Saturday, 15 August 2026

The New School Year Is Coming: Is There Really a Magic Button for Learning?

Why panic is not a revision strategy — and how students can discover better ways to learn, remember and prepare for exams

September has a very different feeling from the beginning of the summer holidays.

A new school year begins. New exercise books appear. Timetables change. Students move into Year 11, Year 12 or Year 13, and suddenly examinations that once seemed comfortably distant begin to feel rather more real.

For students starting an examination year, the change can be particularly noticeable.

GCSEs are coming.

A Levels are coming.

Mocks may only be a few months away.

Teachers begin talking about revision. Parents start asking whether enough work is being done. Students look at increasingly large folders of notes and textbooks and sometimes come to an alarming conclusion:

"I've got to remember all of this."

And that is often where the panic starts.

Students begin looking for the educational equivalent of a magic button — something they can press that will suddenly allow them to understand everything, remember everything and walk confidently into the examination room.

Unfortunately, there isn't one.

But there are much better ways of learning than simply reading a textbook from beginning to end and hoping that somehow everything stays in your head.

And one of the most important things I try to help students discover is that learning is itself a skill that can be learned.

"What Do You Need to Know?"

I sometimes begin working with a student by putting a textbook in front of them and asking a deceptively simple question:

"What do you need to know?"

The answer is often immediate:

"Everything in the book."

It is an understandable answer.

A large GCSE or A Level textbook may contain hundreds of pages. To a student looking ahead towards an examination, those pages can begin to look like hundreds of things that somehow have to be memorised.

But that is not really how examination preparation works.

The textbook is a teaching resource.

The specification tells us what knowledge and skills the examination requires.

Past papers show us something else again: how that knowledge is likely to be tested.

That distinction is enormously important.

A student does not simply need to "know a textbook".

They need to be able to:

understand the important concepts;
recall the necessary facts;
apply knowledge to unfamiliar situations;
perform calculations accurately;
interpret graphs, tables and diagrams;
explain ideas using appropriate terminology;
connect different parts of the course;
recognise what an examination question is actually asking;
and communicate an answer clearly enough to earn the available marks.

That is a much more manageable problem.

The First Mistake: Trying to Learn Everything at Once

Imagine looking at an entire A Level Biology textbook and thinking:

"I need to remember all of this by June."

That thought alone can be enough to make revision feel impossible.

Instead, break the task down.

A large subject becomes topics.

Topics become subtopics.

Subtopics become individual ideas.

For example, instead of thinking:

"I need to revise mechanics."

we might divide it into:

displacement, velocity and acceleration;
interpreting motion graphs;
SUVAT equations;
forces;
Newton's laws;
resolving forces;
moments;
projectiles;
momentum.

Suddenly we no longer have one enormous task called Mechanics.

We have a series of relatively small problems that can be tackled one at a time.

The same principle works across almost every subject.

The mountain has not disappeared.

But we have built a path up it.

There Is No Single Best Way to Learn Everything

Students sometimes tell me:

"I'm a visual learner."

Or:

"I only learn by listening."

Or perhaps:

"I can't learn from reading."

I am cautious about putting students into fixed categories like this.

People certainly have preferences, strengths and weaknesses, but the most effective way of learning often depends upon what is being learned.

Learning a mathematical technique is different from learning biological terminology.

Learning a chemical mechanism is different from learning a Sociology essay structure.

Learning a practical skill is different again.

So rather than asking:

"What type of learner am I?"

I prefer the question:

"What method will help me learn this particular thing?"

That change of question can be remarkably powerful.

Method 1: Retrieval Practice — Try to Remember Before Looking

One of the simplest changes a student can make is to stop spending all their revision time putting information into their head and spend more time trying to get information back out again.

Reading feels productive.

Highlighting feels productive.

Copying notes feels productive.

But there is a huge difference between recognising information on a page and being able to reproduce it without help.

Try this.

Read a short section.

Close the book.

Then write down everything you can remember.

Only afterwards reopen the book and compare your answer.

The gaps become immediately obvious.

This can be uncomfortable because it exposes what you do not know.

But that is precisely why it is useful.

Method 2: The Blank-Page Test

This is one of my favourite simple revision techniques.

Take a blank sheet of paper and write a topic in the centre.

For example:

Photosynthesis

Then, without using notes, write everything you know.

You might include:

the word equation;
the balanced chemical equation;
chloroplasts;
chlorophyll;
limiting factors;
light intensity;
carbon dioxide concentration;
temperature;
uses of glucose.

Now compare the page with your notes or specification.

Use another colour to add everything that was missing.

That second colour is incredibly valuable.

It shows where revision needs to be concentrated.

Doing the same exercise a week later can also show whether those gaps have disappeared.

Method 3: Flashcards — But Use Them Properly

Flashcards can be extremely useful.

Unfortunately, students sometimes spend far more time making beautiful flashcards than actually learning from them.

A useful flashcard asks a question.

For example:

Front: What is the function of the mitochondrion?

Back: Site of aerobic respiration and ATP production.

Then test yourself.

Do not look at the answer and think:

"Yes, I knew that."

Say the answer before turning the card over.

Separate the cards into perhaps three piles:

Know well

Almost know

Don't know

Spend most of your time on the last two piles.

