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Painting With Light
Few cinematographers have had as decisive an impact on the cinematic medium as John Alton. Best known for his highly stylized film noir classics T-Men , He Walked by Night , and The Big Combo , Alton earned a reputation during the 1940s and 1950s as one of Hollywood's consummate craftsmen through his visual signature of crisp shadows and sculpted beams of light. No less renowned for his virtuoso color cinematography and deft appropriation of widescreen and Technicolor, he earned an Academy Award in 1951 for his work on the musical An American in Paris . First published in 1949, and long out of print since then, Painting With Light remains one of the few truly canonical statements on the art of motion picture photography, an unrivalled historical document on the workings of the postwar, American cinema. In simple, non-technical language, Alton explains the job of the cinematographer and explores how lighting, camera techniques, and choice of locations determine the visual mood of film. Todd McCarthy's introduction, written especially for this edition, provides an overview of Alton's biography and career and explores the influence of his work on contemporary cinematography.
191 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 6, 2008
I can see why people call this the bible of lighting, even a novice like me can tell it's a classic. Extremely dated, I imagine much of the information in this book is timeless. Still, it was hard for me to connect with it, and nearly impossible to read straight through, very much a reference guide. Technical too. But I took away the highlights. If / when I ever require serious lighting for film, this is the book I would reference.
March 5, 2018
"Painting With Light" still stands up and while some of the information you may not use today it is still good to know. This book covers everything related to shooting movies up until the year it was written. John Alton is an enjoyable teacher to have, so why not take this course on how to paint with light?
July 2, 2024
I found this book while I was looking for a cinematographer for my movie The Love Witch. I needed a reference to explain to prospective DPs the technique I was looking for in lighting the film. John Alton was a great cinematographer, and here he shows us all of his tricks. I love the clock system he has for lighting people—eye light, clothes light, hair light, back light, key light, fill light, etc., going around like a clock—and the way every piece of furniture, every painting, has its own spotlight. I also love all of the techniques for creating shadows. In essence, "painting with light" is exactly what he shows you how to do: creating depth and drama with light and shadow, where the shadows almost become characters in the scenes. When I look at Alton's films, and other great noir films using the same techniques, I almost weep just looking at the light and shadows. It's a lost art, and one that helped to render some of the best films ever made visually artistic and memorable, dramatic and heart-rending, each frame a painting. There is also a humorous section at the end where he shows you how to light your home so that the lady of the house always appears in the best, most flattering light. He says this is to avoid disillusionment and divorce—I kid you not!
So, I bought this book to share it with people who might want to shoot my film, and to see how they would respond to it. But after interviewing more than thirty applicants for the position out of an ad I'd placed, armed with this book and stills and clips from Technicolor films, I gave up. Most of these men (and one woman) were totally uninterested in lighting, and their eyes showed no sparkle when looking at the gorgeous examples in this book, or the incredible color stills I brought. Indeed, many of them became quite cross that I brought up lighting at all. Some said, "I'm more interested in lensing than in lighting." Some said, "Why do you need to use lights? Available light is much better." One had written a cover letter professing his undying love for Hitchcock. But when I asked him which Hitchcock color film he liked the best, he gulped and said, "Color film?" Long pause, then tentatively, "The Birds? Did he direct that?" To be fair, some of them were polite, but not one was interested or experienced in the type of lighting I wanted to do. And most discouragingly, none of them seemed to think it was my right to question what they would do on the set, whether it was lighting or lensing or anything else. I will never know how much of this was due to sexism, how much to covering up their ignorance about lighting, or how much that this is just the way DPS are nowadays.
Then I thought, I'm not going to mess around with placing ads. Any really talented and experienced DP is not going to be answering ads; they will be in high demand. So I contacted the guy who shot the beautiful black-and-white film The Notorious Bettie Page. He was extremely polite and professional (what a difference)! but he was based in New York, and he didn't want to travel to Los Angeles to film. Then I thought, I'm really not going to mess around, and I started courting David Mullen, whom I'd worked with before on a short film, and who is a genius at lighting.
When I brought Painting With Light to the meeting, David was vaguely insulted. Not only did he have the book in his collection, but he was more than familiar with all of its techniques, and he had used them for years in his work (not to mention having edited numerous editions of a key textbook on cinematography that is used in many film schools). But the way his eyes lit up when looking at the images, or talking about lighting and every other magical cinematographic technique, including rear projection, was like a dream come true.
He wasn't free when I first approached him, so I decided to wait for his schedule to clear before filming. We had everything ready to go—the cast, the locations, the vendors, the costumes, the props—and then one day David called and said he could do it, and we launched into pre-production. Over the next few weeks he kept sending me stills from gorgeous Technicolor films to inspire me for the set decoration. On set, he kept creating little objects made of black tape that he'd shine a light through to project a window shadow on the wall, or shine a light through a bunch of flowers to create a flower shadow on the opposite wall. One day, for an exterior shot, I found him frantically tearing up plants and anchoring them in the foreground where a car was going to drive by, to create depth in the shot. It was like working with John Alton himself!
We worked extremely well together, almost never needing to even speak, because we were always on the same page. Occasionally I'd say something like, "I'm not crazy about that amber backlight," and he'd sigh and go over and rip off the gel. Or I'd say, "I think her face should be a little brighter," and he'd walk over and raise a barn door by an inch. In other words, his lighting was so perfect that any changes took literally two seconds to make (and sometimes, upon seeing the footage, I realized that he was right, and that I shouldn't have asked for the change). I'm sure I would have rediscovered David without this book, but in the end it was the catalyst for making me realize how crucial it was to get someone who knew these techniques, and to focus exclusively on David as the person who was best for the job, and worth arranging the shooting schedule around.
