Layer by Layer: A Lighting Lesson That Stuck With Me

In 2019, I was working as the DIT on No Time To Die, the James Bond film. We were shooting in Matera, Italy — that iconic, sun-soaked square that opens the film — and like a lot of big international shoots, there was a steady flow of crew coming and going depending on what was being shot.

One week, Andrew Rowlands joined us.

Andrew’s a phenomenal camera operator and cinematographer. He was the Steadicam op on The Matrix films, and has done second unit on The Last Jedi, Westworld, and countless other major projects. He was out in Italy for just a few days, working on drone shots with a friend of his who was piloting.

Because I was only responsible for the drone camera that week — and we didn’t have drone shots every day — I ended up spending a lot of time with the drone team, hanging out on a balcony overlooking the square, watching the main unit work below.

And I spent a lot of that time peppering Andrew with questions about lighting.

“How do you know where to start?”

At the time, I’d already shot a good number of short films and knew I wanted to move into DoPing full-time — but lighting still felt daunting sometimes. I asked him something like:
"How do you keep it simple? How do you light a scene without feeling like you're starting from scratch every time?"

He shared a concept that has stayed with me ever since.

He said he approaches lighting like an onion: in layers, starting from the outside and working in.

Lighting in Layers

Here’s how it breaks down — or peels back, if we’re staying with the metaphor.

1. Start with the furthest light source.
Usually, that’s the sun — or the moon, if it’s a night scene. On another planet? Maybe it’s two suns. But whatever the furthest motivating source is, that’s where you begin.

2. Then, consider what’s just outside the windows.
If you’re shooting an interior, think about what would logically be lighting the space just outside. Is there a streetlamp? A garden? Another lit room? Moonlight bouncing off a wall?

3. Now step inside the room.
What are the ambient sources here? Skylights, overhead fluorescents, daylight spill, practicals — what’s built into the world of the scene that would naturally be contributing to the light?

4. Finally, light the actor.
By this point, most of the scene is already shaped. The key light on your subject is the last thing you add — and ideally, it’s motivated by the rest of the world you’ve already built.

Why It Stuck With Me

An (AI) artist’s interpretation of what the napkin may have looked like …

I think we actually drew it out on a napkin at the time — though sadly, I don’t have it anymore.

But that simple idea has been hugely helpful for me, especially when I feel overwhelmed or stuck.

It gives structure to the process, while still leaving room to be intuitive. It also keeps you story-focused — because at every layer you can ask:
“Is this serving the emotion of the scene?”
“Does this support the performance?”
“Is this the character’s world, or just my aesthetic choice?”

It’s a way of balancing the practical with the poetic.

Final Thoughts

Not every scene needs to be lit like an onion. Sometimes it’s more about contrast, or chaos, or stylisation. But when you need clarity — when you’re under pressure, or short on prep time — this method offers a clean way in.

Start from the outside. Work inwards.
Light the world before you light the actor.
And keep asking yourself what the story really needs.

Thanks, Andrew. That one stuck.