Revision time should not be distributed equally between things you know and things you do not.

Method 4: Explain It to Someone Else

There is a wonderful difference between thinking that you understand something and trying to explain it.

Try teaching the idea to:

a parent;
a friend;
a sibling;
your tutor;
or even an imaginary class.

If you cannot explain a concept simply, there is often a gap somewhere in your understanding.

Suppose a Physics student says:

"I understand electromagnetic induction."

I might respond:

"Good. Explain to me why moving a magnet through a coil produces a potential difference."

That requires much more than recognising the words in a textbook.

The student has to organise the idea logically.

And that process often reveals exactly where the confusion lies.

Method 5: Use Diagrams When the Idea Is Spatial

Some things genuinely are easier to understand visually.

Trying to learn the structure of the heart purely through paragraphs of text would be unnecessarily difficult.

Draw it.

Label it.

Trace the route of the blood.

Then try drawing it again without looking.

The same applies to:

electric circuits;
ray diagrams;
organic reaction pathways;
biological cycles;
geological processes;
computer networks;
force diagrams.

However, looking at a diagram is not the same as knowing it.

Eventually, the original diagram has to disappear.

The student must reproduce or interpret it independently.

Method 6: Do the Practical Work

This is particularly important in science.

Reading about an experiment and actually carrying it out are very different experiences.

Consider Hooke's Law.

A student can read:

Force = spring constant x extension

or:

F = kx

But placing masses onto a spring, measuring the extension, plotting the graph and seeing the relationship develop gives the equation meaning.

Similarly, titration becomes easier to understand after actually manipulating the burette.

Microscopy makes more sense after focusing a real microscope.

Acceleration becomes less abstract when motion sensors produce a velocity-time graph in front of you.

This is one of the reasons I value practical science so highly in tuition.

The experiment gives the theory something tangible to attach itself to.

Method 7: Questions, Questions and More Questions

Eventually, students have to move beyond learning content and start using it.

This is where examination questions become essential.

But I would not normally recommend simply giving a struggling student a complete examination paper and saying:

"Have a go."

That can be demoralising.

Instead, questions can be graduated.

Start with straightforward knowledge.

Then apply it.

Then introduce unfamiliar situations.

Then tackle examination-style questions.

Finally, attempt complete papers under timed conditions.

For example, in Mathematics a student might move through:

Solve a straightforward equation.
Solve one involving fractions.
Solve one requiring rearrangement first.
Solve one embedded in a word problem.
Identify the method without being told which technique is needed.
Answer a mixed examination question under time pressure.

That progression develops something extremely important:

independence.

Method 8: Space the Learning Out

Cramming is attractive because it creates the feeling of rapid progress.

A student might spend five hours revising Biology on Sunday.

By Sunday evening, everything feels familiar.

By the following Friday, much of it may have vanished.

Instead of studying a topic once for a very long time, return to it repeatedly.

For example:

Day 1: Learn the topic.

Day 3: Test yourself.

Day 7: Test yourself again.

Day 14: Complete examination questions.

Several weeks later: Revisit it briefly.

Every successful retrieval strengthens access to that information.

This is why revision needs to begin long before the final few weeks before the examination.

Method 9: Mix Topics Together

Once students gain confidence, revision should become less predictable.

If every question in front of you is about differentiation, you already know which mathematical technique is required.

Real examinations are not always that helpful.

The student must first recognise the problem.

So eventually:

algebra should be mixed with calculus;
forces should be mixed with motion;
genetics should appear alongside ecology;
organic chemistry should mix with analytical chemistry.

The question changes from:

"Can I perform this method?"

to:

"Can I recognise when I need this method?"

That is a much higher level of examination skill.

Why Students Sometimes Think They Have Revised When They Haven't

There is another problem I encounter regularly.

A student reads a page several times.

Eventually everything on the page looks familiar.

That familiarity creates confidence.

Then I close the book and ask:

"Tell me what you have just learned."

Silence.

Recognition is not the same as recall.

That is why effective revision should frequently involve something that feels slightly difficult.

You should be:

answering;
calculating;
recalling;
drawing;
explaining;
comparing;
predicting;
correcting.

Revision should be active.

Finding the Method That Works for You

Different students often benefit from different combinations of techniques.

One student may find that turning a topic into a diagram makes an enormous difference.

Another may learn best by answering hundreds of questions.

Another may need to talk through a difficult concept.

Another may understand something immediately after seeing it demonstrated practically.

Another may know the subject perfectly well but lose marks because examination answers are poorly structured.

This is why I resist the idea that there is one universal revision programme.

Instead, we can experiment.

Try a method.

Test whether it worked.

If you cannot remember the material a week later, change the method.

Learning can almost become a scientific investigation:

Method -> Test -> Result -> Adjust

Where a Private Tutor Can Make a Difference

Teachers in schools perform an enormously demanding job.

But there is an unavoidable problem.

A teacher may be working with 25 or 30 students simultaneously.

Those students may have very different strengths, weaknesses, confidence levels and misconceptions.

The teacher cannot stop a lesson every few minutes and redesign it around one individual pupil.

Private tuition can work differently.

With one student sitting in front of me, I can ask a question and immediately see the response.

If the student hesitates, we can investigate why.

If the problem goes back several years, we can go back several years.

