Quick Tip 13 - The Simple Guide to Filming Yourself Indoors

Ever wondered how to film yourself, or someone else, indoors without having expensive lights?

Follow a few simple principles, master them, and you’ll instantly level up the quality of your footage!

The single most important factor when shooting inside a building is how you position yourself, or your subject, in relation to the light. Lighting matters more than anything indoors: how much light there is, where it comes from, how hard or soft it is, all of it plays a crucial role.

The simplest way to train your eye for this is by using a window as your light source.

Below, you’ll find four different examples. Every frame uses the same subject, camera settings, and location. The sky was overcast, which meant the light coming through the window was already soft and flattering. If it had been sunny with direct sunlight, I would’ve simply added sheer white curtains to recreate the same soft lighting effect.

For this demonstration, the only thing I changed was the subject’s orientation. By rotating the person slightly, you can clearly see how much impact this simple adjustment has on the mood and overall quality of the frame.

I usually recommend avoiding flat front lighting, as it reduces contrast and depth in the frame. That said, depending on what you’re filming, it can still be a great choice. If you’re talking directly to the camera and want a clean, clear, high-quality image, front light is one of the most reliable options.

This technique is widely used in the fashion industry because of how flattering it is. The low-contrast light softens facial features, eliminates harsh shadows under the eyes and nose, and creates a simple, polished look that just works. That’s why most of your favorite vlogging influencers rely on this setup when speaking straight into the camera.

Definitely my favorite and most-used lighting style. You still get the clarity and image quality of front light, but by angling your subject slightly, you introduce beautiful contrast on one side of the face without losing detail.

This setup adds depth and creates that subtle “cinematic” feel we’re all after. I highly recommend it for general B-roll shots where you want more than just brightness and clarity, something with mood and depth.

Avoid backlighting whenever possible. You can clearly see the image quality degrading: the background blows out, facial details are lost, and the contrast ratio becomes hard to control. Unless you have additional lights to balance the scene, or you’re intentionally going for a silhouette, I strongly recommend staying away from direct backlight.

Depending on your framing, three-quarter backlight can be a beautiful choice for moody, cinematic shots. It does introduce deeper shadows on the face, but that’s exactly what gives the image its character. Whenever I’m not aiming for a clean, polished frame and instead want something more atmospheric, this is my go-to style. I wouldn’t recommend it for talking-head videos or interviews unless you have additional lighting to balance the scene.

That’s it, four wildly different results using the same subject, location, camera, and settings. Once you understand the fundamentals of lighting, you can make almost any location work in your favor.

If you want to dive deeper into using natural light, check out my latest article here.

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Thanks so much for being here, I genuinely appreciate every single reader.
If you ever have questions or ideas for future issues, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram!

Until next time,

Stefan

Minimal tools. Maximum creativity.

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