Love that you open with the argument for why it matters more. It's the EXACT reason I came here. I'm from the pre-digital era and worked in film (as a makeup artist), when it was still film. I love well-lit Super-8 footage over anything "better" that's poorly lit! Thanks for a terrific video. :D
i work (or did) in theatres and we light up the stage... i can verify these words are no lie... lighting makes all the difference... i'm new to streaming and i bought the neewer 2 pack few months ago for this... i can honestly say these are really good... and the extras you get with them are great value for money... the dimming feature works in 2 ways either click or hold for a more precise dimmer... i don't really use the gels they provide... however when i upgrade in the future these will work fantastic as background ambiance... (it also comes with a diffuser which helps with the harsh brightness of the LED's being bare... this is always used)
Awesome to see a tutorial on this subject. I've been at this for over a year and lighting is one of the things I can never seem to wrap my head completely around. Having it broken down like this helps a tonne. Cheers mate.
I "accidently" found a pretty good light for streaming. The Autonomous Ultra Wide LED Desk Lamp because of how wide the thing is works great at not only lighting your desk but your face for a stream. It has the advantage of not shining in your eyes while playing.
I bought a $20 work light from my local hardware store and then opened it up and put a piece of parchment as a diffusion layer in front of the glass. I'm also using an led ring light on my main webcam. I've finally dialed it in pretty well in OBS so it looks pretty good with my green screen. I'd like to get better/more professional stuff in the future though.
I am using the Neewer Dimmable lights from the 2 Pack as a rim / greenscreen light and they are great. They do not generate any heat, are reasonably bright and you can change the brightness step-less by holding the buttons. The bottom part of the tripods are actually covered in foam so that you also could use them in a mobile situation.
I currently own the GVM LT 50S panels (2-pack) and the Dracast LED1000 Silver Series panel, and I don't really even use the Dracast for streaming, but it has a serious punch and the light is super clean and has great color fidelity. I run the two GVM lights on my stream since they're much more compact and provide plenty of output, as well has being a large and soft enough source for the clean gradient over the face. They were clean enough that I just use one as the key and the other as the backlight (kicker, rim light, you know). If you can get your key light to be in a good enough position to provide the look on your face that you want, I'd definitely suggest nixing the fill and just going with the key and back if you only have two lights.
I did theater in High School then worked as production staff in Television. We used 3 point lighting all the time in TV. A few years ago, I built two LED panels using an LED light strip that goes under kitchen cabinets. It cost about $15. They worked great at my old place but aren't up to the job at my new place.
You're not wrong, BUT they aren't just for show. Pretty sure he uses them when he's actually at his stream setup and not his "tutorial interview cam" setup
I can definitely confirm what you said in this (btw very awesome) video! I have a Sony A7 iii and a 24GM (3500$+ setup) but without proper lighting it still won’t look too good. The lighting can make any setup look like a very expensive and good one! Regards
Love your videos, dude. Really useful. I have an Elgato Key Light AIr, but I struggle with the brightness in the camera. Never looks as good on the stream. I wonder if it is the light balance settings on the camera (logitech c920)
How do you manage to be so well lit, but the background is so dark? Is that to do with the camera? My walls always look so bright even with only one ring light facing me on the lowest setting at night.
I'm pretty sure he does that in a video editor after recording (judging by another video where he showed that). It's a contrast/saturation thing where he lowers the "low" tones in the back, raises the high tones/highlights, and does whatever he wants with the mids to make it pop. (again, just going off of a different video. It could very well be something he did in-camera too)
Sam - what are your views on kicker lights (yes, or hair lights) for those without, um, hair (guilty as charged - the picture is old, and now it's all shaved off to avoid the whole monk's tonsure effect) :-) )? Lower them to avoid top-shine, or just don't bother with a kicker and maybe focus (no pun intended) on lighting the rear/ back plane (especially if there's a green screen)?
I bought a LED lamp that brightens up the area i sit at. tyhe lighting in this room is terrible, I'm gonna move my setup into a bigger room later this year, that will hopefully be better.