If the student already understands something, we do not need to spend another hour on it.

If one explanation does not work, I can try another.

That individual feedback is one of the great strengths of one-to-one tuition.

Sometimes the Real Problem Isn't the Current Topic

A student may say:

"I can't do A Level mechanics."

But after a few questions, the real problem may turn out to be rearranging equations.

Or trigonometry.

Or resolving vectors.

Likewise, a Chemistry student struggling with calculations may actually have a weakness in ratios or significant figures.

A Biology student struggling with extended responses may understand the science but need help constructing logical written explanations.

A tutor can often identify these hidden obstacles because there is time to follow the difficulty backwards.

Instead of repeatedly treating the symptom, we can find the cause.

Tuition Should Not Create Dependence

There is an important qualification.

Good tuition should not mean that the tutor sits beside the student forever saying:

"Now do this. Now do that."

The objective should be the opposite.

Over time, the student should require less help.

At first I may demonstrate how to solve a problem.

Then we solve one together.

Then the student solves one while I prompt occasionally.

Eventually I sit quietly.

Finally the student can solve the problem without me being there at all.

That final stage is the objective.

Because I cannot sit beside the student in the examination hall.

Learning How to Deal With Getting Things Wrong

There is another skill students need to develop during the examination year:

being comfortable with mistakes.

An incorrect answer during revision is not a disaster.

It is useful information.

It tells us:

Here is something we can fix before the examination.

I would much rather discover in September that a student does not understand simultaneous equations than discover it in May.

Every mistake found early is an opportunity.

Students who become frightened of getting things wrong sometimes avoid difficult questions.

But the difficult questions are often the ones from which the most learning occurs.

Keep an Error Log

One remarkably effective strategy is to keep a record of recurring mistakes.

After completing questions, note things such as:

Forgot units.

Misread the command word.

Did not show working.

Used the wrong equation.

Rounded too early.

Forgot +C when integrating.

Knew the Biology but did not use the correct terminology.

After a few weeks, patterns often appear.

Perhaps the biggest improvement is not learning another chapter.

Perhaps it is stopping the same five mistakes being repeated.

Revision Is Not Just About Knowledge

As examinations approach, preparation should gradually include several different skills.

You need:

Knowledge

Can I remember the material?

Understanding

Do I know why it works?

Application

Can I use it in a new situation?

Examination technique

Do I understand what the question requires?

Timing

Can I complete enough questions in the available time?

Accuracy

Can I avoid preventable mistakes?

Confidence

Can I keep thinking when I encounter something unfamiliar?

A strong examination student develops all of these.

Start Earlier — But Don't Panic

The beginning of the school year is therefore a very good time to start thinking about examinations.

Not because students should spend every evening between September and June revising.

They shouldn't.

But because there is now time to make small improvements gradually.

An hour spent fixing a fundamental weakness in September could save many hours of frustration later.

Creating good revision habits now reduces the need for desperate revision later.

Ten or twenty minutes of effective retrieval spread across weeks can be far more valuable than repeatedly promising:

"I'll revise everything during Easter."

There Is No Magic Button — But There Is a Process

Students occasionally hope that private tuition will somehow provide the magic shortcut.

It cannot.

A tutor cannot learn the material for the student.

A tutor cannot transfer knowledge directly from one brain into another.

But a good tutor can do something much more useful.

We can help the student discover:

what they actually need to know;
what they already know;
where the gaps are;
why those gaps exist;
which learning methods are producing results;
how to practise effectively;
how to recognise examination questions;
how to improve weak answers;
and how to become increasingly independent.

That changes the challenge from:

"How am I ever going to learn this enormous textbook?"

to:

"What is the next thing I need to improve?"

And that is a much better question.

The Most Important Lesson of the New School Year

As another school year begins, GCSE and A Level examinations inevitably move a little closer.

For some students, that produces motivation.

For others, it produces anxiety.

The answer is not to search for increasingly elaborate shortcuts.

It is to develop a system.

Learn something.

Close the book.

Retrieve it.

Explain it.

Use it.

Get something wrong.

Find out why.

Try again.

Return to it later.

Then gradually make the questions harder.

There may be no magic button that suddenly makes everything stay in your memory.

But there is something better.

There is a collection of learning techniques that, used consistently, can make subjects that once seemed impossible become manageable.

And perhaps one of the most valuable things a private tutor can teach is not merely Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Mathematics.

It is helping a student discover how they themselves can become a better learner.

Friday, 14 August 2026

Why Iron Is Magnetic but Iron Sulfide Usually Is Not

A simple experiment with a deeper explanation

Mixing iron filings with sulfur creates a striking contrast:

Iron filings are attracted to a magnet.
After heating, the materials react to form iron sulfide.
The resulting compound is not noticeably attracted to an ordinary magnet.

The key idea is that chemical bonding changes the way iron's electrons are arranged and interact. Magnetism is not determined simply by whether a material contains iron. It depends on the electronic structure of the entire substance.

1. What happens before heating?

Iron filings contain metallic iron, written as Fe.

In solid iron, the atoms are arranged in a metallic lattice. The outer electrons are not attached to one individual atom. Instead, they occupy energy bands that extend throughout the metal.

Iron atoms have partially filled 3d electron states. Some of these electrons remain unpaired. Unpaired electrons behave like tiny magnetic moments.

