The Book Light Tutorial — low budget option

[thefilmaddict]

I was playing around with book lighting. In this video, I set up a book light two ways: with pro gear and with low budget Home Depot lights. The low budget version actually looks pretty good in my opinion:

https://youtu.be/BctL3c1jbMo

[Chris Santucci]

Yeah, light is light. As long as you have good spectral output, you can make it work. One of the nicest portraits I ever did as a young pro was with a bunch of open face tungsten heads through a bead sheet.

[combatentropy]

Well-done tutorial! You have a slow, steady, step-by-step approach that is great for teaching. And I think you got good results with the low-budget option.

For the ultimate satisfaction of a methodical test, I would have liked to have seen the same subject under both sets of lights. Plus you added another light (a backlight) to the second example. So those are two needless variables. Your point was strong regardless, but to make to ram your point home, it would have been stronger to reduce all variables to the minimum.

One other thing. I'm kind of curious how it would have looked to use a flag on the background instead of another light. The effect was cool and all, but I tend to like shots where the background is significantly dimmer than the subject --- and I think it helps keep the viewer's attention on your subject. Your book light spilled on the back wall, so you would need to put your black cloth somewhere to flag it off.

[firehawk]

Thanks for sharing. I thought that was a well done tutorial!

[Porterhouse]

Looks great! Now I need to know what the interviewee is saying!

Were the interviews part of another project or did you shoot them for this tutorial?

[Kubicixfactor]

Really enjoyed watching this, nicely paced and just the right length. Thanks for taking the time to put it together!

[QuickHitRecord]

You're a natural educator. Everything is very clear and to the point. Keep up the good work!

[cyclone]

I'm sorry...what is a "book light" please?
Thank you.

[combatentropy]

"A book light is simply a bounce source that is diffused with another layer of diffusion." --- Shane Hurlbut. He made it widely known, although he learned it on the job from another cinematographer, Joseph Yacoe.

1. Hard light: Point a light directly at a person.
2. Soft light: Bounce a light off something, or shine it through something.
3. Book light: Bounce a light off something, and then shine it through something.

[cyclone]

Ah...thank you very much, combatentropy!