What is Three-Point Lighting?

The Definition: Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media such as theatre, video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery.

The goal of three point lighting is to create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject in a two-dimensional image. While you can create dimension a number of different ways, there’s no doubt that using light and shadow is a powerful way to accomplish this, and three point lighting is the lighting technique most commonly used.
Three Point Lighting Technique is a standard method used in visual media such as video, film, still photography and computer-generated imagery. It is a simple but versatile system which forms the basis of most lighting.
The technique uses three lights called the
key light, fill light and back light. Naturally you will need three lights to utilise the technique fully, but the principles are still important even if you only use one or two lights. As a rule:

• If you only have one light, it becomes the key.
• If you have 2 lights, one is the key and the other is either the fill or the backlight.
• With basic 3-point lighting the heights should be enough to allow the lights to be angled between 30 and 45 degrees down.

Key Light

This is the main light. It's usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

Fill Light

This is the secondary light and it's placed on the opposite side of the key light. It's used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key.

Back Light

The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject's outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.