Learning how to improve your video lighting on a small budget can be quite straight forward if you keep it simple. If you are looking for affordable lights to make YouTube videos or for any other video project then this is a great way to start.
In the following video, I demonstrate a cheap and easy trick/hack that costs around £10 showing the before and after results.
Getting your lighting right is a must if you want high-quality videos. Just using basic indoor lighting isn’t enough. That said, if that is all you have, hopefully, this video has explored how you can improve it and get better videos without having to buy extra lights which are at least five or ten times the cost.
By increasing the brightness of your video lights, you can reduce your ISO levels on your camera. This keeps the level of grain appearing in the image as low as possible.
In an ideal world we would film a lot lower than ISO 1000, however when starting out, especially with kit lenses, it is not always possible. I remember when I first started and I was occasionally going up to ISO-2000 – it didn’t look good.
Always grab as many lights that you have available to you when filming and experiment with them. Whether its workshop floodlights or bedside lamps. They can all create a different vibe.
Don’t forget, sometimes, it is cool to have that moody, slightly darker look or darker background than just a plain shot overfilled with light.
Video Lighting Budget
So as seen in the video, £10 can really make a difference to your lighting. However, if you can go just a dash higher, I would still suggest as soon as possible to try and buy an LED video light for the long term.
You can buy lights such as the Yongnuo YN300 (ad) or similar for as little as £50 when shopping online. If your video lighting budget can stretch that far, you will not regret it.
If you found this helpful
Would love to hear what budget options you have been using to get good lighting in your videos. Please share your setups in the comments for others to read and get ideas.
For other ideas on a budget check these accessories for £10 also.
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