Lights

Ambient Light

The light already present in a scene, before any additional lighting is added.

Incident Light

Light seen directly from a light source (lamp, sun, etc).

Reflected Light

Light seen after having bounced off a surface.

Colour Temperature

A standard of measuring the characteristics of light, measured in kelvins.

Contrast Ratio

The difference in brightness between the brightest white and the darkest black within an image. If the ratio is 300:1 this means that the brightest point is 300 times as bright as the darkest point.

Fill Light

A light placed to the side of the subject to fill out shadows and balance the key light. This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To acheive this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key

Key Light

\\n The main light on the subject, providing most of the illumination and contrast. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

Back Light

The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.

Hard Light

Light directly from a source such as the sun, traveling undisturbed onto the subject being lit.

Soft Light

Light which appears to "wrap around" the subject to some degree. Produces less shadows or softer shadows.

Spot

A controlled, narrowly-focused beam of light.

Flood

A broad beam of light, less directional and intense than a spot.

Tungsten

Light from an ordinary light bulb containing a thin coiled tungsten wire that becomes incandescent (emits light) when an electric current is passed along it. _______ colour temperature is around 2800K to 3400K. Also known as incandescent light.

Halogen

Type of lamp in which a tungsten filament is sealed in a clear capsule filled with a _______ gas.

Fresnel

A light which has a lens with raised circular ridges on its outer surface. The ______ lens is used to focus the light beam.

Incandescent

______ lamps produce heat by heating a wire filament until it glows. The glow is caused by the filament's resistance to the current and is called *incandescence*.

Line of Action

Imaginary line drawn between a subject and the item or person they are interacting with. OR the imaginary straight line drawn along a path that a subject is moving on.

180 degree rule

Once you place your camera on one side of the line, you should keep all your shots within the 180 degree arc on the same side of the line in order to mantain proper screen direction.

Neutral Shot

Place the camera on the action line.