How To Get Perfect Exposure | HDR Lighting 101

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In this episode of 4 Minute Film School, Valentina is challenged with lighting an interior in order to expose correctly for the exterior. To do that, she has to use some powerful lights and camera filtration, all while making sure to achieve cinematic depth and a naturalistic look. We’re going to talk about high dynamic range, sun direction, reflected sunlight, and more.
We’re shooting a scene where a woman wakes up in a luxury downtown loft after throwing a huge party the night before. The look was inspired by films like Lost in Translation and Her. We chose the loft apartment location because we wanted to see the Los Angeles highrises in the background, but also demonstrate techniques to mitigate blown out highlights in the shot.
For our key light, we used the Aputure 600d Pro and shot it through diffusion to give ourselves as much intensity as we can for the interior to balance out the exposure from the outside. Valentina made sure to check false color to make sure that she wasn’t clipping in areas that were too bright or dark. We also used floppies to block out incoming light in the foreground because we wanted to have the light come from a different direction. For the foreground elements, we used an Aputure 60d and 300dII to light up the production design and give the scene more dimension.
We shot with the Canon C70 and Rokinon Xeen primes for a light camera build to be able to handhold the rig. Valentina used the camera’s built-in ND filters so that she could shoot at a shallower depth of field. She then auditioned pearlescent filters in front of the lenses to give the scene that special hazy quality. Finally, she decided to put on the Easyrig Mini Max to give her support while she was shooting handheld to couple the character’s state of mind with camera movement.
Let us know if you have any questions about the setup!
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Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:40 - Story/Concept
2:40 - Framing
3:38 - Negative Fill
4:48 - Key Light
7:36 - Fill Light
8:47 - Camera
10:03 - Lighting Breakdown
10:35 - Setup #2
12:14 - Breakdown #2
12:39 - Outro
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Summary:
Aputure's KZbin channel provides free high quality cinematography, lighting, and filmmaking educational content to help you take your film projects to the next level.

[@midwestdocumentarycenterin1680]

Appreciate that you're taking the time to deal with lighting issues in depth.

[@markordop7664]

Agreed, its far more interesting

[@aputurelighting]

This means a lot!!

[@kiribundi]

I admire the effort. However, it still felt "lit" in the end result. I think bouncing any light on a white surface as close as possible to the window would have helped augmenting the light while still having it feel "natural".

[@AbstractFilms]

Yeah I really think that first spotlight set up would have worked! Might just be poor perspective, but it looked like they were just bouncing the light at an angle sending the output straight out the window at 6:47. It's a shame, I'm planning on purchasing/pairing two Amaran 200d with two Aputure spotlight mounts and I was hoping to see their results with a similar bouncing technique they'd be used for.

[@themorgangold]

@@AbstractFilms yup yup.

[@Awrange]

I also thought that the look without the light was the best in the closeup

[@tubesurfer1977]

Same. I could walk in, chuck up a led panel, some white board on a stand, get those same shots but look natural and walk out in about 14 minutes Max. At least the try. The issue with the YT generation is the culture to share knowledge in order to build a community and convert to sales. Often the knowledge is not always great and then becomes the not so great standard for the masses. *sigh*

[@tabeabussmann]

@@tubesurfer1977 I mean their knowledge is obviously great. For my liking it felt flat though, I prefer scenes lit like in lucifer. Knowledge and feeling for a scene ( even though it subjective ) are two different things.

[@Asonnymoment]

Lately I've been really zeroing in on my cinematography knowledge and these videos are a cut above the rest! Low key, my favorite moment of this video is when Queen V shows us her gaff tape collection...i felt seen watching that. 🤣

[@tuckerkanderson]

Loved this! So important when shooting any interior where you want to see outside. For high contrast scenarios, I generally like to shoot on the shadow side of talent to get a more reverse-key look, which generally makes the scene more dramatic/cinematic. Keep these videos coming, loving them!

[@CarloMusco7]

I just had a similar shoot scenario last week. It was a 3 person interview. Giant windows in a penthouse with sea view! After the initial panic, I rented 2x Aputure 600D to use as ambient light. Didn’t have the fresnel attachments and I ran into the same issue that you guys ran into.. not enough power. I ended up using both 600D as Key Lights with no diffusion, added 3x 300w tungsten as individual backlights for the talents and I added some more fill with diffused flexi LEDs. Finished all with a touch of Aputure MC for some practical lights. Depth obtained, exposure obtained. Thank you Aputure! 💪🏻

[@rahadiannavanka4]

Great work guys! However... i would light the scene a bit more natural, especially the close up shot. Rather than light it straight to the subject, i'll use a reflector like your first set up to give it a less flat image.

