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Top Outdoor Lighting Techniques Only for You
Upgrading your garden or backyard with outdoor lighting can completely change the nighttime landscape with minimum effort.
Using the right outdoor lighting technique and good outdoor lighting ideas will allow you to emphasize the key features of your backyard and make the space a favorite for parties and special occasions. There are even easy outdoor lighting software design programs to help you arrive at an effective layout for the lights.
Although there are many mechanical methods to put contemporary outdoor lighting in place, the main thing to remember is that the outdoor lighting technique you use should either emphasize features you want to highlight or help those you wish to minimize to blend in with the background. Some common techniques include:
Silhouetting
With silhouetting the lights are directed on a flat, vertical surface behind the subject with which you are working like statuary or an interesting branch of a tree. This brings the object dramatically into sharp relief. Think of how a tree looks with the setting sun behind it. That's silhouetting.
Cross Lighting
Cross lighting involves the use of multiple directional fixtures with their beams aligned to cross one another so as to create softer shadows without emphasizing any one particular feature. By playing with the direction of the beams you can deepen some shadows and lighten others, thus playing with the depth of field of your landscape and altering it proportions and scale.
Shadowing
This lighting technique is the exact opposite of silhouetting. The lights are placed in front of the object to be emphasized so that dark shadows are thrown on to a flat vertical surface to the rear. This is especially effective when you have gnarled trees or plants with interesting shapes that lend themselves to drawing shadow "pictures."
Spot Lighting
In spot lighting the fixture is also placed in front of the object, but at a sufficient distance for the beam to fully illuminate the fixture for maximum effect. Spot lighting is lovely on a piece of garden statuary, an unusual blooming plant, or on a waterfall or fountain. The technique can also be used to draw attention to garden benches, ledges, or other seating areas. In that use, the beam should be kept low so that it makes the seating look inviting, but does not shine directly in the eyes of the seated individual.
Spread Lighting
This technique is intended to call attention to ground cover and low standing pieces of shrubbery. Spread lighting is especially useful to bring out the colors in flower beds at night. To achieve proper spread lighting, be sure to buy fixtures that can be easily rotated, raised, and lowered as it may take several nights of fiddling with the lights to achieve the desired effect.
Continue to: Different Kinds of Outdoor Lighting Ideas
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