How much light should I use? I've got a 4 bulb 85 w (each for a total of 340 watts) softbox. It's quite a lot of light. It doesn't look like you use that much light. If I use too much light, won't the camera just compensate? For a typical RUclips setup with the lighting a couple foot away, roughly how many watts should the Keylight have?
Instantly a fan. Ill be looking forward to more. Im super new to all of this and i love seeing these videos. (I dont even edit anything from my ps4 yet lol)
Hey Sam, need some suggestions. I am wanting to start making youtube videos, I have an elgato green screen and a keylight air and looking at getting more lights, not sure how many to get. My area is very small, only have just over a meter behind me. My main concern is lighting the green screen. I did get a cheap lighting kit from ebay with soft boxes, but they just take to much room, so really need LED's and something that either clamps on the desk or has a stand. I was thinking of getting a keylight air but they are expensive, and if I need two Iam looking at around $500. What do you suggest?
So... I have these led bulbs that connect to an app on my cell. I can control the warmth and brightness and program functions using any color imaginable. They're cheap and easy, just screw them into a standard lamp. Why don't people use them as kicker lights etc? What if I just got a couple floor lamps off craigslist and put in a couple of those bulbs? Anyone tried that?
The only issue I see with a lot of your suggestions are that they are not diffused. It has been a little while since I've used a non-diffused LED light panel so I might be off the mark with the latest tech, but from my experience, these will produce a very harsh light that will not look very flattering.
Wax paper and white sheets work amazing as diffusion. They provide much more controlled diffusion too because you're not limited to a slot directly in front of the panel.
That dad pun... oof... But in all honesty, great video! Always trying to learn more about lighting and production to help improve my own creations! Thanks!
How do you deal with the massive washout your face gets when your monitor has something bright on it? I can't even open a web browser without it washing my face out.
Can someone tell me though because i never liked that purplish bluish lighting that i see in alpha gamings videos. meaning its just not my style so is good lighting an opinion or? Im actually asking i never had an eye for certain aesthetics that others seem to have common sense about
In short, no. Elgato lights provide way too little light quality for the price point. What you're really paying for in those lights is the convenience of software and hardware integration. I got two bi-color GVM LED panels that were 2x-3x higher luminance and included barn doors for the price of one Elgato Keylight.
Pretty weird how you are not recommending the lights you are using yourself...maybe i'm the only one weirded out about this...does that mean you rather use the ones you recommended in this video and you regret buying the Elgato ones? Seeing that several of the recommended ones are literally in the same price range...just a thought...-confused-
You didn't talk much about light placement. This was more of a showcase of available lighting products than instruction on lighting. Also your comments on lighting are aimed at small scale sets, either one or two people in close proximity and in a more or less static scene (people not moving about). Maybe you've covered it in another video I have not come across yet but indoor on a larger set where multiple people are moving about and outdoor lighting are two other areas that rate at least one 30 minute video each.
I cover light placement in another video. Mostly for single lighting techniques. I do plan on expanding on lighting in the future - it's a huge topic to cover.
I bought those neweer ones before seeing this video....their usability is god awful. The control is located in the middle of the cord. So you have to crawl under your desk to turn them on or pull the cable up. It's such a pain. Unless your outlet is RIGHT There, stay away from them.
lighting is more important than a camera? xD you could have the best lighting setup in the universe, but if you dont have a camera to record it only you would see it xD right? haha
I would love to see a video going more in depth about actual light setup and how to make your existing lighting look better
I come back to this video again and again when thinking of new ideas for lighting. About to upgrade my lighting. So excited
Love that you open with the argument for why it matters more. It's the EXACT reason I came here. I'm from the pre-digital era and worked in film (as a makeup artist), when it was still film. I love well-lit Super-8 footage over anything "better" that's poorly lit! Thanks for a terrific video. :D
i work (or did) in theatres and we light up the stage... i can verify these words are no lie... lighting makes all the difference...
i'm new to streaming and i bought the neewer 2 pack few months ago for this... i can honestly say these are really good... and the extras you get with them are great value for money... the dimming feature works in 2 ways either click or hold for a more precise dimmer...
i don't really use the gels they provide... however when i upgrade in the future these will work fantastic as background ambiance... (it also comes with a diffuser which helps with the harsh brightness of the LED's being bare... this is always used)
Awesome to see a tutorial on this subject. I've been at this for over a year and lighting is one of the things I can never seem to wrap my head completely around. Having it broken down like this helps a tonne. Cheers mate.
I "accidently" found a pretty good light for streaming. The Autonomous Ultra Wide LED Desk Lamp because of how wide the thing is works great at not only lighting your desk but your face for a stream. It has the advantage of not shining in your eyes while playing.
I bought a $20 work light from my local hardware store and then opened it up and put a piece of parchment as a diffusion layer in front of the glass. I'm also using an led ring light on my main webcam. I've finally dialed it in pretty well in OBS so it looks pretty good with my green screen. I'd like to get better/more professional stuff in the future though.
I am using the Neewer Dimmable lights from the 2 Pack as a rim / greenscreen light and they are great. They do not generate any heat, are reasonably bright and you can change the brightness step-less by holding the buttons. The bottom part of the tripods are actually covered in foam so that you also could use them in a mobile situation.
LMAO. I'm using 2, 100 Watt, Tall Lamps from Walmart aimed at my shadows. Works like a charm. Since 100w looks like LED. Couldn't be happier.
I currently own the GVM LT 50S panels (2-pack) and the Dracast LED1000 Silver Series panel, and I don't really even use the Dracast for streaming, but it has a serious punch and the light is super clean and has great color fidelity. I run the two GVM lights on my stream since they're much more compact and provide plenty of output, as well has being a large and soft enough source for the clean gradient over the face. They were clean enough that I just use one as the key and the other as the backlight (kicker, rim light, you know). If you can get your key light to be in a good enough position to provide the look on your face that you want, I'd definitely suggest nixing the fill and just going with the key and back if you only have two lights.
I did theater in High School then worked as production staff in Television. We used 3 point lighting all the time in TV. A few years ago, I built two LED panels using an LED light strip that goes under kitchen cabinets. It cost about $15. They worked great at my old place but aren't up to the job at my new place.
You know you’ve made it when you say your Elgato Lights are “just for show” 😂
You're not wrong, BUT they aren't just for show. Pretty sure he uses them when he's actually at his stream setup and not his "tutorial interview cam" setup
@@CapsLockKeyon You are wrong
Fr 🤣
Im a simple person, when I see Sam, I click.
sam is cute. no homo
Something I would love to see is what kind of led light to look for. I picked up some rgb led strips and had no idea there would be a flicker issue.
I can definitely confirm what you said in this (btw very awesome) video! I have a Sony A7 iii and a 24GM (3500$+ setup) but without proper lighting it still won’t look too good. The lighting can make any setup look like a very expensive and good one! Regards
Super helpful Sam, Thank you for the advice! 10/10 Video
Thank you for this, I'm in the process of buying lighting at the moment.
Ooof, those Draco lights that were on sale for $29 are back up to like $89 "on sale" now.
Which ones do you suggest to illuminate just my face but wouldn't drown out my dark background so that my stream can still see my rgb lights?
whats the background rainbow lights @ 7:33?? those look amazing
Legit I was just looking for a video about this on my break at work today.
Thank you for lightning the day Sam
Thanks to Sam, I am now enlightened. For real though, great stuff Sam. Glad I came across your videos.
lolz
That Raleno light you cover at 11:00, you mention isn’t battery powered but it says rechargeable battery in the description
Oh nice. I must've missed that.
Im still no wiser as to which lights are used to put the purple and blue onto the back walls
This dude has only 75k??? His videos and editing is so professional
Love your videos, dude. Really useful. I have an Elgato Key Light AIr, but I struggle with the brightness in the camera. Never looks as good on the stream. I wonder if it is the light balance settings on the camera (logitech c920)
Can I use a single ring light (those for selfies, you know)? Do you think is it enough?