In ordinary iron, neighboring atomic moments interact so that large groups of atoms align in the same direction. These regions are called magnetic domains.

When a magnet is brought near the iron:

Domains pointing in many directions become rearranged.
More domains align with the external magnetic field.
The iron filings are strongly attracted to the magnet.

This type of magnetism is called ferromagnetism.

occurs when neighboring magnetic moments tend to align parallel to one another over large regions of a material.

2. What changes during the reaction?

When iron is heated with sulfur, a chemical reaction occurs:

Fe + S -> FeS

The iron atoms and sulfur atoms do not merely form a physical mixture. They become chemically bonded in a new substance, iron sulfide.

This distinction is important:

A mixture contains separate iron and sulfur particles.
A compound contains atoms joined in a new electronic arrangement.

The iron atoms in FeS no longer behave like metallic iron atoms. Their electrons are redistributed between iron and sulfur, and the iron atoms are placed in a different crystal structure.

The result is a new material with different:

Electron arrangement
Bonding
Crystal structure
Magnetic interactions
Electrical properties
Physical appearance

The original properties of the elements are not simply retained.

3. How do the bonds affect the electrons?

Sulfur is more electronegative than iron, meaning sulfur attracts bonding electrons more strongly.

The bonding in iron sulfide is not perfectly ionic or perfectly covalent. It has a combination of ionic and covalent character. A simplified description is:

Fe gives some electron density to S:

Fe -> Fe with increased positive character

S gains electron density:

S -> S with increased negative character

A more realistic picture is that electrons are redistributed into iron-sulfur bonds and into the crystal's allowed energy states.

This changes the iron 3d electrons in several ways:

Their energy levels shift.
Their spatial arrangement changes.
Their overlap with neighboring atoms changes.
Their magnetic moments may become arranged antiparallel rather than parallel.
The strong domain behavior found in metallic iron is lost.

The decisive factor is not simply that iron has become "charged." The crucial factor is how the crystal structure changes the interaction between neighboring magnetic moments.

4. Why FeS is not strongly attracted to a magnet

Iron sulfide is not usually ferromagnetic in the same way as metallic iron.

In many iron sulfide structures, neighboring iron magnetic moments interact through the sulfur atoms. This indirect interaction can favor antiferromagnetism, in which adjacent moments point in opposite directions.

A simplified arrangement looks like this:

Moment A: ->
Moment B: <-
Moment C: ->
Moment D: <-

The opposing moments largely cancel:

(+ magnetic moment) + (- magnetic moment) -> approximately zero overall moment

Therefore, the solid does not produce the strong net magnetism associated with iron metal.

describes a state in which neighboring magnetic moments align in opposite directions, causing substantial cancellation of the overall magnetic moment.

This explains why a piece of iron sulfide may contain iron atoms with magnetic moments but still fail to show strong attraction to an ordinary magnet.

5. The role of exchange interactions

The alignment of magnetic moments is controlled by quantum-mechanical interactions called exchange interactions.

These interactions arise from two principles:

Electrons are indistinguishable quantum particles.
The Pauli exclusion principle restricts how electrons can occupy the same states.

Depending on the atoms, distances, orbitals, and bonding pathways, exchange interactions can favor either:

Parallel alignment, producing ferromagnetism
Antiparallel alignment, producing antiferromagnetism
Weak or disordered alignment, producing paramagnetism

In metallic iron, the electronic structure favors strong parallel alignment over large regions.

In iron sulfide, iron-sulfur bonding changes the orbital overlap and the pathways through which neighboring iron atoms interact. The preferred arrangement can therefore become antiparallel.

A useful simplified comparison is:

Iron metal:

Fe - Fe - Fe - Fe
-> -> -> ->

Iron sulfide:

Fe - S - Fe - S
-> <- -> <-

The sulfur atoms alter the interaction between neighboring iron atoms. They act as part of the magnetic exchange pathway rather than being passive spacers.

6. Why the compound does not simply behave like "iron plus sulfur"

A common misconception is:

If iron is magnetic, any substance containing iron should also be magnetic.

That is not correct.

The properties of a compound are not an average of the properties of its elements. For example:

Sodium is a reactive metal, and chlorine is a poisonous gas.
Sodium chloride is a stable crystalline solid used as table salt.
Hydrogen and oxygen are gases.
Water is a liquid with entirely different properties.

Likewise:

Iron is a strongly ferromagnetic metal.
Sulfur is nonmagnetic in the everyday sense.
Iron sulfide is a new solid with a new electronic and magnetic structure.

The chemical identity of the material has changed.

7. Is iron sulfide completely nonmagnetic?

Strictly speaking, "not magnetic" usually means "not strongly attracted to a normal magnet."

Iron sulfide may still have magnetic behavior that is too weak or too subtle to observe with a simple classroom magnet. Depending on its exact composition, crystal structure, temperature, and preparation conditions, iron sulfide can exhibit:

Antiferromagnetism
Paramagnetism
Weak magnetic responses
Different magnetic transitions

Iron sulfides are not all identical. Possible products can include compounds with different iron-to-sulfur ratios and different structures.

