# Lighting > Set how an AI image or video is lit. Combine the time of day, lighting style, direction, lighting ratio and color temperature from 72 tested options. Source: https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/lighting The **Lighting** picker sets how a shot is lit. You combine up to five parts: the time of day, the lighting style, the direction of the light, the lighting ratio and the color temperature. Nodaro adds tested wording for that setup to the prompt of every node you connect it to. The picker never calls a model, so it costs no credits. - Found in: Creative Controls › Light & Look - Output: text - API type: `lighting` ## When to use it - Give a portrait a classic studio setup, such as Rembrandt, Butterfly, Clamshell or Split light. - Set the hour of an outdoor scene: Dawn, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Moonlight or Neon Night. - Keep one light across every shot of a scene: connect one Lighting picker to several image or video nodes. - Relight the same scene: change the picker and run the image node again. ## How to use it ### Add the picker Open the node picker and choose **Creative Controls › Light & Look › Lighting**. ### Turn on the parts you need Click the node. In the settings panel, each part of the light is a section with a switch: **Time of Day**, **Style**, **Direction**, **Lighting Ratio** and **Color Temperature**. Turn a section on and choose an option. A single-choice section starts on its first option. A new node starts with **Time of Day** set to **Noon**. ### Connect it Drag from the picker's output to the **Look** input of a [Generate Image](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/image/generate-image) or [Generate Video](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/video/generate-video) node. You can also connect it to a [Text](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/text) or [Prompt](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/automate/prompt) node to use the wording in a longer text. ### Run the image or video node The lighting description is added to the end of the prompt when the connected node runs. Workflow: A Lighting picker and a Color / Look picker wired into the Look input of Generate Image. - Text → Generate Image (prompt) - Lighting → Generate Image (look) - Color / Look → Generate Image (look) ![The Lighting settings panel with the Time of Day, Style and Direction sections turned on and one option chosen in each.](https://nodaro.ai/docs-media/screens/en/nodes/lighting/settings-panel.light.webp) ## Settings | Setting | What it does | | --- | --- | | **Time of Day** | When the scene happens, such as Dawn, Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Night or Neon Night. A new node starts at **Noon**. | | **Style** | The quality and setup of the light, such as Rembrandt, Chiaroscuro, High-Key, Softbox Key or Candlelight. Pick up to 2. | | **Direction** | Where the light comes from: Front, 3/4 Light, Side, Back / Rim, Silhouette Backlight, Top / Overhead, Under / Uplight or Window. | | **Lighting Ratio** | The balance between the key light and the fill light, from **1:1** to **1:16**. A higher ratio gives deeper shadows. | | **Color Temperature** | The color of the light, from **2700K Candle** to **9000K Shade**. | | **Custom text (before)** | Your own words, added before the lighting description. | | **Custom text (after)** | Your own words, added after the lighting description, for example `with practical lights in the background`. | | **Prompt hint** | **Full** (default) adds a longer description of each part. **Compact** adds only the short terms. See [Full or Compact](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls#full-or-compact). | | **Items per row (node card)** | How many picks the node card shows per row, from 1 to 3. The default is 2. It changes only the card, not the prompt. | The parts you turn on are joined into one description. A part that is off adds nothing, and a node with every part off adds nothing at all. To see the exact words the picker will add, switch the node to the **Prompt** or **Both** display mode. The settings panel shows the same text under **Will inject into prompt**. ## Four styles, one portrait Each portrait below comes from the same workflow: one prompt, one character board connected to **References**, and GPT Image 2 in [Generate Image](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/image/generate-image). Only the **Style** of the Lighting picker changes, with the prompt hint on **Full**. Under each image is the exact text the picker added to the end of the prompt. ``` Head-and-shoulders studio portrait of the woman in the reference board. Use her exact face, hair and skin; do not use the green dress. She wears a plain charcoal crew-neck sweater, neutral dark gray backdrop, looking into the lens, calm neutral expression. No text, no logos, no watermark. ``` ![A woman with long dark hair against a dark backdrop, lit from one side so the far cheek falls into soft shadow.](https://nodaro.ai/docs-media/examples/lighting/rembrandt.webp) Rembrandt Added to the prompt: `Rembrandt lighting, distinctive triangle of light on the shadow-side cheek, painterly chiaroscuro` ![The same woman lit from the front and above, both cheeks evenly bright against a gray backdrop.](https://nodaro.ai/docs-media/examples/lighting/butterfly.webp) Butterfly Added to the prompt: `butterfly portrait lighting, key light