Lighting a portrait or an interview: the secrets of light

Take the same person, the same camera, the same room. Change only the light: it goes from “ID photo at the police station” to “magazine portrait”. Light is the most underrated ingredient of a successful video or photo.

Here, without equations, are the secrets we use to light an interview or a portrait.

Hard light, soft light

It all starts with a question of size. The smaller a light source is relative to the subject, the harder it is: sharp shadows, strong contrast, every wrinkle underlined. The larger it is, the softer it is: gradual shadows, smoothed skin, a flattering mood.

Midday sun? Hard light. A cloudy sky? Soft light, because the whole sky becomes one immense source. For a corporate interview, we almost always look for softness.

The 3-point setup, the basis of everything

This is the great classic, taught in every school. Three sources, three roles:

Seen from above, it looks roughly like this:

• In the centre: the person being interviewed, facing the camera (or slightly three-quarters on).
• In front, on the left: the key light, in a large softbox.
• In front, on the right: the fill light, weaker, or simply a white reflector.
• Behind, raised, on the side opposite the key: the backlight, thin and discreet.
• In the background: one or two touches of ambient light on the set.

The ratio between the key and the fill creates the whole mood. Little difference: a bright, reassuring image, ideal for a testimonial. A big difference: a more contrasty, more dramatic image, perfect for a leader with an assertive tone.

The window, that free ally

A large window without direct sun is a magnificent natural softbox. Placing the person three-quarters on to it often gives a superb result.

Its flaws? It changes. A cloud passes, and the exposure shifts in the middle of a sentence. In the evening, the tint warms up. That is why, in video, we often supplement or replace it with lamps: artificial light doesn’t move during a two-hour interview.

Softboxes and Chimera

A bare lamp gives hard light. To soften it, you enclose it in a softbox: a fabric structure with a diffusing face that turns a small point of light into a large soft surface.

Chimera is one of the historic names in the field. The American brand, founded in 1980, says it was born from the idea of a photographer tired of carrying cardboard boxes: a foldable fabric softbox that attaches directly to the light. Its “lanterns”, round diffusers, give an enveloping light much appreciated for lighting a room or a group.

Astera tubes: atmosphere in colour

Once the face is lit, the set remains. That’s where Astera tubes come in: battery-powered standalone LED tubes, whose colour and intensity you adjust wirelessly from an app. You can slip one behind a shelf, place one on the floor against a wall, create a bluish rim or a warm touch.

The result: the background gains depth, the image has relief, and your office looks a little less like… an office.

What to avoid

• The ceiling light alone, which hollows out the eyes and accentuates dark circles.
• An uncontrolled mix of lights of different colours: bluish window on one side, orange bulb on the other.
• Fluorescent tubes that flicker on camera or give a greenish complexion.
• The reflection of the lamps in glasses: adjust the height and angle of the sources.

At that dog, we light every interview and every portrait like a little cinema scene, with softboxes, Chimeras, powerful lamps and Astera tubes for atmosphere. And so that the person being filmed is as comfortable as they are well lit, our 10 tips for a successful interview are a good complement.