TikTok lighting makes your videos stand out and attract more viewers. It enhances video quality, highlights your subject, and sets the perfect mood. But what lighting gear do you need? How can you set it up like a professional? In this guide, we’ll cover the popular lighting gear TikTokers use and share three setup solutions to help boost your video content.
Why does TikTok lighting matter?
Lighting is a key factor in creating high-quality TikTok videos. It directly affects how professional, clear, and engaging your TikTok videos look. Here’s why it’s important:
- Improve visual quality: Bright, even lighting makes videos look clean, polished, and more enjoyable to watch.
- Clearly show the subject and details: Proper lighting ensures faces, movements, and key elements are sharp and easy to see.
- Creates mood and emotion: Different lighting colors and angles help set the right atmosphere for your content.
- Increase engagement: Well-lit videos attract more attention in feeds and are favored by TikTok’s algorithm, helping you get more views and likes.
What lighting gear do TikTokers use?
To get the best lighting for TikTok videos, you should first know what gear to use. Common options include ring lights, LED panels, RGB lights, light strips, and accessories for improved lighting effects. Each type serves a unique purpose depending on the content style and shooting environment.
TikTok ring light
These circular lights provide soft and even TikTok lighting for your face, making them perfect for close-up shots. They are usually placed directly in front, with a central open design that allows you to mount your camera or phone, ensuring the light surrounds the subject and creates a unique round catchlight in the eyes. With adjustable brightness and color temperature (typically 2700K to 6000K), ring lights are popular for their flattering facial lighting effect. They are widely used by TikTok creators and streamers.
Best application: Makeup tutorials, talking videos, and close-up selfies.
LED panel
These TikTok LED lights are flat and provide wide, even, and continuous lighting. They are great for both large scenes and solo shoots. They are usually mounted on tripods or boom arms and work well as key or fill lights for videos that need stable, high-quality lighting.
LED panels come in different sizes. Larger ones are often used in professional TikTok live studios, while portable pocket options like the COLBOR PL8B are ideal for creators filming personal content or outdoor scenes.
Best application: TikTok live stream room, educational content, and product demos.
RGB TikTok light
RGB lights offer multiple colors and brightness levels to create mood and add visual interest to TikTok videos. They use red, green, and blue LEDs to produce over 16 million color tones. Many advanced models, like the COLBOR CL60R, include built-in effects for dynamic lighting. Thanks to their dramatic and colorful output, TikTokers use them to build vibrant backgrounds, party vibes, and creative visual effects.
Best application: Dance videos, aesthetic edits, and themed transitions.
TikTok LED light strip
These are slim adhesive strips embedded with LED beads, used by TikTokers to create ambient or accent lighting rather than focused beams. They can be cut, bent, and installed around surfaces like monitors, ceilings, walls, or desks. LED strips are highly customizable, offering various colors, patterns, and even music-sync modes, adding a dynamic touch to TikTok videos.
Best application: Background enhancement, room decoration, and aesthetic room tours.
Lighting accessory
To create professional lighting and improve video quality, TikTokers also use some lighting accessories to shape, support, and control their light sources. Common options include light stands, reflectors, and diffusers. Here are the function of each accessory.
- TikTok lighting stand: Holds TikTok lights at adjustable heights and angles, allowing flexible and stable positioning.
- Reflector: Bounces light to reduce shadows or brighten specific areas. Silver provides a strong fill, white gives soft light, and gold adds warmth.
- Diffuser: Softens harsh light, creating a more natural and flattering look for faces and products.
How to get good lighting for TikTok: 3 setup ideas for every creator
The best lighting for TikTok isn’t just about the equipment, but also about how you set them up. In this section, we’ll share 3 setups that are perfect for beginners, most creators, and professional TikTok creators or streamers.
Best budget setup for beginners: Use one TikTok light
The best budget TikTok lighting uses just one strategically placed light. This simple and effective method is perfect for beginners or small shooting spaces, and it instantly improves video quality without complex gear. Here’s how to do it:
Lighting gear you need:
- 1 ring light or LED panel
Setup steps:
- Place the light at a 45° angle to your left or right, not directly in front of your face.
- Adjust the height so the center of the light is level with your eyes to avoid under-eye shadows.
- Keep the light 20–30 inches away from your face for soft, even lighting.
Pro tips:
- Film near a window to mix natural and artificial light, but avoid direct sunlight.
- Reduce the brightness to 50–60% in bright rooms and increase to 80–100% in dim spaces.
- Tape white paper or use a diffuser over the light to soften harsh shadows.
Best versatile TikTok lighting setup: 3-point lighting
The most classic and versatile technique to light your Tiktok video is the 3-point lighting. It uses three lights, including key light, fill light, and backlight, to create balanced, professional-looking videos with clear depth and soft shadows. This setup works well for almost any TikTok content creation. Here’s how to do it:
Lighting gear you need:
- A ring light or LED panel as the key light
- A smaller LED panel or cob light as the fill light
- A RGB light or white light as the backlight
Setup steps:
- Place the key light at a 45° angle in front of you (left or right). This provides your primary illumination.
- Place the fill light on the opposite side of the key light to reduce harsh shadows. Keep it softer or dimmer than the key light.
- Position the backlight behind you, either facing the background or angled toward your back. This separates you from the background and helps you stand out.
Pro tips:
- Use an RGB backlight to add color and mood to your scene.
- Set key and fill lights to 5600Kdaylight for consistent skin tones.
- Use a diffuser to adjust light intensity so your face is well-lit but not overexposed.
- Leave some shadow on one side of the face for a natural, cinematic look.
Professional setup: Use four or more lights in TikTok video and streaming
Professional TikTok lighting needs four or more lights to create dynamic effects. This setup is perfect for TikTok video or streaming that requires clear, multi-angle lighting for a polished, studio-quality look.
Lighting gear you need:
- 1 key light
- 1 fill light
- 1 backlight
- 1 overhead light
- Optional: RGB lights or LED light strips for background effects
Setup steps:
- Place the key light at a 45° angle in front of you as the main light source.
- Position the fill light on the opposite side of the key light to soften shadows.
- Set the backlight behind you, aimed at your shoulders or head to create a rim light effect.
- Hang the overhead light above you to provide soft, even light across your face and reduce unwanted shadows, especially under your chin or eyes.
- Add RGB lights or LED strips behind you or around the background for creative color effects and ambiance.
Pro tip
- For the best TikTok lighting, use professional LED studio lights for even, long-lasting illumination.