placed directly above and slightly in front of the subject casting a small symmetrical butterfly-shaped shadow under the nose, classic Hollywood glamour with even illumination across both cheeks` ![The same woman with one half of her face lit and the other half falling into deep shadow.](https://nodaro.ai/docs-media/examples/lighting/split.webp) Split Added to the prompt: `split lighting, light hitting only one half of the face with the other half in deep shadow` ![The same woman in strong contrast: bright highlights on her skin against a near-black backdrop and sweater.](https://nodaro.ai/docs-media/examples/lighting/chiaroscuro.webp) Chiaroscuro Added to the prompt: `chiaroscuro lighting, dramatic strong contrast between deep shadows and bright highlights` The character board keeps the face the same in all four, so the light is the only thing that changes. Split gives the clearest change, while Rembrandt and Chiaroscuro come out close to each other. For deeper shadows with any style, also turn on **Lighting Ratio** and choose a higher ratio. ## Every lighting option Filter by part of the light, or search by name. The words under each name are the term the picker adds in **Compact** mode. **Time of Day** - Dawn: `dawn lighting` - Sunrise: `sunrise lighting` - Morning: `morning lighting` - Noon: `overhead noon sun` - Harsh Midday: `harsh midday sun` - Afternoon: `afternoon lighting` - Overcast: `overcast daylight` - Golden Hour - Dusk: `dusk lighting` - Blue Hour - Twilight: `twilight lighting` - Night: `night lighting` - Midnight: `midnight lighting` - Moonlight: `cool blue moonlight` - Neon Night: `neon night lighting` **Style** - Three-Point: `three-point lighting` - Rembrandt: `rembrandt lighting` - Chiaroscuro: `chiaroscuro lighting` - Silhouette: `silhouette lighting` - High-Key: `high-key lighting` - Low-Key: `low-key lighting` - Split: `split lighting` - Butterfly: `butterfly lighting` - Loop: `loop lighting` - Broad: `broad lighting` - Short: `short lighting` - Hatchet: `hatchet lighting` - Clamshell: `clamshell lighting` - Hard: `hard light` - Soft: `soft diffused light` - Practical: `practical lighting` - Ring Light - Phone Screen Glow - Selfie Natural: `natural window-light selfie` - Natural: `natural available light` - Volumetric: `volumetric lighting` - Noir: `film noir lighting` - On-Camera Flash - Mirror-Bounce Flash: `mirror-selfie flash` - Bounced Flash - Softbox Key: `softbox key light` - Beauty Dish - Gridded Snoot - Silk Diffusion - Kicker / Rim Accent: `kicker rim light` - Candlelight: `warm flickering candlelight` - Edison Tungsten: `warm edison-bulb tungsten glow` - Dappled / Leaf-Filtered: `dappled leaf-filtered light` - Raking Sidelight - Stage Spotlight - Underwater Caustics - Bioluminescence: `bioluminescent glow` **Direction** - Front: `front lighting` - 3/4 Light: `three-quarter key light` - Side: `side lighting` - Back / Rim: `rim backlight` - Silhouette Backlight - Top / Overhead: `overhead top light` - Under / Uplight: `uplighting from below` - Window: `window light` **Lighting Ratio** - 1:1: `1:1 lighting ratio` - 1:2: `1:2 lighting ratio` - 1:3: `1:3 lighting ratio` - 1:4: `1:4 lighting ratio` - 1:8: `1:8 lighting ratio` - 1:16: `1:16 lighting ratio` **Color Temperature** - 2700K Candle: `2700k candlelight color temperature` - 3200K Tungsten: `3200k tungsten color temperature` - 4000K Mixed: `4000k neutral white color temperature` - 5600K Daylight: `5600k daylight color temperature` - 6500K Overcast: `6500k overcast color temperature` - 9000K Shade: `9000k open-shade color temperature` On Nodaro Cloud, the Time of Day and Style tiles show the same base image under that light. A switch beside the picker's heading changes them to drawn illustrations. Self-hosted installs show the illustrations only. ## Tips - **Classic portrait setups.** Rembrandt, Split, Loop, Butterfly and Clamshell are the classic studio portrait styles. - **A classic hero look.** Combine Golden Hour with the Kicker / Rim Accent style. - **A noir feel.** Combine the Low-Key and Practical styles, or choose Noir. - **Light the air, too.** [Atmosphere](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/atmosphere) adds Fog, Mist or God Rays. Fog with a Back / Rim direction turns the subject into a silhouette. - **Finish the look.** Add [Color / Look](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/color-look) for the grade and [Mood](https://nodaro.ai/docs/nodes/creative-controls/mood) for the emotion. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does the Lighting picker do? It adds a description of a lighting setup to the prompt of every image or video node it is connected to. You build the setup from five parts, such as Golden Hour, Rembrandt and Back / Rim. It never runs a model. ### Does the Lighting picker cost credits? No. Pickers only change the prompt. You pay only for the generation node that uses it. ### Do I have to set all five parts of the light? No. Each part is a section that you turn on or off. A part that is off adds nothing to the prompt, so you can set only the time of day, for example. ### Can I combine two lighting styles? Yes. The Style part accepts up to 2 picks, for example Softbox Key with Kicker / Rim Accent. Every other part takes one pick. ### Does the Lighting picker work for video? Yes. Connect it to the Look input of Generate Video as well as Generate Image. One picker can feed both, so the image and the clip share the same light.