Over and over again I’m asked about the best lighting solution for shooting adult video content. The answer isn’t as simple or as clean cut as one might think. Proper lighting means the difference between average content and exceptional content.We all know that exceptional content means exceptional money. Budgets are of great concern when lighting for video. How much money are you ready to spend on some bulbs? If you said under $100 then you’re a cheap mofo, but nonetheless, a smart one. Is it good lighting? No, not really. Will it get the job done? Yes, and no one will be the wiser. Your video won’t look high end, but I can guarantee it won’t look like crap either.

Professional lighting fixtures can run as high as $3000 or as low as $100 per unit. Deciding on the look, feel and visual ease of the production is a must when determining what type of lighting to get. Another concern is what types of lights to buy and where to place them. “Basic Porn Lighting Techniques 101” is meant as yet another tool for producing quality porn, which we all need more of.

TECH TALK

First, we’ll discuss the proper lingo to use when discussing lighting techniques. Although terms may differ, depending on factors like country, studio, single camera or multi-camera shoots, I’ll try and keep it general. The following lingo will surely get you in good with the producers or models:

Key Light. Your main light source. A light fixture placed at the four, six or eight o’clock position, as per the main shooting area or talent. The Key Light will define the main shooting area or talent by creating harsh shadows and highlights. The Key light is often placed to one side of the camera position, left or right depending on the Eye Line (which is the direction in which the talent will be directing his/her action towards). This helps to create depth.

Fill Light. Also known as Kicker, this is your secondary light source. This lighting fixture is usually placed at the opposite side of the Key light. This new light source will help soften the Harsh Shadows and highlights created by the main light source, hence balancing your lighting. Diffusion or lower wattage is usually used to help achieve this effect.

Back Light. This lighting fixture is placed at the twelve, ten or two o’clock position, as per the main shooting area or talent. The Back Light helps separate the main shooting area or talent from the background. When shooting an interview, the Back Light will throw some light on the shoulders of the talent and creates a halo or “hair light” around the head, hence separating the talent from the background. A second Back Light can be used to create a less dense or single light source look. When using two Back Lights, you must not position these lights beyond the three or nine o’clock position, as they will spill light onto the front of the talent or main shooting area.

Spill. Also known as splash. A lighting fixture whose only purpose is to create depth and texture. This lighting fixture can be placed at any position from the nine o’clock to the three o’clock back position. These fixtures must be aimed towards the background wall in order to emphasis depth to the set. With the use of flaps called “Barn Doors,” this light can be shaped. Opening and closing the Barn Doors can create the illusion of a window (off camera) or a small lamp. This will aid in creating depth that otherwise may be hard to achieve on small, compact sets.

Barn Doors. Metal type flaps that can be found on high-end professional lighting fixtures.

Open Face/Closed Face. These terms refer to the construction of the lighting fixture, either with or without a thick glass lens placed in front of the reflector and bulb.

Diffusion. To diffuse the light source; also referred to as softening the light source. Diffusion can be achieved with different types of diffusion paper: white diffusion, frost, tough spun, opal, scrim, etc. Diffusion can also be achieved with the use of a soft box or Chimera (a brand name).

Bounce. A redirection of the light source by using a matt white surface to bounce the light; a wide, softening flat light source is created.

Color Gels. Fire-retardant paper used to color light. Available in a rainbow of theatrical colors.

Color-Correction Gels. Fire-retardant paper used to color-correct light. For example, changing “Tungsten” to “Daylight,” etc.

DIRECTIONAL LIGHTING

Your basic lighting technique is known as “Three-Point Lighting.” This includes a Key Light, a Fill Light and a Back Light. For “single interview” type of shooting, this kind of lighting technique is perfect. But for porn use, this type of lighting will create a world of problems. A contributing factor would be the different camera positions needed to shoot a pleasing scene. Shadows and hot spots would be your biggest concern. Use this lighting technique for porn and In the end you will have a scene that looks… well, quite bad and plain amateurish.

Unless you’re a seasoned lighting professional, directional lighting will drive you crazy. You can spend all day trying to figure out how light moves, but every time your camera and/or talent moves from one position to another, new lighting problems will occur. As little as an inch of movement can throw horribly harsh shadows in the most unfortunate (think money shot) places. Simple close-up shots will be near impossible without a lighting change.

THE SUNGUN SOLUTION

Some directors have overcome this problem by adding more soft lights and a very special Key Spot or “Sungun.” A Sungun is a small, portable light that can be placed on top of the camera. But for porn, shooting this light will be more of a problem then a savior if not used properly. The best way to utilize this light would be to use a holder or assistant – someone who holds the light and points it in the direction of the camera’s view without creating harsh shadows or hot spots. In order to achieve this, the Sungun should not exceed 50 watts, and 5 to 10 watts would be preferable. Always use a diffusion to soften this light. Since this light is used only as a Fill Light (to remove harsh shadows and highlights), lots of practice is needed to do this properly. The cameraman and his or her assistant need to be in constant communication, almost in unison with each other. Mind you, this type of lighting technique for porn is mostly used in higher-end productions.

BOUNCE LIGHTING

We won’t be using Directional Lighting to learn our basics; Bounce Lighting will be our best friend. Ever heard the saying “Simple Stupid”? This is true of Bounce lighting. You can’t fuck this up. I’ve always said, whenever in doubt, bounce!

There are many techniques in the fine art of bouncing light. The most general and widely used is the “Ceiling Bounce” or “Wall Bounce.” Point your lights at an approximate 45-degree angle towards the ceiling. Try to get the light as close to the ceiling as possible; extend your tripod until your light is inches from the ceiling, keeping just enough distance so that an hour or two of shooting won’t burn your paint. Place your Key Light (the stronger one of the two) at the four, six or eight o’clock position, making sure that the bounce will reach the talent or main shooting area with the most intensity. Keep in mind that light bounces at a 90-degree angle. Understanding this concept will help you in placing the light at the proper angle.

Now place your secondary light source (Fill Light) at the opposite position of the Key Light. It’s not a big deal if your light sources are of the same intensity or wattage. Just place the Fill Light at a greater distance from the talent or main shooting area. Now you have balanced lighting falling on the main shooting area.

To verify that you’ve done this properly, a light meter can be used. However, if you don’t have one handy, use your hand. With your hand open and angled in the direction of the camera’s view, move around the shooting area keeping a strong eye on the shadow movement for your hand. If the shadows on your hand don’t move around too much, you’ve done your job right.

Depending on the room size and ceiling height, the intensity of the lighting will differ. For larger rooms, add directional lighting in the form of a Soft Box at the five and/or seven o’clock position and about 3 to 4 feet from the ground, fully diffused to approximately 250 – 100 watts. You can pull the light back if you don’t have a dimmer on your lighting fixture. This soft light will lighten up the dark areas on wide-angle shots and allow you to get in closer without throwing the dreaded “cameraman shadow.” In essence, the angle of the soft box will move your personal (cameraman) shadow off to the side rather than in the wide-angle view of the camera lens.

Lastly and most importantly, to take full advantage of good lighting, always remember to “white balance” your camera. Let the porn shoot begin!

This concludes Part One of “Basic Porn Lighting Techniques 101.” Join us next time as we discuss a different type of Bounce Lighting technique and the types of lighting fixtures out there for producers on a tight budget.