Lighting for streaming. How to create the perfect picture.

Unfortunately, most webcam models do not pay due attention to proper lighting. But the fact is that lighting plays a very important role in creating a truly high-quality image through a webcam. Streaming is always fun, and to make it even more vibrant and high-quality, you don’t need a lot of expensive and professional equipment. All you need is desire and several different types of lighting which, if used correctly, will make your broadcast significantly better and indistinguishable from studio broadcasts with professional lighting. If you are starting your broadcast, whatever its purpose and theme, it must have proper lighting. Nowadays, anyone can become a webcam model and host their own broadcast, but proper lighting is the key to a successful stream. Even if there is enough lighting in the room from which the broadcast is being conducted, it’s a good idea to invest in additional light. Because if there isn’t enough lighting in the room, your broadcast will be blurry and indistinct as the camera will try to use the maximum of the available light. Also, don’t forget that the right background plays an important role.

As a rule, lighting for streaming is classified into two types. These are the so-called softbox and ordinary table lighting. The principle of a softbox is very simple: it’s a regular light that is covered by at least one layer of fabric that diffuses the rays from the lamp and provides a soft effect that is necessary for a quality broadcast. A softbox is used both as main lighting and as additional lighting to illuminate a necessary object or highlight some item in the broadcast. Of course, for streaming, it’s better to use a softbox, but it takes up a lot of space and is designed for a studio. If you don’t have the option or simply the size of the softbox doesn’t allow you to place it in the room, you can use table light such as an LED ring, which can be mounted on a tripod or attached to a wall or ceiling.

What is key light.
The key light is always placed behind the camera, and it can be a softbox or an LED ring. Many models use an LED ring with a built-in camera holder as their key light. Such a simple device provides a very good effect.

Fill light.
The key light from a softbox or LED ring will create shadows, and their presence in the broadcast is undesirable. So you also need to think about fill light, which should be positioned to limit the possibility of creating shadows and unlit areas.

Accent light.
Depending on your settings, you may also need a third type of lighting, so-called accent lighting, with the help of which you can illuminate a necessary part of the room at the right moment or draw the viewers’ attention to a specific place or object.