Great. I take it u can use those 3 recommended LED lights for photo shoots too?
How do you manage to be so well lit, but the background is so dark? Is that to do with the camera? My walls always look so bright even with only one ring light facing me on the lowest setting at night.
I'm pretty sure he does that in a video editor after recording (judging by another video where he showed that). It's a contrast/saturation thing where he lowers the "low" tones in the back, raises the high tones/highlights, and does whatever he wants with the mids to make it pop. (again, just going off of a different video. It could very well be something he did in-camera too)
I use the Viltrox set and I love them!
Do you think they’re comparable to the Elgato key lights??
Sam - what are your views on kicker lights (yes, or hair lights) for those without, um, hair (guilty as charged - the picture is old, and now it's all shaved off to avoid the whole monk's tonsure effect) :-) )? Lower them to avoid top-shine, or just don't bother with a kicker and maybe focus (no pun intended) on lighting the rear/ back plane (especially if there's a green screen)?
I am going to surround myself with so much light that I will burst into flames!
THE LIGHT HAS BEEN SHED!
Nice video once again Sam !!
[1:10] You're so bright!
can anyone else now not take their eyes off the lighting triangle he points out ? lol
An awesome video as per usual, Sam. 😁 👍 👍
Cheers to you, my man! 🍻
I might upgrade to the Elgato ones, but for now, I'll just stick to Neewer (pretty decent and really powerful).
The neewer ones are what I’m looking at upgrading to.
I bought a LED lamp that brightens up the area i sit at. tyhe lighting in this room is terrible, I'm gonna move my setup into a bigger room later this year, that will hopefully be better.
What temperature should I keep my lights on?
the three lights are great for streaming
How much light should I use? I've got a 4 bulb 85 w (each for a total of 340 watts) softbox. It's quite a lot of light. It doesn't look like you use that much light. If I use too much light, won't the camera just compensate? For a typical RUclips setup with the lighting a couple foot away, roughly how many watts should the Keylight have?
What do you think about ring lights?
I can personally vouch for the Viltrox l116t, altho I believe the price has gone up since I bought mine. I got a 2 pack.
I was literally just thinking about this, thanks for the video sam!
Instantly a fan. Ill be looking forward to more. Im super new to all of this and i love seeing these videos. (I dont even edit anything from my ps4 yet lol)
Get to it!!
Hey Sam, need some suggestions. I am wanting to start making youtube videos, I have an elgato green screen and a keylight air and looking at getting more lights, not sure how many to get. My area is very small, only have just over a meter behind me. My main concern is lighting the green screen. I did get a cheap lighting kit from ebay with soft boxes, but they just take to much room, so really need LED's and something that either clamps on the desk or has a stand. I was thinking of getting a keylight air but they are expensive, and if I need two Iam looking at around $500. What do you suggest?
So... I have these led bulbs that connect to an app on my cell. I can control the warmth and brightness and program functions using any color imaginable. They're cheap and easy, just screw them into a standard lamp. Why don't people use them as kicker lights etc? What if I just got a couple floor lamps off craigslist and put in a couple of those bulbs? Anyone tried that?
The only issue I see with a lot of your suggestions are that they are not diffused. It has been a little while since I've used a non-diffused LED light panel so I might be off the mark with the latest tech, but from my experience, these will produce a very harsh light that will not look very flattering.
Wax paper and white sheets work amazing as diffusion. They provide much more controlled diffusion too because you're not limited to a slot directly in front of the panel.
Thanks for the tips man - you must be the most famous Midlander? (Birmingham myself - so happy to hear a familiar voice)
funny how the vid is talking about lighting, yet the talking shots are flood lit.
So I can only get 1 light atm, should I get a ring light or a key light? Also thinking of picking up the new elgato light strip, is it worth it?
For RUclips, was thinking I need softbox... my elgato is too bright & causes harsh bright spots on my head.
Your so helpful love the vids
Your hair is looking great!