[@FizralTech]

agree..

[@alex_lionspaw]

Just got 120d ii and lightdome ii, sending love from Czech Republic 🖤 Thank you for the depth of information. Setting lights is becoming easier with every video 💯✨

[@DominusFeles]

I love this series! In high contrast scenarios I’ve often taken the stylistic choice to let it be really high contrast, rather than fighting against the natural light 😇 Silhouettes are fun!

[@jgo1961]

Roger Deakins would have shot it without the lights and let it go be silhouette.

[@GeorgKampEnnepetal]

First of all: Thanks for the good tutorial. I was shooting in front of the skyline of Frankfurt / Germany. Unfortunately with a fixed time window and not so good headlights. I pasted the two windows with ND foils, set a few highlights in the room, placed the protagonist Neat by the window and used the incident light with a styrofoam plate as a fill light. Since the shoot, I've been slowly converting to better headlights. Step by step. Keep up the good work and stay healthy!

[@KevinHolik]

I definitely try to play with the shadows if I'm exposing for outside while indoors. I like to shape the light where it's needed to be seen, but let things be a little dark if it's not too distracting or overwhelming.

[@johndicksonjr2216]

You guys were awesome!!! Valentina always provides valuable information. Also K-Reyes is da man! You two were just awesome together.

[@saeed_kia]

I'm loving this tutorial videos of yours. Thank you for sharing experience and knowledge.

[@keithsummers_]

Took away a few good pointers. Like thinking about the foreground and the little details. I'm a quasi-newbie, but lately I've just used black out curtains to control the light in my rooms (small rooms). I've just got a black board from the $1 store that I'm going to mess around to use as negative fill to create more shadows and counteract the brought rooms I have. Trying to learn how to control the light more. The setup diagram you show are helpful seeing the visual layout and angles of lights and such. Thanks!

[@quinomorcate1842]

2:35 The guy in the back doubting if he made the right decision working with these people.

[@brettsullivan4647]

Working in high contrast situations can be great, especially when you want to show someone has a darker side to them. Working with silhouettes or even key lighting the face side away from camera and leaving the camera side of the face dark and under exposed is great for this!

[@aputurelighting]

Very true!

[@JulesFredericNerestant]

I'm glad they moved the key light to the door because before that they had the 4x4 20 inches from a Fresnel lens... you need to allow the spot of light some space to spread before it hits the diffusion, and it felt pretty "sourcey"...

[@kurtlindner]

Loved this! Probably one of the most useful scenarios you've done. 6:48 I think by the angle of incidence the light is going out the window.

[@alexandermarcelhovel6440]

Love the Videos. Actually learning a lot. I once used ND foil but on a smaller window. It kinda worked but I still needed to stop down quite a bit.

[@danielsalinas8501]

As a newb to photography, this dropped SO much lighting knowledge that I am eager to use and try. Thanks!

[@aputurelighting]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TrufflesOnTheRocks]

You are a beast at lighting and also at explaning it! This is such a challenging situation. I don't do commercial work like that and don't have enough light power to solve that kind of problems so I try to take advantage of it. I would have make some close ups of the mess with the little lights I have to set the mood, then I would have make that wide shot a silhouette and then move to the tight shot using some bounce from the outside.

[@TylerEdwards]

Let's go Kev!! Awesome episode and covered at really challenging scene so well! Great job as always.

[@busiestytnerd5175]

That was so useful. Thank you.

[@beckermcguire-b.remarkable5202]

Amazing video! Extremely informative and helpful for learning. After the bit about using tennis balls to protect the property, I was cringing during all of the scenes where Valentina had the backpack equipment on and the arm of it was swinging around!

[@robin7891]

One of my favorite techniques is using Nutrall Density Gels on windows. This really helps when you don't have powerful enough lights to brighten up the interior to achieve a nice and balanced exposure. However, this would be a nightmare, and expensive too to deal with when all your walls are basically floor to ceiling windows. @Valentina and the team, its always a pleasure siphoning knowledge from you. It would be nice to win one of those MCs one day. That would not only make my day, but will also be the first time I win or know anyone who's won anything in person.

