Lighting for Cinematography: A Practical Guide to the Art and Craft of Lighting for the Moving Image

by David Landau

We can't shoot good pictures without good lighting, no matter how good the newest cameras are. Shooting under available light gives exposure, but lacks depth, contrast, contour, atmosphere and often separation. The story could be the greatest in the world, but if the lighting is poor viewers will assume it's amateurish and not take it seriously. Feature films and TV shows, commercials and industrial videos, reality TV and documentaries, even event and wedding videos tell stories. Good lighting can make them look real, while real lighting often makes them look fake. Lighting for Cinematography , the first volume in the new CineTech Guides to the Film Crafts series, is the indispensable guide for film and video lighting. Written by veteran gaffer and cinematographer David Landau, the book helps the reader create lighting that supports the emotional moment of the scene, contributes to the atmosphere of the story and augments an artistic style. Structured to mimic a 14 week semester, the chapters cover such things as lighting for movement, working with windows, night lighting, lighting the three plains of action and non-fiction lighting. Every chapter includes stills, lighting diagrams and key advice from professionals in the field, as well as lighting exercises to help the reader put into practice what was covered.

Genres: Film

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 23, 2014

Reviews

[Leon Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read on the subject (and I've read a few)

Best book I've read on the subject (and I've read a few). Other authors (e.g. Blain Brown) focus a lot on the "what": "This is an inkie, this is a PAR", etc. Not that helpful for the low-budget filmmaker who's making do with a few cheap LEDs and whatever else he or she can scrounge up. Landau focus on the "why" and the "how": lighting backgrounds, different lighting situations, basic lighting theory. Highly recommended.

[David Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great guide to film lighting for the uninitiated. Various different set ups and situations that will make you analyse your scene in order to plan out the best look for your film. Although not laden with examples from major pictures, it doesnt really need to. If you need this book, you dont have a crew of hundreds at your disposal. It's perfect for the small indy director who needs to know the basics of the lighting department for his/herself. Thoroughly recommended. You'll start noticing the lighting everywhere that you see a picturesque scene in every day life and also have a good grasp on what light you would need to achieve a good look.

[Simms Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s showing its age in a lot of places. Aesthetics and ways of lighting have changed, particularly when one looks at the example photos. The back chapter used example stills from big films to be the example, but the bulk of the chapters use stills that really make the book feel film school-y.

I don’t think anything in here is wrong, and it’s a decent refresher of the fundamentals with good tidbits, but I wish there was more to get out of it.

[Ayodele Cuffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technical knowledge in a non-technical way.

It took me long enough to finish this book. But I’m glad I did. This book gave me technical knowledge in a none technical way and this is something I appreciate. I’ll keep this book in my library for future reference.

[coolwind · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good book. The author has shared a lot of useful and practical experiences on lighting in various kinds of scenarios. I particularly like the last chapter on how to set lighting of different styles.

[Edoardo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although there are some technical tips that might be useful for a newcomer, the artistical skills of the author are very basic and his examples are very poorly shot.
If you want to learn cinematography, I’d suggest learning from other, more talented, sources.

[Vincent Manard]

Very helpful and practical.

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect way to learn technical aspects of lighting in a perfectly comprehensive manner. The knowledge and experience of the author really provides the reader with information about how lighting can be perfected depending the type of production. I truly believe I have acquired now many tools to model my lighting both technically and creatively.

[Julius B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Srsly completely changed the way I think about this stuff

[Karaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Rare Book

Excellent tips on practical problems faced by the lighting crew on the set. I don't know of any other book that discuss practical aspects of film lighting.