For example, iron sulfide may form as FeS under suitable conditions, but other iron-sulfur compounds can also exist. The reaction conditions, sulfur supply, temperature, heating time, and cooling process can influence the final product.

Therefore, the most accurate statement is:

The iron sulfide product is not strongly ferromagnetic like metallic iron because its bonding and crystal structure alter the electron arrangement and often cause magnetic moments to cancel.

8. Why a magnet cannot easily separate the product

Before heating, a magnet can attract iron filings from a mixture of iron and sulfur.

After heating, the iron has reacted chemically with sulfur. The iron atoms are no longer present as separate metallic iron particles. They are incorporated into iron sulfide.

The magnet is therefore no longer pulling on metallic iron domains. Instead, it is interacting with a compound whose magnetic moments are largely cancelled or weakly ordered.

This is a practical demonstration of the difference between:

A physical change, in which substances retain their chemical identities
A chemical change, in which new substances form

Magnetic separation works before the reaction because iron metal is still present. It generally does not work effectively afterward because the iron has become part of a different compound.

9. A practical demonstration

Materials

Iron filings
Sulfur powder
Heat-resistant test tube or crucible
Heat source
Magnet enclosed in a plastic bag
Safety goggles
Heat-resistant gloves
Fume extraction or a well-ventilated laboratory

Procedure

Test the iron filings with the covered magnet.
Observe the strong attraction.
Mix a small amount of iron filings with sulfur.
Test the mixture with the magnet before heating.
Heat the mixture until it reacts.
Allow the product to cool completely.
Test the cooled product with the magnet.

Expected observations

Before heating:

The mixture is attracted to the magnet because it contains metallic iron.

After heating:

A new dark solid forms.
The material is not strongly attracted to the magnet.
The original iron filings are no longer present as separate metallic iron.

Safety note

This reaction should be performed only under appropriate laboratory supervision. Heating sulfur can produce irritating sulfur-containing fumes, and hot materials can cause severe burns. The product should not be handled or tested until it has cooled completely.

10. A concise electron-level summary

The difference can be summarized as follows.

Metallic iron

Iron atoms are arranged in a metallic lattice.
Partially filled 3d states provide unpaired electrons.
Exchange interactions favor parallel alignment.
Magnetic domains form.
The material is strongly ferromagnetic.

Iron sulfide

Iron atoms are chemically bonded to sulfur.
Electron density is redistributed.
The iron 3d energy levels and orbital overlap change.
Exchange interactions may favor antiparallel alignment.
Magnetic moments can cancel.
The compound is not strongly ferromagnetic.

The most important principle is:

Magnetism depends on electron arrangement and interactions, not merely on the presence of a particular element.

Personal reflection

What makes this experiment especially valuable is that it turns an abstract idea about electrons into a visible result.

At the beginning, a magnet can pick up the iron filings. After the reaction, it cannot produce the same effect. The iron has not disappeared, but its identity within the material has changed.

This is a powerful reminder that chemical reactions reorganize matter at the atomic level. A compound is not simply a loose combination of the properties of its elements. New bonds create new structures, and new structures create new properties.

In this case, the bonds involving sulfur change the way iron's electrons interact. That change is enough to transform a strongly magnetic metal into a compound with little observable attraction to an ordinary magnet.

Thursday, 13 August 2026

Photography and Filmmaking: Why Lighting Matters More Than the Camera

It is very easy to become obsessed with cameras.

Which camera has the largest sensor? Which lens is sharpest? Should I be recording in 4K, 6K or 8K? How many stops of dynamic range does the latest model offer? Do I need another lens?

All of these things have their place, but after many years of taking photographs and making videos, I increasingly come back to a much simpler conclusion:

A good camera cannot rescue bad lighting nearly as effectively as good lighting can improve an ordinary camera.

Get the lighting right and a surprising number of other things begin to fall into place. Faces look better. Colours become richer. Autofocus tends to work more reliably. Noise becomes less noticeable. Backgrounds gain depth. Products acquire shape and texture. Even relatively inexpensive cameras and phones can produce remarkably professional-looking results.

Lighting is therefore not merely something added after choosing the camera.

Lighting is part of the picture itself.

In this article, I want to explore some of the basic lighting principles and practical setups that work particularly well for photography, video production and filmmaking.

Start by Looking at the Light, Not the Camera

One of the most useful habits a photographer or filmmaker can develop is to walk into a room and look at the light before taking the camera out.

Ask:

Where is the light coming from?
Is it hard or soft?
What colour is it?
How bright is the subject compared with the background?
Are there unwanted shadows?
Is the subject separating clearly from the background?
Could I improve the scene simply by moving the subject?

Sometimes moving somebody by a metre can make more difference than changing a £1,000 lens.

That is the fascinating thing about lighting. Much of the improvement costs nothing at all.

The Four Things I Usually Look at First

Before discussing individual lighting arrangements, it helps to think about four basic properties.

1. Quantity of Light

The obvious question is simply:

Is there enough light?

Modern cameras can operate in remarkably poor conditions, but just because the camera can produce an image does not mean it will produce the best image.

If there is too little light, the camera may need:

a wider aperture;
a slower shutter speed;
a higher ISO;
or electronic amplification.

Higher ISO can mean additional noise and loss of detail.

Adding more light frequently gives the camera a much easier job.

2. Quality of Light

Light can be hard or soft.

