Blog – LED Landscape Lighting Composition

Learning about principles of photography can help you to understand different ways to add depth and interest to your landscape lighting projects. Front-Lighting Back Lighting.

Front lighting and backlighting naturally occur in nature. Photographers take advantage of natural light and shadows as well as artificial light. You will be using artificial light in your landscape lighting projects but the principles are the same. Front lighting shows the detail of an object and tends toward a dramatic effect. It flattens the object’s appearance by eliminating shadows that show form. Backlighting produces extreme contrast, showing the shape of an object while decreasing texture and eliminating detail. In lighting, you have the choice of using harsh light or soft light as well. Harsh light is produced by a point source of light such as a narrow spotlight. It accentuates contrast, defines shape, line and texture and directs view. Harsh light can also provide sparkle, but be careful as it can also produce glare! Soft light, on the other hand, reduces contrast. Shapes, lines and textures will be less clearly defined. Generally, soft light is created by diffuse or linear light sources such as flexible LED strip. The view is another important consideration when planning your landscape lighting design. Don’t overlook all the ways in which a particular landscape may be viewed. It may be viewed only from the inside and not used at night. Some views may be from outside of the property or from one area of your premises to another. Not only do you want to create a beautiful and enjoyable landscape for yourself and your family, but you want to avoid burdening your neighbours with light pollution and glare. Your goal is to provide high enough light levels to show the scene while at the same time, controlling any offending brightness. Reflectance also comes into play. Reflectance is the ratio of light reflected from a surface to the light incident on the surface. Consider three materials: White paint, concrete, and green grass. White paint will seem to ‘bounce’ a lot more light into the surroundings. Concrete will not be as reflective. And finally, grass will seem to suck in some of the light. That being said, a white gazebo will be the most prominent thing in your scene consisting of the gazebo, a concrete floor, and the adjacent grass. Lighting can create quite a number of moods and define how people will feel in the space. To create excitement, introduce sparkle. High brightness contrast creates drama but may not make people very comfortable. Use dramatic lighting techniques with care when people will be in the space. Confine it to restricted areas or at boundaries of where people will not go. Provide a less severe contrast in areas where people will spend time at night. Another mood you may want to create is a mystery. Mystery relies on the uneven light. The mystery is created when parts of the landscape remain undefined while others are clearly defined. In the end, you want your design to be cohesive. How well will all of the elements work together in a scene? Lighting focal points alone will produce a spotty appearance. Nothing can be substituted for the final aiming and adjusting after dark to fine tune your design. Can we help? Our technical sales staff can answer your questions about line voltage and low voltage LED landscape lighting. Email us for help.

By: Mary Wecker