[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by ChalkLitIScream

This gave me a wealth of information about lighting, a big thanks to you guys!

Im not familiar with the purpose of diffusing lights. seems like a big deal. does even out the light source, so it isn't concentrated in one direction?

Hi CLIS

Yes - it diffuses (spreads) the light and softens it.

We refer to direct light (bare bulbs, sun etc) as hard light, and when you use a soft box it diffuses the light (as do clouds, or sheer curtains on windows etc.). Hard light can be aimed into a white reflector (like a sheet of poster board) to soften it as well, and then bounced onto the subject. We don't want to turn a spot light onto a person who is playing/singing. We want to spread the light out so it looks pleasant.

All my studio strobe soft boxes are double diffused, and lined with shiny/aluminum surfaces so they bounce the light around and softens/spreads it. Video lights tend to not be as bright as strobes, so they often only need a single layer of diffusion. My normal video setup has 3 LED light panels (all the same color temperature). One as a key light, one less powerful as a fill light (from the other side) and a back light to highlight the hair.

You can get by with only 2. If you mix your video lights with room lights, you may get wonky colors.