So, I bought this book to share it with people who might want to shoot my film, and to see how they would respond to it. But after interviewing more than thirty applicants for the position out of an ad I'd placed, armed with this book and stills and clips from Technicolor films, I gave up. Most of these men (and one woman) were totally uninterested in lighting, and their eyes showed no sparkle when looking at the gorgeous examples in this book, or the incredible color stills I brought. Indeed, many of them became quite cross that I brought up lighting at all. Some said, "I'm more interested in lensing than in lighting." Some said, "Why do you need to use lights? Available light is much better." One had written a cover letter professing his undying love for Hitchcock. But when I asked him which Hitchcock color film he liked the best, he gulped and said, "Color film?" Long pause, then tentatively, "The Birds? Did he direct that?" To be fair, some of them were polite, but not one was interested or experienced in the type of lighting I wanted to do. And most discouragingly, none of them seemed to think it was my right to question what they would do on the set, whether it was lighting or lensing or anything else. I will never know how much of this was due to sexism, how much to covering up their ignorance about lighting, or how much that this is just the way DPS are nowadays.
Then I thought, I'm not going to mess around with placing ads. Any really talented and experienced DP is not going to be answering ads; they will be in high demand. So I contacted the guy who shot the beautiful black-and-white film The Notorious Bettie Page. He was extremely polite and professional (what a difference)! but he was based in New York, and he didn't want to travel to Los Angeles to film. Then I thought, I'm really not going to mess around, and I started courting David Mullen, whom I'd worked with before on a short film, and who is a genius at lighting.
When I brought Painting With Light to the meeting, David was vaguely insulted. Not only did he have the book in his collection, but he was more than familiar with all of its techniques, and he had used them for years in his work (not to mention having edited numerous editions of a key textbook on cinematography that is used in many film schools). But the way his eyes lit up when looking at the images, or talking about lighting and every other magical cinematographic technique, including rear projection, was like a dream come true.
He wasn't free when I first approached him, so I decided to wait for his schedule to clear before filming. We had everything ready to go—the cast, the locations, the vendors, the costumes, the props—and then one day David called and said he could do it, and we launched into pre-production. Over the next few weeks he kept sending me stills from gorgeous Technicolor films to inspire me for the set decoration. On set, he kept creating little objects made of black tape that he'd shine a light through to project a window shadow on the wall, or shine a light through a bunch of flowers to create a flower shadow on the opposite wall. One day, for an exterior shot, I found him frantically tearing up plants and anchoring them in the foreground where a car was going to drive by, to create depth in the shot. It was like working with John Alton himself!
We worked extremely well together, almost never needing to even speak, because we were always on the same page. Occasionally I'd say something like, "I'm not crazy about that amber backlight," and he'd sigh and go over and rip off the gel. Or I'd say, "I think her face should be a little brighter," and he'd walk over and raise a barn door by an inch. In other words, his lighting was so perfect that any changes took literally two seconds to make (and sometimes, upon seeing the footage, I realized that he was right, and that I shouldn't have asked for the change). I'm sure I would have rediscovered David without this book, but in the end it was the catalyst for making me realize how crucial it was to get someone who knew these techniques, and to focus exclusively on David as the person who was best for the job, and worth arranging the shooting schedule around.
September 25, 2023
This book gave me so much to think about in terms of in filmmaking and other artistic mediums the reasons behind why we do what we do. How does lighting and other stimuli contribute to our message? Alton broke everything down in a way that was so easy to follow and very in depth. Some of the technical lighting info was a bit dry at points which makes sense since it was technical lighting info, but that’s why I’m giving it a 3/5.
September 21, 2021
Painting with Light will probably be among the first books to be written on cinematography, and like everything else, as time unfolds, some of the ideas have gotten outdated.
But to understand where it all came from, when so much technology didn't exist, when the societal perception of the medium was different, is grounding.
But to understand where it all came from, when so much technology didn't exist, when the societal perception of the medium was different, is grounding.
April 10, 2020
Interesting book. You can find some information helpful for modern-day cinematography, even if the book was written long ago and the part dealing with technical stuff is obsolete.
June 1, 2020
Review forthcoming
November 24, 2023
It is interesting, this book opened my mind in terms of lightning and how important really is.
Until now I was just considering it.
Until now I was just considering it.
November 10, 2025
Loved it! Really gives you an appreciation for lighting.
August 31, 2009
so far, Todd McCarthy's intro is the best part of the book. it glorifies Alton's rebel personality and how his forthright ambition and superiority carved his place in cinematog. history. the book itself is outdated, but more importantly dissapointingly scarce of valuable insight. maybe it was revolutionary in its day, but now with the onslaught of well-written and insightful books about cinematography it is leaving me pretty cold. oh well...
Want to read
October 24, 2012how to use light in film, recommended by Noam Toran
February 2, 2014
A film classic. Written in the 40's, some technological items are out of date, but much more is still applicable today! Enjoyed the read.
July 18, 2013
A dense book covering the lighting process of a master. Not something you read from front to back, but an excellent reference to have.
August 24, 2009
Classic. Some hardware is dated (very dated!), but the concepts are still valid.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews