Here's how distance affects your lighting:
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Light Spread and Intensity: The farther the light is from the subject, the more it spreads out and the less intense it becomes on the subject. This is often called "light spill."
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Type of Light Source: Whether you're using a focused light like a spotlight or a broader light like an LED panel, moving the light further away will cover a larger area but with less direct intensity.
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Balancing the Scene: The position of your key light relative to your subject and the background is important. If it's too close, it may not light the background properly or could create overly harsh shadows on your subject. You need to find a balance where both the subject and background are well-lit.
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Experimenting with Distance: There isn't a one-size-fits-all answer for how far your light should be. Start with the light about 1 meter or 3 feet away from your subject and adjust from there. Move the light closer or farther and see how it changes the look of your video. This will help you understand what works best for the effect you want to achieve.
By experimenting and observing how these adjustments affect your video, you'll find the ideal setup for your specific needs.
If you want to dive deeper into this subject then check out something called "the inverse square law". In simple terms then the inverse square law explains how light intensity decreases as you move further from the light source.
Basically, if you double the distance from the light to the subject, the light becomes four times less bright. It's like when you move away from a lamp - the farther you go, the dimmer it appears.
Lastly, the further away you are from your subject with the light source, the more power or intensity (watts) you will need.
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