All groups

Underlight

Light from below turns a face strange and threatening.

Use when: Horror, campfire stories, a face lit by a phone or a screen in the dark.

Prompt instructions

Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot Light: the only light comes from below, a phone screen in the subject's hands lighting the subject's chin and nose from underneath, the room dark

Seedance 2.5 reads labelled blocks with timecodes.

SubjectSetting

Say it like this

The only light comes from below, a phone screen in his hands lighting his chin and nose from underneath, the room dark.

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
Give it a reason in the scene (a phone, a fire, a floor lamp); unmotivated it reads as a gimmick.film-craft: General film vocabulary, as also used in ShotDeck's filters

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 FirelightPrompt

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.