That dad pun... oof...
But in all honesty, great video! Always trying to learn more about lighting and production to help improve my own creations! Thanks!
Why no mention of the elgato key light 💡?
Another amazingly informative vid Sam, and that Draco really is a STEAL!!
How do you deal with the massive washout your face gets when your monitor has something bright on it? I can't even open a web browser without it washing my face out.
Hey Sam could you supply amazon US links next time it would be a big help
The c922 autofocus is killing me lol
That's the GH5.
I appreciate you so so much
Nice video. Viltrox are sold out everywhere since beginning of the year :-(
I’m trying to place your accent Sam, Brum or Black Country? Or am I way off?
Now i cant stop looking at your triangle...
It’s like you read my mind and knew that I need this video! Spooky 😦
#1 Audio, #2 Lighting, #3 Video. See, I did watch HH first. :-)
Discord GANGGGGG at 7:02 AM ahahahaha
I liked your Pun!
Hey!
Are you still the editor for Alpha Gaming?
Remember, God said "Let there be Light"... So, if his audio sucked, there wouldn't be light. Lighting will always play second fiddle to audio. ;)
👑
I checked the 29$ Dracast in this video and it now says 4 payments of 23$. It went up to 89$
Can someone tell me though because i never liked that purplish bluish lighting that i see in alpha gamings videos. meaning its just not my style so is good lighting an opinion or? Im actually asking i never had an eye for certain aesthetics that others seem to have common sense about
this video keeps coming up when I try to play illumination - Harris Heller on a discord bot
This man is hugely unnapreciated by the internet! Like and subscribe dammit!
I used cheap lights, and bought elgato. elgato is certainly a much better product, and the wifi control is superior to the switch on the wires!
When he got to the studio fresnel I was sitting in anticipation wondering if he would pronounce fresnel wrong lol...
Just subscribed, I appreciate the effort you've put in to helping out beginners!
I Liked for the pun
20k followers!
What about elgato lights
In short, no. Elgato lights provide way too little light quality for the price point. What you're really paying for in those lights is the convenience of software and hardware integration. I got two bi-color GVM LED panels that were 2x-3x higher luminance and included barn doors for the price of one Elgato Keylight.
I need to work on my lights. I have the Logitech c920, working on getting a usb mic and now I just need some bomb ass lights.
yer
Extremely cheap way to obtain a key and fill light is by singing a light waay to bright at a white wall
"Lighting is the single most important part of any RUclips video or live stream"
*Ever heard a 5 dollar microphone?*
Is reaching enlightenment always this easy? It is now.
I wonder how many people clicked away after that pun before the intro.
Pretty weird how you are not recommending the lights you are using yourself...maybe i'm the only one weirded out about this...does that mean you rather use the ones you recommended in this video and you regret buying the Elgato ones? Seeing that several of the recommended ones are literally in the same price range...just a thought...-confused-
You didn't talk much about light placement. This was more of a showcase of available lighting products than instruction on lighting. Also your comments on lighting are aimed at small scale sets, either one or two people in close proximity and in a more or less static scene (people not moving about). Maybe you've covered it in another video I have not come across yet but indoor on a larger set where multiple people are moving about and outdoor lighting are two other areas that rate at least one 30 minute video each.
I cover light placement in another video. Mostly for single lighting techniques. I do plan on expanding on lighting in the future - it's a huge topic to cover.
@@SamWoodhall I look forward to watching those, thanks.
I bought those neweer ones before seeing this video....their usability is god awful. The control is located in the middle of the cord. So you have to crawl under your desk to turn them on or pull the cable up. It's such a pain. Unless your outlet is RIGHT There, stay away from them.
lighting is more important than a camera? xD you could have the best lighting setup in the universe, but if you dont have a camera to record it only you would see it xD right? haha
Hi :)
Hands up if anyone noticed something was going on with his camera 🙋
Uncheck auto-focus pls.
Noti gang
early BTW i Discord is faster then RUclips
I am the 101st comment
Pog