# How to Light a Music Clip With What You Own > Three lamps and a bedsheet do most of what a lighting kit does. The positions, the one colour rule, and the mistake that makes every home clip look flat. [All guides](/blog) # How to Light a Music Clip With What You Own Published 20 August 2026, 06:00 UTC · updated 12 August 2026, 21:30 UTC · by Loopin You do not need lights. You need one lamp in the right place, and ideally two more — and the single biggest improvement is free. ## Turn the ceiling light off first This is the free improvement. An overhead light puts shadows under the eyes and lights the top of everything evenly, which is exactly what makes a room look like a room rather than a set. Turning it off is a bigger change than adding anything. Then work with whatever is left. A single lamp at face height, slightly to one side, beats four badly placed ones — one clear direction is what makes an image look lit. ## The three positions, in order of importance Key: one lamp in front of you, at face height, about 45 degrees to one side. Fill: anything white on the other side to bounce light back — a bedsheet, a wall, a piece of card — softening the shadow without a second lamp. Back: a lamp behind you pointing at your shoulders or the wall, which separates you from the background. Get the key right and stop if you have to. The other two are improvements; the key is the difference between lit and not lit. ## The one colour rule Every lamp in frame should be the same colour temperature. Mixing a warm bulb with daylight from a window gives you an orange face and a blue shoulder, and no phone camera handles it gracefully. Either close the curtains and use bulbs only, or shoot near the window and turn the bulbs off. If you want colour, use it as a background light — one coloured lamp on the wall behind you, with neutral light on your face. ## Soften everything with a bedsheet A bare bulb makes hard, sharp shadows that read as harsh on a phone sensor. Hang a white bedsheet or a piece of baking paper about a foot in front of the lamp and the light becomes soft and flattering. This is what a two-hundred-pound softbox does. Keep fabric away from hot bulbs — LED only, and a foot of air. The distance is also what does the softening, so it is not a compromise. ## Light the background separately The flat look in home clips is almost always an evenly lit wall directly behind the subject. Move yourself forward — three or four feet off the wall is enough — so the background falls darker than you. Then put one lamp on the wall to create a pool of light or a coloured wash. Depth costs nothing but distance, and it is the difference most people are actually seeing when they say a clip looks professional. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I light a music video at home? Turn the ceiling light off, put one lamp at face height about 45 degrees to one side, and bounce light back on the other side with anything white. Everything after that is an improvement rather than a requirement. ### Can I mix a window and a lamp? No. Different colour temperatures give you an orange face and a blue shoulder, and phone cameras handle it badly. Either close the curtains or turn the lamps off. ### How do I make a home clip look less flat? Move three or four feet away from the wall so the background falls darker, and put one lamp on the wall behind you. Depth costs nothing but distance. ## Related reads - [How to shoot a performance video on a phone](/blog/how-to-shoot-a-performance-video-on-a-phone) - [How to make a music video on your phone](/blog/how-to-make-a-music-video-on-your-phone) - [Master your track free](/mastering) --- Source: https://onloopin.com/blog/how-to-light-a-music-video-with-lamps