How to Keep Your Lighting Consistent When Your Subject Moves Toward the Camera
(Without Making Them Look Like a Human Glowstick)
One of the first problems you are probably going to hit after you finally get three point lighting under control is this.
Traditional three-point lighting is designed with a stationary photographic subject in mind, it’s meant for situations where the subject doesn’t move.
You’ll find plenty of tutorials demonstrating this setup or similar ones specifically aimed at video, but what’s often overlooked is that the subject in those examples stays still.
Once the subject starts moving either away from or towards the light source, suddenly they’re being swallowed by shadows or looking like they’re recreating the melting Nazis scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark!
So What Gives Here?
Lighting a moving subject isn’t as straightforward as it is with someone sitting still so in this article I’ll break down why this happens and how you can fix it like a pro (even if you’re brand new to video lighting).
Why Your Lighting Falls Apart When Someone Moves
Let’s get the technical pain out of the way first so here’s why this happens:
Light Intensity Ramps up and Drops Off Fast (Really fast!)
This is due to what is called the “inverse square law” which is a physics term that basically means:
“As your subject gets closer to the light, the intensity of that light increases dramatically.”
But it is not as simple as half the distance creating double the intensity of the light or vice versa.
In fact when someone moves from 3 meters away to 1.5 meters away from your key light, that light doesn’t double in intensity, it actually becomes four times as bright.
So in that example if you get your exposure correct at 3 meters, at 1.5 meters you are grossly overexposed.
Conversely if you get you exposure correct at 1.5 meters, at 3 meters you are hopelessly underexposed!
The result of that movement will always be under or overexposure, blown-out highlights or no highlights as well as weird or unwanted shadows that weren’t there before.
Shadows Start to Shift
As your subject moves, the angle of light hitting them changes even if only slightly.
That beautiful, soft shadow that sculpted their jawline when they were back at the start position is now making them look like a Bond villain.
Your Three-Point Setup Isn’t Built for Movement
Not to belabour the point but traditional three-point lighting (key, fill, backlight) works great if your subject’s not going anywhere.
But once they start moving, their relationship to each of those lights changes and that can and usually will throw everything off.
Having said that it is important to understand that a three point lighting setup does get a lot of things right even if it is messed up by the subject moving.
The key is to adjust or reconfigure that setup to accomodate movement on the part of the subject rather than throwing out the whole thing altogether.
The Goal? Consistent, Soft, Flattering Light That Moves With the Subject
So how do you light someone so they look evenly lit, not overexposed, and still dimensional, even as they walk straight toward the camera?
Use Bigger, Softer Light Sources
The bigger and softer your light, the more forgiving it is with regards to the distance variation that can be tolerated, without the image becoming degraded.
So let’s look at that from a practical viewpoint.
Let’s say we have an 85cm softbox as a key light. That means generally speaking, it should be placed around 1 meter to arms length from the subject to get nice soft light.
In that scenario the subject can probably move around 30cm forward or back in relation to the light without too much variation in light intensity or quality.
If we need to be able to increase the amount that the subject can move then we have increase the size of the light dramatically so that we can move it back and retain softness.
That means we need bigger softboxes, octaboxes, umbrellas, or even bounced light off a large white wall or reflector.
In fact the way that this is generally handled at a professional level is through the use of what is called scrims or screens.
So first up check out the image below of a scrim or screen.
The one that is pictured here is kind of huge but it gives you a good idea of what I mean.
The screen itself consists of semi-transparent material so that when a light shines on one side back from a distance the entire screen becomes “the light.”
This is how you can create very large sources of soft diffused light which allow for a lot of leeway for when it comes to moving nearer or further away from that light source.
There are many ways to recreate this from a D.I.Y perspective with people using shower screens, cheap white bedsheets or even transparent curtains.
The point is to create the largest possible surface area that acts as a light source.
For the average situation something that is around 2 meters by 2 meters will give you a fairly workable setup.
The key is to place the screen a little further away from the subject compared to using a softbox then have the light behind the screen as far back as possible.
This results in the entire screen becoming “the light” resulting in lots of soft light in an area the subject can move around in.