A small light source produces relatively hard shadows.

A large light source produces softer shadows.

This is why a bare LED lamp can produce quite an unflattering face while the same lamp shining through a large softbox can look excellent.

Interestingly, the Sun is physically enormous, but because it is so far away it behaves like a relatively small light source in the sky.

That is why direct sunlight can produce very strong shadows.

An overcast sky effectively becomes one enormous diffuser, producing much softer illumination.

For portraits and interviews, soft light is often extremely useful.

3. Direction of the Light

Direction changes how we perceive shape.

Light coming directly from the camera tends to flatten the subject.

Light arriving from one side creates shadows that reveal form and texture.

Backlighting can separate a person from the background.

Lighting from underneath can make somebody look distinctly sinister—which is one reason it has been used so effectively in films.

Simply changing the direction of a lamp can completely change the emotional character of a scene.

4. Colour of the Light

Not all white light is actually the same colour.

A traditional tungsten lamp appears warmer than daylight. Daylight itself changes throughout the day.

Lighting equipment is commonly described using colour temperature.

Typical values are approximately:

Candlelight: around 1,800 K
Traditional tungsten lighting: around 3,200 K
Daylight: around 5,500-6,500 K

Many modern LED lights can be adjusted across a range of colour temperatures.

The important thing is consistency.

If one side of someone's face is illuminated by daylight through a window while the other is illuminated by a warm household lamp, the camera can struggle to make both look natural.

Sometimes mixed lighting is deliberate.

Frequently it is simply distracting.

Setup One: The Simplest Light of All — A Window

Before buying studio lights, try using a window.

A large window can make an excellent soft light source.

Place a person near the window, but rather than having them stare directly towards it, turn them slightly so that the light comes from approximately 30 to 45 degrees to one side.

Immediately you begin to see modelling across the face.

One side is brighter.

The other has a gentle shadow.

The face suddenly looks three-dimensional.

Move the person closer to the window and the light becomes stronger.

Move them further away and it becomes weaker.

Add a white board, sheet of foamboard or reflector on the opposite side and some of the window light can be bounced back into the shadows.

You have just created a surprisingly sophisticated portrait lighting arrangement without switching on a single studio lamp.

Setup Two: One Light Can Be Enough

If I could encourage somebody beginning video production to learn one lighting arrangement, it would be the single large soft light.

Place a softbox roughly:

45 degrees to one side of the camera;
slightly above eye level;
angled down towards the subject.

Do not automatically place it directly in front of them.

The slight side angle produces natural shadows and gives the face shape.

The result can be extremely effective for:

YouTube videos;
online teaching;
interviews;
presentations;
corporate video;
portraits.

And there is an important practical lesson here.

Move the light before buying another light.

People often try to solve lighting problems by adding equipment when changing the position of one lamp would work better.

Setup Three: The Classic Three-Point Lighting System

One of the best-known arrangements in filmmaking and video production is three-point lighting.

It consists of:

the key light;
the fill light;
the back light or hair light.

It remains useful because it demonstrates three separate jobs that lights can perform.

The Key Light

The key light is the principal source.

It normally provides most of the illumination on the subject.

A typical starting position is about 45 degrees to the side and slightly above the subject.

However, this is a starting point rather than a rule.

Move it around.

Watch what happens to the shadows.

The Fill Light

The key produces shadows.

Sometimes we want those shadows, but sometimes they are too strong.

The fill light is positioned on the opposite side and is normally less powerful.

Its job is not necessarily to remove the shadows completely.

It simply controls how dark they become.

This is an important distinction.

Completely eliminating every shadow can leave a face looking flat.

A little shadow usually creates shape.

The Back Light

The third light is positioned behind the subject and directed towards them.

It might illuminate:

the hair;
shoulders;
edge of the body.

This produces a subtle rim of light.

Its purpose is separation.

Without it, somebody wearing dark clothes against a dark background can almost merge into the background.

Switch on the back light and suddenly the outline becomes clear.

It is a small change that can make footage look considerably more polished.

You Don't Necessarily Need a Fill Light

There is another useful lesson here.

A lighting setup may be described as three-point lighting, but that does not necessarily mean you need three lamps.

The fill can simply be a reflector.

A piece of white foamboard can bounce some of the key light back towards the subject.

You can also use:

a photographic reflector;
a white wall;
white card;
a sheet;
even a large piece of paper for small objects.

Learning to control existing light is every bit as important as learning to add more lights.

Negative Fill: Sometimes We Want More Shadow

Here is an interesting technique that is often overlooked.

Suppose you are photographing someone in a bright white room.

Light is bouncing from every wall and filling all the shadows.

The resulting image may look rather flat.

Instead of adding light, place something black beside the subject.

A black curtain, photographic flag or sheet of black foamboard absorbs some of the reflected light.

The shadow side of the face becomes darker.

This is called negative fill.

It demonstrates an important principle:

Lighting is as much about removing light as adding it.

Setup Four: A Simple Interview

Imagine recording an interview.

Instead of placing your subject against the wall, move them several feet forward.

Already the picture improves because the background can fall slightly out of focus.

Now position:

Key light:
Large softbox approximately 45 degrees from the face.

Fill:
White reflector on the opposite side.

Back light:
Small LED above and behind the subject.