[@chudopalov1977]

Special thanks for Cadrage!!! 🙏 I didn’t now about that! 😍😍😍

[@WhySteve]

I expose for the background and blast light into their face and haze everything up to go with a super high key dream effect. I'm limited by my gear but this worked for me before.

[@HAMZAALI-oh2th]

Huge Fan. Loved your videos I have a backlight and I try to bounce that from 45 angle to give a dimension in high contrast situations. Learning from your videos too Keep making awesome stuff

[@DirectorIllyRock]

I love these detailed videos! Helps us up and comers so much with running small and medium productions. I’ve also shot in this location before. Dope to see it used to the right way 😭

[@Mr_Kenneth]

Hey guys, just subscribed and love that apartment!! I've recently shot some Facebook commercials for a window blinds company and exposure has always been a nightmare because the clock is ticking because I've hd to film in a customers home whilst the blinds were being fitted -GULP! I now carry window film (like a butt load of the stuff) to temporarily affix to the window. It's very expensive but you'll get those important shots - plus you can shoot from multiple angles because you don't have the restriction of large lights. BTW English homes are very small, so using lighting rigs would mean removing some furniture. Hope this helps a few people.

[@tylermason140]

Very nice! Though on the final shot, I think I actually preferred the "before", even though she was a bit underexposed. I've shot something very similar to this before, where I put the light right up against the window, basically directly above where V's head would be when she's op'ing. Then I either turn it toward the window a bit or cut it on the dark side of the face with neg, in order to get a more natural fall-off that appears to be coming from the window itself. Mix that with the neg on the talent, and it tends to look great.

[@tonapacpictures4655]

loooove this!!! yall are killing it. more please!

[@mentaeamare3888]

For a high contrast scenario esp. with a reflective window on the background, i would ND gelled the window, use upstage key inside the house as for ambient source on the wide shot and when i punch in to the close ups i would normally prefer to be on the shadow side while covering the camera side of the face with a neg. fill and letting the other side exposed by a soft light source.

[@aputurelighting]

Great techniques!

[@mentaeamare3888]

@@aputurelighting how can i enter for the chance to win your light giveaway on today's episode?

[@BerndKistenmacher]

Great video. Thank you. I am filming with Canon 600D, Sony AX700 and Sony Xperia One II, I use two Aputure MC to give some depth to the scenes, which helps a lot.

[@beckermcguire-b.remarkable5202]

To deal with high contrast lighting, I use reflectors as I am on a budget and really try to harness the natural light as much as possible with angle choices, scouting for time of day for shooting, etc... Embracing silhouette and choosing an angle that accomplishes my goal in a creative way is also a technique i use.

[@murallod]

Thank you! thank you!! A lot of the area i want to shoot are locations like this. Now I have a game plan!

[@drmatthewhorkey]

I love the negative fill on that last scene. Thanks for breaking this down again

[@nightdonutstudio]

I do not know about the lighting on kitchen part. It is hard light with no diffuser and second the intensity is strong. I do not think the kitchen part is important need that much brighter. And makes it feel that there is another sun come from that side. Kind unnatural.

[@gtdabo]

Always enlightening learning about lighting.Watching from Nairobi, Kenya.Come here and do a Masterclass Valentina

[@madeleinefaburel]

thank's a lot, it is so interesting !! could you say again the names of the 2 apps you talked about at the beggining (to sun where the sun is and to choose the lenses) ? I can't find them

[@judahmakesvideos]

Great video, there's a lot of useful information packed in. Sometimes if there is barely any movement in the shot, I'll try doing a couple takes at multiple exposures and then combining them in post. Not an ideal situation, but it can get the job done sometimes on a lower budget.

[@santulama6937]

Learning is fun with gr8 teachers and mentors.

[@ejikeonwunabonze]

Hahaha This Kevin Reyes of a guy can make a set so fun and lively. Thanks a lot Vee.

[@aputurelighting]

Hahah right??

[@juliankurwan7357]

Great Video! Got a question, in the establishing shot the metal openers of the kitchen where shining very artificial, how could I get ride of that shine as it coudnt be real from that angle and position. Cheers JMK

[@tonythespaceman]

Thank you for this because last year I was in the same scenario and things did not work as good as i expected

[@nikolalakic9058]

Another awesome video! What I’ve done for high contrast scenarios is use foreground elements to block off most of my frame if I cannot get good exposure in a big room. By “minimizing” the frame for wide shots, I’m able to more focus my lighting on subject matter. I like walls and doors the most as foreground blocking elements

[@aputurelighting]

Nice! That also allows the viewers' eyes to focus on the subject of the shot.

