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Lighting a News Set: A Practical Three-Point Walkthrough

A step-by-step guide to lighting a presenter desk with key, fill and back light, so faces look natural and the set stays consistent from one shot to the next.

Oliver Hartley · 7 October 2026 · 6 min read

Start with the camera, not the lamps

Before anything goes up on the grid, decide where the cameras will sit and what each one will frame. A news set is lit for its shots, not for the room. Mark the presenter positions on the floor with tape, note the lens each camera will use, and walk the set with the presenter standing in each spot.

I begin every lighting plan this way because it saves rigging time later. If the wide shot shows the whole desk and the close shot shows only a face, the two shots ask different things of the same lights. Knowing that early lets you place fixtures once instead of moving them after the first rehearsal.

Check the ceiling height and the available grid positions at the same time. Mid autumn crews often work in studios with the daylight gone by late afternoon, which makes the studio's own lighting the only reference you have, so settle the plan on paper first.

Mark presenter positions on the floor
List each camera, its lens and its shot
Note grid heights and available power

Place the key light

The key light is the main source and it defines the shape of the face. Set it about forty-five degrees to one side of the camera line and slightly above eye level, angled down so the shadow under the nose stays short and soft. A soft source such as a diffused panel flatters most presenters better than a bare spot.

Move the key until the face reads clearly on the camera monitor, not on your own eyes. What looks right standing next to the desk can look flat or harsh through the lens, so always judge from the picture the viewers will see.

Watch for glasses. A key placed too low or too wide throws a reflection straight back into the lens. Raise it a little or move it further round, and the glare usually disappears without any other change to the plan.

Forty-five degrees off the camera line
Slightly above eye level, angled down
Judge the result on the monitor

Add fill and back light

Fill light opens the shadows the key leaves behind. Place it on the opposite side, lower and weaker than the key, so shadows soften without disappearing. A common starting point is half the key's intensity, then adjust by eye until the face has shape but no dark patches.

The back light sits behind and above the presenter, aimed at the shoulders and the top of the head. It separates the person from the set and stops dark hair or a dark jacket from merging into the background.

Keep the back light modest. Too much and the presenter glows at the edges, which looks distracting on a close shot. Aim it so it grazes the shoulders rather than hitting the lens directly, and use a flag or barn door to stop spill onto the desk.

Fill opposite the key, softer and lower
Back light behind and above, aimed at the shoulders
Use barn doors to control spill

Light the set behind them

Once the presenter looks right, turn to the background. The set should sit a little darker than the face so the eye goes to the person, yet detail must remain visible. Wash the back wall evenly and add a few pools of light on graphics, plants or desk edges to give depth.

Keep the background light away from the presenter. Light falling from the set onto a face changes the balance you just built. Check the distance between the presenter and the wall, because a larger gap gives you room to light each separately.

Look at colour too. Mixing lamps of different colour temperatures makes skin turn warm on one side and cool on the other. Use one type of fixture where you can, and correct the rest with gels.

Background slightly darker than the face
Keep set light off the presenter
Match colour temperature across fixtures

Make it repeatable shot to shot

A news set earns its keep when the picture looks identical at the start of the bulletin and at the end. Once the levels are right, write them down: fixture positions, dimmer levels, and the marks on the floor. A simple sheet taped near the lighting desk is enough.

Check that each camera sees the same quality of light. Move between the wide, the two-shot and the close-up, and compare skin tone and shadow on the monitor. If one angle looks flat, a small tweak to the fill usually fixes it.

Finally, test with different presenters. Skin tones, clothing and heights vary, and a setting built for one person may need small shifts for another. Keep a note of any adjustments so the next crew starts from a known position.

Record dimmer levels and positions
Compare every camera on the monitor
Note adjustments per presenter

A short rehearsal routine

Run a short check before every show. Switch on the lights early so the fixtures settle, then walk each presenter into position and look at the monitor with the director. Two minutes spent here prevents most problems once the programme starts.

Keep the routine the same each time. Check the key, then the fill, then the back light, then the set. Working in a fixed order means nothing gets skipped when the schedule is tight.

If something looks wrong during the show, avoid changing several things at once. Adjust one light, look at the result, and only then move to the next. Calm, small corrections keep the picture steady and the crew confident.

Good news lighting is mostly patience and order: plan from the camera, set the key, soften with fill, separate with back light, then balance the set and write everything down. None of it is complicated, but each step builds on the one before. Follow the same sequence every time and your picture will stay consistent, your presenters will look their best, and the crew will spend less time chasing problems between shots.

About the author

Oliver Hartley

Head of Studio Production

Oliver has worked in studio galleries for over a decade and leads our setup and workflow projects.