Background light:
If available, place a small additional lamp behind the subject aimed at something interesting in the room.

Perhaps illuminate:

a bookshelf;
scientific equipment;
a musical instrument;
a plant;
a piece of machinery.

The background now has several layers.

Suddenly the shot has depth.

That is often one of the differences between footage that looks like "someone sitting in a room" and footage that begins to look deliberately produced.

Lighting a Background Is Often Forgotten

People understandably concentrate on lighting the person.

But filmmaking is about the entire frame.

Consider the background separately.

Is there a dark corner?

Could you illuminate an object?

Could a practical lamp appear naturally in the shot?

Could coloured lighting subtly distinguish the background from the subject?

Even something as simple as putting a table lamp in the background can create a useful pool of warm light.

You are effectively creating layers:

Foreground — subject — background.

That creates visual depth.

Setup Five: Product Photography

Lighting becomes particularly interesting when photographing objects.

Consider something simple such as a camera, piece of scientific apparatus, watch or electronic device.

Put a light directly above the camera and the object may look surprisingly flat.

Move a large softbox to the side and suddenly:

edges become visible;
textures appear;
curves become clearer;
lettering gains definition;
the object appears more three-dimensional.

You can then introduce white cards to reflect light onto particular areas.

This is almost like painting with light.

Move a small reflector and watch a highlight move across the product.

It is remarkably instructive.

Shiny Objects Need Special Treatment

Highly reflective objects introduce another problem.

You are not really photographing just the object.

You are also photographing everything reflected in it.

Try photographing:

polished metal;
glass;
glossy plastic;
chrome;
jewellery.

A tiny lamp may create an ugly bright spot.

A large diffused panel, however, produces a broad attractive reflection.

This is why professional product photography can involve enormous diffusers surrounding surprisingly small objects.

The object is effectively reflecting the shape of the light source.

Setup Six: Macro Photography

Macro photography creates its own lighting problems.

Move extremely close to an insect, electronic component or small experiment and the camera itself can block the available light.

Depth of field also becomes extremely small.

You may therefore want to use a smaller aperture, which in turn requires more light.

Possible solutions include:

LED panels;
diffused flash;
ring lights;
small reflectors;
flexible LED lights;
translucent diffusers.

But again, diffusion matters.

A powerful flash very close to an insect can produce harsh reflections.

A diffuser spreads the apparent source and creates much gentler illumination.

For photographing insects, flowers and small scientific specimens, this can make an enormous difference.

Setup Seven: Dramatic Lighting

Not every scene should be evenly illuminated.

Sometimes shadow is part of the story.

Move a key light strongly to one side and leave the other side relatively dark.

Immediately the scene becomes more dramatic.

This can work for:

documentary sequences;
film scenes;
promotional photography;
musicians;
workshop footage;
engineering projects.

Place the light almost directly to the side and you create a striking split across the face.

Move it slightly further around and the result becomes even darker.

Lighting therefore becomes storytelling.

Lighting Can Change the Meaning of a Scene

Imagine photographing exactly the same person in exactly the same room.

Version A uses:

bright soft frontal lighting;
bright background;
very little shadow.

The result may look friendly, open and instructional.

Version B uses:

a strong side light;
dark background;
little fill;
perhaps a rim light.

The same person may now appear mysterious or dramatic.

Nothing about the camera has changed.

Nothing about the subject has changed.

Only the lighting has changed.

Yet the emotional message is different.

That is why cinematographers devote so much attention to light.

Outdoor Photography: You Still Control the Light

Outdoors, we cannot move the Sun.

But we can move ourselves.

One of the worst times for portraits can be around midday on a bright sunny day.

The Sun is high and creates deep shadows beneath:

eyes;
noses;
chins.

Move the subject into open shade and the result may immediately improve.

Alternatively, use a reflector to bounce sunlight back onto the face.

Or use flash to provide a little fill.

Photographers sometimes describe this as "fighting the Sun", but frequently the easier approach is to work with it.

Golden Hour

The period shortly after sunrise and shortly before sunset is popular with photographers for good reason.

The Sun is low.

Light travels through more atmosphere.

Shadows become longer.

The direction of the light becomes more obvious.

The landscape gains shape and texture.

Photograph exactly the same scene at midday and again near sunset and it can look like two completely different places.

Again, the camera did not change.

The light did.

Backlighting Outdoors

One of my favourite techniques is to place the Sun behind the subject.

At first that sounds wrong.

Surely the light should be shining onto them?

Not necessarily.

Backlighting can produce a beautiful rim around:

hair;
leaves;
insects;
flowers;
sails;
translucent materials.

The front of the subject may then need a reflector or some fill flash.

For plants and nature photography, backlighting can be particularly effective because light passes through leaves and petals.

Filming Science Experiments

Lighting science experiments presents some interesting challenges.

The lighting should not merely make the apparatus look attractive.

It must make the result visible.

For example, when filming:

A chemical reaction

We may need strong side lighting so that colour changes are obvious.

Smoke or vapour

A dark background with strong backlighting can make tiny particles dramatically more visible.

Water

Reflections can obscure what is happening, so changing the light angle may be essential.

Microscopy or small equipment

Close-up lighting needs to reveal details without producing overwhelming reflections.

