Investing in filming lights for YouTube is a must if you want to make your YouTube content stand out from other videos. An extra light source can provide some 'modeling' to a flat-lit face, bringing out the three-dimensional contour of your subject and making them appear more appealing. Lighting also allows you to record footage in more locations, making your channel's content more attractive and interesting.
Why do you need filming lights for YouTube?
There are three basic reasons why video lighting equipment is required for YouTube videos. They are used to manage lighting conditions, improve image quality, and create professional appearances, which will result in more views. Read on to learn more details.
It gives you more control over lighting
Artificial filming lights give you more control over the YouTube lighting setup so that you can create an identical look that your viewers can recognize. You can adjust the intensity level, color temperature, and direction of the lighting to suit different video needs. The consistent illumination helps you avoid issues like changing weather and time of day when using natural lighting.
It can enhance image quality
Good lighting has a direct impact on image quality. It can improve the sharpness, clarity, and vibrancy of your videos. It can also help to minimize noise and grain in low-light circumstances. By employing a dedicated lighting setup, you may optimize your camera's exposure and white balance, avoiding overexposed or underexposed areas.
It creates a pro look to get you views
Illuminating your filming area with a room lamp or relying on overhead lights will not provide you with pro-quality results. It is good to use lighting equipment capable of producing soft, flattering, and dramatic effects on your subject and background. It can also assist you in creating a tone and ambiance for your YouTube filmmaking, as well as making it stand out from other content.
What are the best lights for filming YouTube videos?
In a nutshell, there are four types of filming lights for YouTube that you can choose from. These film lights, which are both affordable and functional, may assist you in producing clear and visually interesting videos that will make your subscribers want to see more.
LED video light
This type of filming lights for YouTube uses LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to create constant illumination for video creation. It is compact, energy-efficient, and long-lasting. It comes in different sizes and shapes, from pocket-size LED panels to somehow large studio lights.
How it works
An LED video light works by integrating numerous LEDs in a panel, ring, tube, or other shape and coating them with a phosphor layer that converts the light into different colors and temperatures. Filters, dimmers, and remote controls are also available on certain LED video lights to let you modify the brightness and color.
When to use
LED video lights can be used for various types of YouTube videos, such as vlogs, tutorials, interviews, documentaries, and more. They are also portable, versatile, and easy to set up, making them ideal for indoor and outdoor shooting.
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The COLBOR CL60R is a 65W RGB LED light with millions of color options and 13 lighting effects. It is intended for video creation, vlogging, and photography. It boasts a CRI of 97+, indicating that it can reproduce colors correctly and naturally. It also comes with an integrated cooling system, a Bowens mount adapter for light modifiers, and a wireless control via the COLBOR Studio app. It may be charged via a PD power bank, PD adapter, V-mount, or NP-F batteries.
The COLBOR CL60R is a flexible and portable light that can be used in YouTube videos for a variety of uses, including creating diverse moods, atmospheres, and settings using the RGB mode and lighting effects. With the bi-color mode, it may also be used as a key light, a fill light, or a background light.
The COLBOR CL220 is a 220W filming light for YouTube that can provide consistent and powerful lighting for video and photography. It includes a 2700K to 6500K color temperature range, a CRI rating of 96+, and a Bowens mount for light modifiers. It is also modular, allowing it to be combined with additional CL220 lights to make a power cube lighting matrix.
The COLBOR CL220 is a film light that can used in YouTube videos for a variety of purposes, including creating different lighting setups, boosting colors and textures, and cmatching different scenarios and moods.
Softbox lights
This is a natural light emulator to offer soft, natural illumination that is similar to natural sunshine but without causing the issues of using natural light.
Softbox lights allow you to direct light to a specific area, making it much easier to illuminate subjects and certain areas of a scene. Softboxes come in a variety of forms and sizes, and they are a basic piece of equipment used in the creation of YouTube videos.
How it works
A softbox, as the name suggests, is a box constructed around a continuous light source. It is composed of reflecting interior material and has a diffusing panel in front of it to minimize the harshness of the light.
When to use
Softbox lights offer natural-looking illumination in a concentrated area, making them ideal for interior video production. It's popular for product reviews, food programs, room vlogging, and other youTube videos that require diffused lighting.