Check out this video that demontrates using a shower screen for this exact purpose.
There are a couple of things to take note of.
First, the full size of the screen is being used and as the light source behind the curtain they are still using a soft box.
Even though it isn’t mentioned, that softbox would have to be turned up to a higher intensity to make sure enough light was still hitting the subject.
If you didn’t have a softbox you would have to use a spotlight behind the screen so the further back you can set that light the more even the light coming from the screen would be.
Secondly, the screen is positioned to the side as this example is predominantly showing a setup for a product.
If you were shooting a person the screen could be moved around to the traditional 30° to 45° angle that comes form the original three point lighting setup.
Why It Helps
The soft light wraps around your subject more evenly so when they move a little closer or farther, the change in exposure is far less dramatic.
Flood the Scene With Even, Ambient Light
Instead of relying on one focused key light, you can fill the entire scene with soft, even light which is partially why the “screen” method works so well.
Think in terms of large LED panels, light coming form windows or bounced light from multiple sources.
Your subject moves through a “light bath,” so there aren’t wild fluctuations in brightness.
Yes, you’ll lose some dramatic shadows and sculpting but for many content creators (especially in beauty, product demos, or walk-and-talk vlogs), consistency counts.
Use Lights That Travel With the Subject
This sounds fancier than it really is but usually applies to situations where the camera is also moving along with the subject.
You can literally mount a soft light on the camera (like a ring light or a small LED panel with diffusion) so the lighting moves with your subject as they approach.
The distance between the subject and the light stays the same so the exposure stays consistent and the shadows stay the same.
The downside of this is that it only covers a situation where both the subject and the camera are moving and does not really apply to a fixed camera, moving subject scenario.
Add a Light Gradient to the Background
This is more about tricking the eye than adjusting the subject’s exposure.
If your subject is getting brighter as they move forward, but the background is also getting brighter, the contrast stays consistent.
You can do this by placing lights further back that softly illuminate the background in a gradient and bouncing light to lift shadows behind the subject.
This doesn’t actually fix the problem but it helps hide it visually.
Consider Auto Exposure (Carefully!)
If you’re using a camera with smart exposure settings (like a smartphone or mirrorless with face tracking), you might get away with letting the camera adjust exposure as the person moves.
But be warned, auto exposure can be slow or jerky, especially with big lighting jumps and it can look cheap if you notice the exposure “breathing” (subtle pulsing).
Use this only if your lighting is already mostly consistent and the camera only needs to make small tweaks to the exposure levels.
Absolutely test this out first as some cameras may handle the process well whilst others mat not.
Use a Moving Light Rig (Advanced/Optional)
If you’re feeling fancy and want cinematic results, you can actually move the lights along with the subject.
- A dolly-mounted light.
- A gimbal with a mounted soft light.
- Even a grip with a boom arm following the subject off-camera.
Is it overkill for YouTube? Maybe. But if you’re trying to get that pro-level “walk-toward-camera shot,” this works beautifully.
Quick Recap: What to Do (and Not Do)
Do:
- Use big, soft lights with diffusion.
- Bounce light off walls or ceilings.
- Flood the space with even ambient light.
- Use on-camera or subject-following lights.
- Adjust your background to maintain contrast.
- Use minor auto-exposure if your camera handles it well.
Don’t:
- Use small, harsh lights (they make shadows and exposure changes worse).
- Place your key light too close to the subject.
- Rely on a static three-point setup if the subject’s moving significantly.
- Trust your camera to “figure it out” unless you’ve tested it first.
Final Thoughts: Lighting Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All
Lighting is part science, part art and part problem-solving and the key is to understand the physics behind what’s happening and then use that to your advantage.
If your subject moves, the lights either need to move with them, or be designed to compensate for that movement.
Once you’ve got that concept down, everything else is just tools and creativity.
Finally, test your setup thoroughly before committing to the shooting stage.
Try a test shot with a softbox 6 feet away, then move your subject closer and watch how the exposure changes.
Experiment with bouncing a light off the ceiling to create a giant soft light.
If you’ve got a ring light or small panel, try mounting it to your camera and compare the results.