Lighting Techniques
Good lighting design is contingent upon selecting the appropriate lighting technique to achieve the desired visual effect. Variables to consider include: direction of light, fixture location, fixture type, and quantity of light (lamp type, wattage, and beam spread). Below you will find a comprehensive overview of the various techniques used in our lighting designs.
up lighting
Purpose:
To highlight a tree or other feature, to provide a dramatic effect, especially with flowering or specimen plant material.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights, well lights
Considerations:
For Pine trees and other dense foliage plant material, fixtures are placed outside the drip line of the plant and spacing is limited to 5 foot on center. Less dense trees usually require far fewer fixtures with 8 to 10 foot spacing. For tree trunks, low intensity grazing technique is used to accentuate textures.
Mirror Lighting
Purpose:
To take advantage of the reflective surface of water features and create dramatic scenes.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights, well lights
Considerations:
The scene behind the water feature needs to be well designed and adjusted with consideration of the viewing areas.
Niche Lighting
Purpose:
To illuminate areas such as decks, entranceways, and gazebos where the fixture must be attached to a structure.
Fixtures Used:
niche lights
Considerations:
Placement is key. Before mounting fixture, the effect is viewed at night to ensure best placement. Installation can be time consuming. To hide wire diagonal, intersecting holes are drilled in rail post. Exposed holes are then plugged with wood putty.
Path / Area Lighting
Purpose:
To light planting beds and paths. And, to provide seamless transition between lighting scenes.
Fixtures Used:
Path, bollard lights
Considerations:
Path lights are used for planting beds and narrow paths. MR-16 Path Lights are used for wider paths and driveways. The placement is staggered for even distribution of light that allows the eye to easily flow through the scene.
Wall Washing
Purpose:
To provide an even illumination on walls.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights
Considerations:
Care is taken to ensure these lights are not glaring for occupants inside the house. Wall washing provides a broad, even illumination across the house. The frontal angle produces a flattening effect (no shadows from the surface texture.) In some cases, spread lenses are required.
Back Lighting
Purpose:
To light planting beds and paths. And, to provide seamless transition between lighting scenes.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights, well lights
Considerations:
This technique is best used on objects with interesting shapes. The fixture should be kept hidden from view. The backlit object is not a focal point in the scene - it is a sub-scene, adding visual interest to the overall scene.
Moon Lighting
Purpose:
To provide soft natural lighting over large areas, serves as an ideal transition connecting different lighting scenes together and eliminating black holes from the overall scene composition.
Fixtures Used:
Tree, down lights; wide beam spread
Considerations:
Fixtures must be at least 25 ft. high (aimed no greater than 35% from vertical). At least two lights per tree is recommended.
Cross Lighting
Purpose:
Defines surface texture instead of flattening effect when using a single from light.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights
Considerations:
Often used to define focal points. Lamp selection and fixture placement is critical. An angle of 45° between fixtures is often used. Honeycomb louvers can be used in MR-16 directional lights to minimize light spill.
Step Lighting
Purpose:
To illuminate steps.
Fixtures Used:
Deck lights, niche lights
Considerations:
Placement is key. The effect is viewed at night to ensure best placement. Installation can be time consuming. To hide wires, the wire threading technique is used.
Grazing
Purpose:
To provide a steeply angled light to accentuate texture on walls and tree trunks by utilizing the irregular surface to create broken shadows and irregular patterns.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights, well lights
Considerations:
Lights are positioned within 1 foot of walls or tree trunks. When lighting walls, lights are spaced at even intervals with consistent beam spread so illuminated areas blend into one another.
Silhouetting
Purpose:
To provide a lit surface that acts as a backdrop for unlit plant material or other features.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights, well lights
Considerations:
This technique produces dramatic effects and is best used for features that have distinctive and interesting shapes.
Shadowing
Purpose:
To create interesting shadows on walls.
Fixtures Used:
directional lights, well lights
Considerations:
Shadows create visual interest on the structure. For houses with siding, use shadowing to breakup the linear patterns.