[@nikolalakic9058]

@@aputurelighting Happy accident I guess haha

[@recardosands9948]

when I have the budget, time and crew. I used ND gels on the windows, to knock down or lower the outside light levels that is coming in threw the windows. Then expose/light the interior accordingly.

[@easolstice]

I’m enjoying these longer form videos.

[@CarloTimothy]

that dude Kevin Reyes - he's everywhere!

[@AnthonyTadle]

You guys rock! Thanks a bunch...

[@mrpeterferret]

ND the windows, takes some prep time to make it look good, but you need a lot of ND gel roll

[@peptalk.]

Hi Valentina, i follow your work all the way from Nigeria and I love it. What Lav mic(s) did you use here? The sound is so good

[@IKEMENOsakaman]

Wowww so much work going on in here!

[@GlennHanns]

An alternative is to add Polarisation gel onto the windows and a polarising filter to the camera, you can then rotate the filter to adjust exactly how much light comes into your space. The polarisation gels are expensive though but the ability to dim the background exposure is awesome. Of course you can add some .9 ND gel to the windows for a fixed exposure level on a budget. Use water to squeegee the gels onto the windows, they’ll hold all day.

[@alexanderow1268]

Another great 👍🏼 vid !!! You, ROCK , Val !!! 🤩

[@aputurelighting]

Thank you!!

[@richarddzisiewski7197]

Always look forward to these pieces but super happy that people are using filters !!!!

[@aputurelighting]

Us too!!

[@AfterlifeStudios]

Crazy the difference In the before and after. Killer info🔥

[@saiganesh7944]

Aputure doesn't fail to educate me ....❤️

[@abdelwadoudbr253]

Usually cinematographer have no space for coincidence, but the thing i saw in here was a random shots that just fits your subject

[@Kevlexicon]

so helpful. thanks guys

[@roycedacosta2433]

For high contrast scenes I would place fill light behind the subject and the key light in front of the subject. And use of ND

[@gandharjadhav6846]

Valuable info for the beginners as ususl.I try to fit everything within the very limited dr of my nikon d 3200.use sheers and the exposure triangle.still working with porta lights and halogen lights. Cannot afford those lights.so worklights and diy all the way. Work like charm for the most part.

[@nathanmiles8972]

I gaffed a horror-thriller feature a few weeks back and we planned to make it very moody. Learned the power of far side key and a lot of negative fill. Our primary set was in the living room of a cabin with big windows. I set up a Joker2 1600w HMI w Zoom Kit through an 8x8 Polysilk shooting into the space. From there, we used a 12x12 solid and duvy opposite side of key out of frame to absorb all that light coming into the room. This created a very moody scene that was perfect for the film.

[@aputurelighting]

Nice! Can't wait to see how it turns out

[@buddyfx7026]

Kevin Reyes! This guy saved me $$ on some inovativ cart hacks, haha!

[@JamesNobleMusic]

Love these vids

[@AustinHitchcock]

Fun video. I would like to see a similar video about trying to create different daylight times.

[@hillarykitoyo3210]

When shooting in small spaces like car interiors where the inside is dark and the outside is blown out, high contrast lighting techniques come in handy.

[@GeraldBertramPhotography]

Hey Valentina don't know what you did but you are looking great, healthy and fit these days! Inspires me to get my own act together! Goes without saying this was another great video with valuable knowledge.

[@valentinavee]

Thanks! I took this past year as an opportunity to focus on my health.

[@IndyVisuals]

This makes you appreciate more the hard work been done on every scene. 10 second scene can = at least 1 hour preparation

[@tubesurfer1977]

Urge you to keep in mind these guys aren’t the best to be learning from.

[@IndyVisuals]

@@tubesurfer1977 definitely, but you gotta learn from different people

[@tubesurfer1977]

@@IndyVisuals This taught you how to light a half time super bowl interview 🥳🤩

[@IndyVisuals]

@@tubesurfer1977 haha 😆 right

[@ritesh6374]

I think you pretty much did what one must do to balance outdoor light with the help of indoor light. We can always use gel additionally. Also, we can time the shoot in magic hour but it depends on scene and whims of nature.

[@paul42scott]

My go to if, budget allows, is using ND gels for all the windows. Allows you to knock down the outside exposure and requires less powerful lights inside to achieve a balanced exposure!