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The COLBOR BP45 is a 45cm parabolic softbox that can soften the output of COLBOR LED studio lights, such as the CL60, CL60M, CL60R, CL100X, and CL100XM. It comes with a grid and a Bowens mount for directional control and light shaping. It has a quick assembly and disassembly design that only takes a few seconds to set up. It is ideal for video production and photography, as it can create soft, focused, and natural light with a crisp edge.
The COLBOR ModuFrame SE is a 60x60 softbox that can be used with two, three, or four COLBOR LED lights of the CL60 and CL100X lineups. It is designed to create powerful and cinematic soft light for video production and photography. It has a quick-setup and quick-release design that allows you to install and release it effortlessly in five seconds. It also comes with two soft cloths and a grid for precise control of light direction and shape. It is made of durable and high-temperature resistant aluminum alloy and has a high-reflectance silver-coated cloth inside for enhanced reflection efficiency and color accuracy.
Umbrella lights
This filming light for YouTube is a low-cost, portable light source that emits a softer light than its competitors. When softbox and umbrella lights are compared, umbrellas produce more controlled and directed light. They are classified into two types: reflecting and shoot-through. They are portable because they can be folded like ordinary umbrellas.
How it works
Reflective umbrellas are made up of two parts: a reflecting inner surface that reflects light onto subjects and an opaque outer layer that prevents light from going through. The shoot-through umbrellas are made of translucent white fabric. It can diffuse the light and shine on the subject more softly.
The umbrella light is distinguished by its curved design, which emits more directed light. It also draws attention to the shadow edges. Furthermore, it may provide an even distribution of light in any room.
When to use
Umbrella lighting is ideal for achieving a pro look in your videos because of its directed nature. You can use it to record a personal vlog.
Ring light for filming YouTube videos
Ring light has gained a lot of popularity. They do, after all, offer a pleasing light source for a variety of filming scenarios. Additionally, it removes the majority of shadows and gives the eyes a "halo" of light. It is easier to assemble, more compact, and more portable.
How it works
Rather than the use of numerous light sources to surround a subject's face and reduce shadows, the distinctive circular form of a ring light acts as a one-light option. The central hole prevents light from gathering in the center of the face to avoid making your subject appear flat. It often includes an exterior diffusion plate that softens both light and shadow.
When to use
It is perfect for illuminating faces. Therefore, it is a common choice for makeup tutorials, makeup reviews, and such beauty YouTube channels.
Four film lighting techniques for YouTube to get better videos
Besides investing in the best YouTube filming lights, using the suitable lighting setup is also the key to high quality lighting. Here we will tell you four tips.
Use soft light for filming YouTube videos to conceal skin flaws
The most attractive kind of lighting is soft lighting. It conceals bags under your eyes, softens shadows, and smoothes skin. There are two ways to achieve it: diffuse or bounce the lighting for YouTube filmmaking.
To diffuse the light, you can place something in front of the light source. In this case, we place the diffuse material in front of it. Something like a white sheet or shower curtain can also help. You can also place a reflector in the front.
Additionally, you may use white surfaces to reflect light, such as white foam boards, walls, or ceilings.
Have catch light in eyes to attract viewers’ attention
Catch light occurs when light reflects in your eyes. The gleaming white reflection attracts attention to your eyes (which is where you want the audience to gaze). The more the brightness, the greater the catchlight in the eyes. It allows the YouTuber to stand out and look alive.
Use backlight to stand out from the background
Back light (or "hair light") is NOT used to illuminate your background. It is illuminating YOU from behind. It makes you stand out from the backdrop. And the audience will be able to connect with you more effortlessly. Back light is also known as hair light because it creates a rim or halo look around the head.
Select right color temperature to avoid mixed lighting
Even seasoned video producers occasionally struggle with using lighting with varying color temperatures, such as warm light from tungsten lamps and cold light from fluorescent lamps. So, it's best to stay away from different color temperatures while you're first starting.
Your camera's sensors may have a difficult time adjusting the white balance in your picture if there is mixed illumination. You may receive very pale or blue photos, or very warm and yellow ones, depending on how your sensors interpret this.
Therefore, it is advised to set your filming light for YouTube at a similar color temperature to the ambient illumination and turn off room lamps that may cause mix lighting.