.
It will be watchable, of course, but if you want to really thrill her and other family and friends, follow the below quick set of hot filming tips. Our mission today is to help you …”learn to take full advantage of everything this powerful camera can do.”
1. Use a Tripod
Unless you practice a lot, we are going to suggest you utilize a tripod. Now, we are aware, “The newest iPhones have built-in optical image stabilization, which makes shooting decent handheld footage fairly easy.” However, if you are just starting out or have no time to invest in practice, set up that “good old-fashioned tripod” before you begin filming that magical Mother’s Day party next weekend. However, if you choose to “go hand-held,” as Bull-Horn says in the biz, use these three hints:
- Keep the phone close to your body.
- Rest your elbows on a nearby object.
- Use your body to absorb bounces and shakes.
2. Don’t use the iPhone digital zoom
In the tradition of discovering your more manual settings, let’s understand that the iPhone digital zoom is tempting but wrong. “Unless you have the dual-lens iPhone 7 Plus, avoid the temptation to use the iPhone’s built-in camera zoom.
Since the lens isn’t zooming optically, you’re just enlarging the picture digitally, which means you will quickly enter the world of unsightly pixelation.” It isn’t pretty. Avoid it.
Your own feet provide the best zoom. “If you want to get a close-up shot of your subject, move the phone closer until you find the perfect shot!”
3. Light Your Video–Tips Just In Time for Mother’s Day Parties
Smartphone Video is Made for Mother’s Moments like these!
Just as we stated above, video requires lots of light. It is the nature of the beast, so to speak. “If you’re shooting indoors, adding supplemental lighting will go a long way.” This goes without saying, the light source must come from the correct place.
“The built-in camera flash on the new iPhone will never compare to using off-camera lights. You can use professional video lights in a bunch of different ways. The Westcott Ice Lights are some of our favorite versatile lights. But if you’re on a budget, you can also hack together a decent lighting kit from Home Depot for under $100.”
Here’s a bright idea: If you can’t get your hands on any studio lights, but you’re still shooting indoors Position your subject near a window, so the sun falls on them. And place your camera to the side so you can take advantage of the light.
Caution: Do not position the camera perpendicular to the window. The strong light behind your subject will cause the auto sensors in your camera to close down the lens. Thus, the face will be dark – possibly a pure silhouette.
Thank you for reading our blog. In our next video, we will be bringing you more filming tips for your memory-making.