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How Do I Get Rid of Shadows?

Diz X Films

Diz X Films

I am trying to light a basement for use as the main set of my debut movie and I can't get rid of the shadows. Its in a corner and I've moved the lights every way imaginable and have been using clamp lights, soft white bulbs, and fluorescents. I keep getting shadows one way or the other, I even tried putting a light in the corner, meaning 360 degrees of light and still there's shadows. I'm wondering if I'm having a problem distributing th light evenly. I really want a sense of surrealism and disorienting as to what time it is outside, but the shadows are ruining that effect. Please help.

dizxfilms.com
 
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Some things depend on the situation you are in but in general, use a lot of diffused lighting, reflectors to fill in those shadows, move your subjects further away from the wall etc.

If you can post a pic of your setup and tell us the specific look you're looking for, we can give you more specific details.
 
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How about making a wall that is a foot away from the real wall, with this fake wall made out of cloth or some material similar to the white material used in a soft light box? and then simply put lights inside this fake wall. So effectively the wall becomes a soft light source?
 
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What watt's are the lights? 50,100,150,200, 300+? And what is the aperature on the lens you are using?

You shouldn't have to bad of shadows if you have 2 150w equivalents and throw a napkin over the top of them as long as it isn't too hot of a light.
 
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Uncle Joey said:
You shouldn't have to bad of shadows if you have 2 150w equivalents and throw a napkin over the top of them as long as it isn't too hot of a light.
Click to expand...
Putting flammable material over any kind of hot light is not a good idea, especially in a confined space like a basement.

Diz X Films: a shadow is just a relative lack of light - one of the easiest ways to reduce the appearance of shadows is to fill them in, by reflecting or bouncing your key light back the other way. Softening or diffusing lights also leads to less obvious shadows, but this may be at the expense of the overall look you are trying to achieve.

However, what you probably want to achieve is not a lack of shadows, but natural-looking ones; a lack of shadows would lead to a bland, contrastless picture. It is the control of light and shadows that makes for an interesting image, so it may be more appropriate to figure out how the shadows should look for the mood you're trying to portray.
 
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Yes, softer lights will help.

If you don't have real diffusion, try baking paper (parchment paper) that's a good white and easily stands up to 500 degrees or more in your oven.

Also, try bouncing a worklight off of foam core. Point your light away from the action and stand with a card there to bounce it back.

If you have white walls or ceiling, try bouncing your brightest lights off of that so it creates a nice even fill.

All of this will still require good key and backlights.

Also, does it *have* to be in the corner? Bring your subject away from the wall and you'll see less shadow. You can also cheat him closer. Movies do this all the time, they'll move someone a few inches where it still looks like the same spot but is a way better shot. Cheat them toward and light the subject and background separately.
 
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Maybe I’m misunderstanding.

Are you getting the shadow of the actor on the wall behind him? If
that’s the case, move the light to the right or left until the
shadow falls out of camera range.

Maybe I’m missing the problem.
 
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here's to link to my website forums click here for the photos (take in mind i'm not a web designer lol), the pictures are there because i couldn't figure out how to post them here.

i've tried bouncing the light and it doesn't seem to help. i might be going with too low of watts, but i want soft lighting to add to the creepiness and surrealism
 
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How are you going have a creepy and surrealistic mood if there is an absolute lack of shadows. How can we even tell that the lighting is soft with an absolute lack of shadows.


I couldnt view the photos. It said i had to be log in to view them. So my original reply still stands. Lots of diffused lighting, fill in shadows with bounce, position actors depending on the look.

By the way, where are you position your reflectors and how close are they to the actual light source? Try moving them just outside the frame. And take a look at what size they are and how much light they are actually catching and reflecting back. Try silver for more bounce.
 
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he had the pixx in a password protected area.. BELOW are the pixx from his link.

I think it looks ok but really need MUCH more visual info, a wider shot w/ the talent in to tell wassup... HOWEVER it looks moody to me. I might suggest, play w/ the shadows they can help add to a surreal setting. But it looks good if you are going for 3 point lighting. You can see that the light is strongest coming from one direction. that is real life. If you can, add a light into the scene and show that the light is coming from the strongest lit direction, you are a master of light !

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AND

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AND

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AND...


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i guess i can play around with the shadows. i was hoping to get rid of them to disguise time (creepy and surreal), but I will probably just have to work with them. thanks indiebudget, i will try to get some better shots (by the way how did you pull them from my site for future reference).

Ernest Worthing: I was referring to the soft lights as in the hue, if I said "warm lighting" would that make more sense to you?
 
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Diz X .. you had the pics posted inside your site where you had to be a member and logged in to see them. I signed up, logged in and right clicked on the pixxx and hit copy image location, then pasted the location into the image field popup you get when you click on the image icon above the reply box.

Play w/ the lights. you have the bulk of the light coming from one direction. Mebbe increase the light from a certain direction and make it look as if the light source is coming from that direction. You have stated you want to conceal the time of day... what time or times are you looking to infer in this location ???
 
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Diz.. are you doing 3 point lighting?? The pixxx are a little dark.

Like Paul said, you need multiple light sources....a key light, a fill light, some back light and then if ya dare attack the shadows w/ additional lights, bounce etc..
 
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yes i am doing 3 point lighting. the pictures are mostly dark due to the low resolution i believe, they didn't appear that dark on the display.

also i am trying to achieve an absence of time. like in house of clocks when all of the clocks stop and there is a sense that time itself has stopped.

thanks for telling how to put the pics on here. after you said that i hit myself on the head, i was in a rush earlier.
 
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