Datasheet

c h a p t e r 1: UNDERSTANDING LIGHTING, COLOR, AND COMPOSITION ■

It’s easy to set up 1-point lighting in 3D. The most difﬁcult aspect of the scheme

is the creation of aesthetic patterns of light and dark. For example, in Figure 1.9 a

ﬁlm noir–style photo is re-created in Maya. A series of trial-and-error renders were

necessary to position a directional light in a satisfactory manner. The intensity of the

key should be high enough to illuminate the parts not in shadow but not so high as to

“blow out” or overexpose some areas.

a nn e qu i n m o d e L Cou rte s y o f Kris t e n sC a LL i on

Figure 1.9 (Left) Film noir photo. (Right) 1-point lighting re-creation in Maya. The scene is included

on the CD as

1_point.ma.

Using 2-Point Lighting

The 2-point lighting scheme matches many of the lighting scenarios we encounter in

our everyday lives. The scheme often involves a strong key and an extremely diffuse

ﬁll. The following are examples of 2-point lighting:

S• unlight streams through a window. The light bounce from the interior walls

serves as a fill.

O• ffice workers sit in a windowless room lit with overhead fluorescent lights.

The light bounce from the walls, desks, and floor serves as a fill.

A• couple walks down a sidewalk on a sunny day. The light bounces off the con-

crete, providing fill to the bottom of their hands, the underside of their chins,

and their eye sockets (see Figure 1.10).

You’ll often see 2-point lighting in painted portraits. For example, in Figure 1.11

a man is lit by a strong key light arriving from the left. A second light source delivers

ﬁll from the right; thus, no part of the person or his outﬁt is left unlit. This painting

was created by Frans Hals (1582–1666), a baroque painter whose loose, powerful

brushstrokes inspired the impressionism movement. This style of lighting is called

short lighting in studio photography; the side of the head facing away from the camera

receives the key. The opposite style of lighting is called broad lighting, in which the side

of the head facing the camera receives the key.

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