window as key or softbox

M

mldeff

Member
shooting in a room with a window and a color corrected softbox. Wondering whether I should use the window as me key and softbox as fill or the other way around. any thoughts?
 
Depends on how much light is coming in through the window. I would key with whatever is brighter, which will probably be the window since you have to gel the softbox.
 
if they're close to the same temperature but its hard to judge, is there a way to determine which is brighter without a light meter?
 
Chenopup said:
Like KKeller said, your key is the brightest source in the room.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. A key light definitely isn't always the brightest element in the room, or even in the frame. Often times backlights are much hotter in intensity than a key light, and in some scenarios you may have a practical that is hitting the wall which is much brighter than the actors actual exposure level. For example, I recently lit a shot with a woman in a dark room, a window behind her letting in a hot streak of sunlight, this element provided contrast and depth, but the womans key was darker and motivated off a different light source.

Just remember that when lighting, there really are no rules, just do what looks good to you! :)
 
> if they're close to the same temperature but its hard to judge,
> is there a way to determine which is brighter without a light meter?

Yes, Squint, or use a video camera and let it's reduced latitude tell you. That'll also tell you about the color temp mix.

Is the light from the window on the subject or the background? If it's the subject, then just use the chimera or a bounce card for fill. If it's on the background, you could use the chimera to light the subject from the same side as the window. This would help sell the effect as more natural, even if you don't show the source.
 
I love the look of window light as key, but I have to say that if it's not a completely overcast day, or a clear sky day then you would probably be better off using your softbox. The changing light in the sky can be a real bummer when shooting. Your comparing a soft box to a window must mean it's not direct sunlight so If you do go that route make sure you start early or late enough for the suns position to not effect lighting conditions too dramatically aka....nice bounce light off the sky at 10a.m then whoops looks like direct sun coming through at 2p.m. if you know what I mean. What wattage is your soft box? Is your shot sequence master, MCU, then CU, or just MCU to CU? If your not shooting a master shot then you can position the soft box closer to get more light on the subject.
 
Agree with most of the comments here. It so depends on the look you're trying to achieve. For me, I love the look with the window as the back light or kicker light ( back off the side of the face)... and then using the softbox as the key light. I'll put a dimmer on the softbox so I can balance the brightness relative to the window light and it's constantly changing conditions.
 
You also need to consider how long your set up is going to take to shoot. The sun will move across the window over a couple of hours, so establishing your key from a light source other than the sun would be the best bet. Try rigging your key outside the window to mimic the sun.
 
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