How best to light a kitchen

James Carpenter

James Carpenter

Well-known member
I am shooting some b-roll of a family in a kitchen during the daytime. Hopefully there will be enough natural light so this, but on the off-chance there isn't how would you go about getting a nice even light across the kitchen?

The family will be standing behind a kitchen island talking to each other. Similar to this:
http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-video-15362883-couple-with-tablet-computer.php?st=c0bcc27

Any thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
Even if there's enough natural light, I'd still take some time to sculpt the light a bit.

If it were me, I'd use shiny boards to bounce light in at the desired angle.

It's helpful you can't see out the windows, that can be trouble.

I'd use a kino or soft-ish daylight balanced light in the foreground on the actors. Use the natural light coming in from the window in the background to motivate the key light for the actors in the foreground.
 
thanks j.

i'm a total beginner when it comes to lighting so pardon my lack of knowledge. :)

My understanding is that kino's are typically very soft lights with a decent spread. I could probably get away with one light to flood the room. Add in a little bounce to fill in any undesirable shadows and i should be good to go. right?
 
Those windows looked diffused, likely with additional big lights, or hard bouncers, outside.

Perhaps bounce other light(s) off the ceiling (if it's white, or neutral) to raise the ambient, & key with a soft light.
 
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Windows are the key for sure. Most likely diffused...Maybe grid cloth or 1000h. Light fill with either bounce or broad source like Kino 4X4.
 
> I could probably get away with one light to flood the room.
> Add in a little bounce to fill in any undesirable shadows and i should be good to go. right?

Yes, that will be better than nothing for certain.

The next step in quality would be not to simply fill in the shadows, but to actually sculpt the light - using shadows.
Notice the shadows of the window sill against the wall in the background.
Notice the shadows of the actors in the foreground. Rather than flat light, the shadows sculpt the light to make it appear as though the subjects in the foreground are lit by a second window. That involves a light side and a dark side with just enough of light on the face to bring a sparkle to both eyes, yet not so flat as to eliminate all shadows. That's the next step.

Here are a couple of links that may help:

http://benjamineckstein.com/2011/05/lighting/
http://layersmagazine.com/window-side-lighting-photography.html

The second one is a little annoying a possibly creepy but has some good techniques...
 
Whatever light you're using for fill, don't forget to CTB it to balance with the daylight otherwise the daylight will look blue by comparison. Use 1/2 CTB to keep it a little warm. If you have Kinos at your disposal they have daylight bulbs. Not sure how it sets up but if the windows start to blow out I've had a lot of luck using sheers. Not sure how well that would work in a kitchen. All the best with your shoot.
 
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