Topic: The Light Flicker Discussion Thread
Welcome to The Light Flicker Discussion Thread. This is the place where you can post about your light flicker problems in hopes of them being solved!
Before we jump right into conversation, I'd like to post a few common issues and their solutions here for you to look over in case your issue can be solved simply.
Common Issues
External light sources: Be sure to close the curtains and turn off all other lights besides those directly lighting up the set to prevent uncontrolled light spilling onto your set.
Faulty bulbs: Often times, light bulbs can be faulty and flicker. Older florescent have a tendency to do this.
Electricity issues: A lot of electric outlets don't send a consistent current to the lamps, causing an inconsistent output of light.
LED lights: LED lights don't work well with some webcams, causing a light flickering effect or "banding" bars on the captured footage.
Casting shadows: If you're standing in front of a light or if a light is bouncing off something, you could be casting a shadow onto the set, causing light flicker.
Reflections: Light can bounce off things and cause lighting inconsistencies on set. If it's bouncing off you, try wearing darker clothing and standing farther away from the set outside of the range of light. If it's bouncing off a mirror, cover up the mirror.
Lens (aperture) flicker: This is especially common with Nikon automatic lenses, Nikon DSLRs, and older DSLRs. The aperture in the lens may not spring back to the same position on every frame, causing a light flickering effect and a depth of field inconsistency.
Automatic camera settings: Whether using a DSLR or a webcam, make sure that every setting you can find is turned on manual mode to prevent any inconsistencies between frames. Aperture, shutter speed, exposure, ISO, white balance, image stabilizer, etc.
If you don't see any solutions on the list above, try posting your problem! Someone might just have the answer for you. Be sure to include a lot of details so that we know a lot about your problem.
Details to include when posting
Camera: Webcam, DSLR, Point-and-shoot, Camcorder? What kind specifically?
Lens(es): If your camera uses lenses, what lens are you using? Zoom or prime? Automatic or manual?
Lights: What kind of lights do you use? Desk lamps, softboxes, Fresnel lights, LED panels, Brickstuff?
Lightbulbs: Are you using incandescent, florescent, LED, or something else? What's the wattage?
Pictures and/or video: What's your setup look like? Do you have an example of what the light flicker actually looks like?
I hope this topic helps keep all the light flicker problems organized and solved! If you have any more common problems and solutions to add to the list above, feel free to post, and I'll update it!
Happy posting!