COP3 Lighting Techniques Research: Three Point

Context of Practice 3 Lighting Techniques: Three Point Lighting
The three point lighting technique is probably one of the most recognisable introductions to lighting that you will find. Its a very quick and easy way of lighting a scene just so you can see the object/subject as its not recommended for much more as it doesn't produce a natural realistic light source. Although it has been a very standard method for many visual media, it is still a great starting point for lighting up subjects as once this has been nailed, you can light anything.

‘If you are looking to light an environment or an object it is far better to study hat happens in nature and devise your own solution.’
Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

This technique uses three different lights, called the key light, fill light and back light. The key light is used first onto he subject and this is the main one and also the strongest as it will be facing the subject to illuminate the main area (or face if it is a person). Then the fill light comes in and this is the secondary light, placed on the opposite side of the key light to fill in the shadows that have been created with the first light. The fill light will be softer and not as bright as the first and this one will act more like a flood of light and be sometimes placed further away from the subject than the key light is. The last light to add in is the back light and this is placed behind the subject and lights the back of them, this creates highlights and provides definition around the outline of the subject and brings that pop to the subject, making it stand out from the background.

‘The kind of light that three-point lighting creates does not exist in nature and therefore it looks fake. The fact that it is taught in so many textbooks also lends it an air of cliché and it has therefore become tired and boring.’

Light for Visual Artists: Understanding & Using Light in Art & Design

This is a really good example of where to place the lights around the subject to be able to get the correct lighting and definition. 

This is a really nice example created in Blender which shows this bust being lit up using 3 point lighting, you can clearly see the key light as the main focus, which the fill light to soften the shadows before the back light really adds that definition around the top of the head and separates it from the background.