Demonstrations involving screens

We need to balance the brightness of the screen against the person presenting it.

The scientific objective should therefore influence the lighting arrangement.

Don't Forget Eye Reflections

Look at a good portrait carefully and you may see a small white reflection in the eyes.

These are called catchlights.

They may seem insignificant, but they give the eyes brightness and life.

Move your softbox slightly and watch what happens to them.

The eyes tell you quite a lot about the lighting arrangement.

In some photographs you can virtually reconstruct the studio by looking at the reflections in somebody's eyes.

The Problem of Glasses

Anyone making educational or corporate video will eventually encounter another challenge:

glasses reflecting the lights.

There are several possible solutions.

Move the light higher.

Move it further sideways.

Angle the person's face slightly.

Move the camera position.

Often only a few degrees are required.

This is where experimentation beats theory.

Rather than accepting the reflection, move things around while watching the monitor.

The Most Useful Lighting Tool May Be a Monitor

When filming myself or somebody else, I want to see the actual image being recorded.

A monitor allows me to spot:

blown highlights;
unwanted reflections;
dark eyes;
harsh shadows;
distracting background lights;
mixed colour temperatures.

Sometimes the problem is obvious on the monitor but surprisingly difficult to notice while standing beside the camera.

Practicals Can Be Part of the Scene

In filmmaking, a light visible within the shot is often called a practical.

This might be:

a desk lamp;
workshop light;
table lamp;
computer monitor;
illuminated sign;
instrument panel.

These can help make the environment feel believable.

A workshop should look like a workshop.

A laboratory should look like a laboratory.

A music studio should have its own visual identity.

Lighting can help tell the viewer where they are before anybody says a word.

You Don't Need Twenty Lights

It is very easy to watch behind-the-scenes footage from a major film production and conclude that professional lighting requires an enormous truck full of equipment.

For many smaller productions, it doesn't.

A very capable basic kit might consist of:

one large soft LED key light;
one smaller LED light;
one reflector;
a couple of stands;
diffusion material;
black foamboard;
clamps.

From that, you can create an enormous number of arrangements.

The real skill is understanding what each light is doing.

A Useful Exercise: Switch Everything Off

One exercise I find particularly valuable is to build a lighting setup one light at a time.

Start with darkness.

Turn on the key light.

Look at the image.

Then add the fill.

Look again.

Then add the back light.

Look again.

Then illuminate the background.

Each time ask:

What did that light actually contribute?

If switching a light on does not improve the picture, perhaps it does not need to be there.

More lighting is not automatically better lighting.

Another Exercise: Use Only One Light

Try creating several completely different images using one lamp.

Move it:

directly in front;
45 degrees sideways;
directly beside the subject;
behind the subject;
above;
below.

Then move it closer and further away.

Add diffusion.

Bounce it from a wall.

Reflect it using white card.

Block part of it using black card.

You will probably learn more about lighting from that exercise than from buying three more lamps.

Camera Technology Helps — But Light Still Comes First

Modern cameras are extraordinary.

We have:

extremely high ISO performance;
sophisticated autofocus;
high dynamic range;
powerful stabilisation;
excellent lenses;
computational photography.

But camera technology does not change the fundamental nature of light.

The camera can only record the light that reaches it.

That is why a carefully lit subject filmed with relatively modest equipment can look excellent, while an expensive cinema camera pointed at a badly lit scene can produce surprisingly ordinary results.

Lighting Is Part Science and Part Art

There is plenty of physics involved.

We can study:

reflection;
refraction;
scattering;
inverse square behaviour;
colour temperature;
spectral output;
polarisation.

But there is also artistic judgement.

How much shadow feels right?

Should the scene look warm or cold?

Should the background disappear or attract attention?

Should a face look natural, dramatic, mysterious or inviting?

There is rarely a single "correct" answer.

That is what makes lighting so interesting.

My Approach: Build the Picture Before Pressing Record

One of the temptations with digital photography and video is simply to start recording because recording costs almost nothing.

I think it is often worth resisting that temptation.

Spend another few minutes looking at the frame.

Move the light.

Move the subject.

Move the camera.

Remove something distracting from the background.

Add a little reflected light.

Turn one unnecessary lamp off.

Then look again.

A few minutes spent preparing the light can save considerably more time trying to rescue the picture during editing.

And there are some things that editing simply cannot completely repair.

Conclusion: Learn to See Light

Buying better equipment can certainly improve photography and filmmaking.

I enjoy good cameras and lenses as much as anyone.

But one of the most valuable upgrades costs nothing:

learning to notice light.

Look at how light falls across a face.

Look at how it reveals the texture of wood or metal.

Watch what happens to the garden as the Sun moves lower in the sky.

Notice reflections in glass.

Look at the difference between direct sunlight and an overcast afternoon.

Move a lamp six inches and watch a photograph change.

Once you begin thinking this way, lighting stops being something you simply switch on.

It becomes another creative tool.

And whether you are photographing wildlife, recording a science experiment, making a YouTube video, filming an interview or creating a dramatic short film, the same principle keeps returning:

Get the lighting right, and much of everything else becomes easier.

The camera matters.

The lens matters.

The sound certainly matters for video.

But before pressing the shutter button or pressing record, there is one question worth asking:

What is the light doing?