All groups

Top light

Light from straight above: eyes sink into shadow, isolated and stark.

Use when: Interrogations, lonely figures under a lamp, boxing, a single product on a table.

Prompt instructions

Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot Light: one lamp directly above the subject's head, the subject's eye sockets in shadow, a pool of light on the floor around the subject

Seedance 2.5 reads labelled blocks with timecodes.

SubjectSetting

Say it like this

One lamp directly above her head, her eye sockets in shadow, a pool of light on the floor around her.

Watch out

A style word for light does nothing. Name the source, where it sits against the person, and what fills the shadow side.measured: Director Chair field notes on image prompting
Eyes go dark under top light; add a faint bounce from below if the eyes must read.film-craft: General film vocabulary, as also used in ShotDeck's filters

High noonPrompt Low-key contrast

Mostly shadow with a few lit areas: drama, mystery, premium.

Prompt Practical lights

The light comes from lamps you can see in the scene; warm and lived-in.

Prompt

Sources

Own words; the term from general film vocabulary, as also used in ShotDeck's filters Checked 2026-11-13.

ShotDeck: real film examples of this lighting (paid, link only)

Flim: film, ad and music-video stills of this lighting (free tier, link only)

For agents: this card as markdown, as JSON.