[@JohnCooganPlus]

Did you consider using neutral density gels on those windows? I don’t think I’ve ever seen ND gel on a 4 min film school episode. Would be cool to see you cover it in the future.

[@aputurelighting]

We did, but it would've taken too much time with all the windows. Great idea though!

[@JohnCooganPlus]

@@aputurelighting yeah, that makes perfect sense, maybe on a future shoot with a smaller more manageable window.

[@soundbreaker2485]

I often expose for highlights & let the subject almost fall into silhouette. I really love that look but often use a light or bounce to bring up the exposure on the subject when needed. All driven by story

[@highlycreativedigital5472]

I like that she Chose a difficult time of day to shoot. And made it work.

[@AndyLSB]

what I do normally is expose for the highlights and bounce light to my subject, normally that usually works for me, but in other cases I've had to use my Amaran 100D and blast light to my subject with a Diffuser on.

[@BretKerr]

Great video VV - an hours worth of content in 14 mins. I make use of the C200 ND filters but can be tricky to match for corporate interviews because b-cam is a Sony A7riii with variable screw on ND filter. Going to audition a lot of your tips with some new grip gear I have coming in. First time owning a comprehensive flag kit. 🤓

[@aubisoka]

I take adjsutable LED Panels, Reflektors and Rim Light. I love to work with colored LEDs to change the contrast. Then I fix the ISO Rate in my cam and preiview the LUT, all Rest is done in the afterwork post production with color corrections... what is to bright i use molton-stuff and backround systems.

[@intrinsiccinema7374]

Great class thank you

[@Eforbesy31]

I find using reflectors really useful when filming high-contrast backlit scenes when on a low budget.

[@aputurelighting]

Very true!

[@PatrickBoberg]

Very cool room and set up. I always try to explore hollywooding 5-in-1 or bounce boards to have the same color temperature and light quality. Of course in a wide or establishing shot it is nearly impossible. The light on the immediate foreground does it's job but kind of sticks out as "Where is this light coming from?" Last, I love her -270K bank balance. That is a rude wake up call if there ever was one.

[@CultureJapon]

What about putting ND gels on the glasses? Would it be effective?

[@harigobindpachat1075]

Valentina Vee is the best

[@orangearts-desgs5614]

Great video! As always ;) I sometimes bounce a light against the white ceiling. That helps a little. :D

[@DanielTuriman]

Appreciate this tutorial.

[@pettypoh]

4 minute film school in 14min video? Not complaining 😂

[@rodrigoassakawa]

Great work guys! I would like if all lights were softer, maybe do a book light with two 600d for the key? Other than that I can only think of ND the windows, but depends on the time and budget.

[@aputurelighting]

Or both!

[@GriffinConway]

Great job guys! Way to crush it Kev!!

[@aputurelighting]

Thank you!

[@nickysmit4465]

Having way too much tape is essential on any film set!

[@tylerburton5440]

I usually throw all the lights I have on in a panic, hoping to compensate for the bright windows... It doesn't usually go well, so maybe I'll try using the methods in this video instead.

[@vinydi]

great job, thanks, name of the app for cadrage ?

[@lenhister]

2.5 months ago I ordered the Aputure LS 60X and it's still on backorder. Is this normal when purchasing Aputure products?!

[@joshkiddfilms1295]

Valentina you do such a great job at this!

[@valentinavee]

Thanks Josh!

[@jezersek_production]

For high contrast lighting like to put key light behind the subject and then fill it in the front.

[@AleksanderZh]

very helpful video, guys👍🏻

[@aputurelighting]

Thank you!

[@GalZiv]

good one - thanks

[@Gwerd]

Great video, thank you for all of these! I'd be interested to know the hard costs to pull this off- equipment rental breakdown, talent, crew, location and maybe most importantly, how does the budget balance? Is there an income stream associated with this?

[@MastersOfMidnight]

Sometime in a wide establishing high contrast shot, if I don't have the lights to bring up my shadows I will shoot a few different plates on a tripod, light each section of the shot that I want, and then stitch and mask all the layers in post.

[@thesleepione247]

If you don't have diffusion filters you can try copy and pasting the original clip on top of itself, then play with the opacity and with gaussian blur. You can try starting at 50% & 20% respectively

[@MoClipDe]

Knowing your Sensor and choosing the right ISO + ND helps a lot.

[@aputurelighting]

Very true!

[@ajapopfilms]

Absolutely pleasant

[@jezersek_production]

What to do if you shoot scene like this but you have bad dynamic range camera?