Occasionally, videos incorporate deliberate light flickering effects to craft eerie scenes, a technique frequently employed in horror movies. Yet, there are instances where the flickering of lights is unintentional.
This can benefit a scene by creating drama, but it can get in the way of what the filmmaker is trying to accomplish for some. You can resolve this problem by learning why LEDs flicker on camera and how to fix them.
How Do LED Lights Work in Photography?
An LED light is an artificial light that helps you brighten up low-light places. They are a lot more efficient than standard incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs. They use these diodes to create radiant light that helps to illuminate the area.
There are two types of LED lights: one is constant, and the other is strobe. The continuous LED lights release a steady stream of light, while the strobe type puts out little bursts of light at different frequencies. LED lights work well for photography, and when you see lights flicker on the camera, it is usually caused by the pulses of light from the strobe type of LED light. When the pulses of light are faster, they can be captured in your video or photo.
What Causes Camera Light Flicker?
Sometimes the videographer intentionally creates the flicker in suspense movies. However, other times, it is unintentional. It can happen and appear in the film even when you don’t notice it. There are a few reasons why this can happen.
You Didn’t Notice the Bulb Flickering.
LED light bulbs flicker, but it happens so fast that your eyes don’t register it. These lights appear to be on, emitting a constant stream of light, but they send out little pulses of light repeatedly. Your camera can catch the light just as it flickers. This will lead to flashing on the camera.
Unstable Power Supply
Another cause can be that the LED light has an unstable voltage supply to its power supply. This causes the bulb to emit pulses of light at different frequencies. As a result, you might see flickering on the camera.
Your Camera Settings
Your camera settings could be causing flickering on the camera. You may need to change your frame rate and shutter speed. You can test this theory by filming a scene in slow motion and at normal speed. It is likely LED flickering if you notice the slow-motion version but not at standard speed.
Can You Prevent LED Flickering on Camera?
You can reduce or eliminate LED flickering by trying a few different methods. Take a look at the following.
Adjust Your Frame Rate
The first thing that you can try is to adjust your frame rate (FPS). With a faster frame rate, your camera can capture more details, so the LED flickering will show up more. When you increase your frames per second setting, there is a larger chance of LED flickering in your video. You can reduce your FPS setting to see if that reduces or eliminates the flickering.
Reposition Further Away from the Light Source
Moving away from the light source is the easiest way to reduce the flickering. The light can reflect less when you increase your distance, allowing you to capture video with less interruption. However, remember that the frame will lose brightness as you move away from the light source. You should adjust the settings for your aperture and your exposure to account for this change.
Choose the Ideal Shutter Speed
The shutter speed is another setting that can capture flickering. See if you can reduce your shutter speed to divisible intervals by your power source. For example, if you have a power source of 60Hz, use shutter speed intervals at intervals that divide by 60, such as 1/60 or 1/120 with 30 fps.
Adjust the Source of Brightness
Another tip is to adjust the source of brightness. You won’t have as much flickering when you make the light source dull. You must remember that the frame will grow darker when you adjust the light, so you may need to make other adjustments. You can also adjust your camera’s settings to compensate for dulling the light source.
Use a Flicker Removal Plugin
You can also remove the flicker during the editing process. If you use software such as Adobe Premiere Pro, you have a plugin that removes flicker. There are other programs, such as Flicker-Free and more. They work well if you wait until the editing phase to remove the flickering.
Final Words
LED lights have become very popular in photography because they emit light closest to natural light. However, you may have to flicker on camera when you use these lights. LED lights often flicker when you turn them on or off, emitting pulses or bursts of light rapidly.
You can’t see them, but your camera can pick them up. Fortunately, there are methods that you can use to reduce or eliminate flickering on the camera. If nothing else works, you may need to replace the light bulb because it could be worn out.
