> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.chatvideopro.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.chatvideopro.com/features/studio/relight-scene.md). # Relight Scene Relight Scene lets you change the lighting of an existing image or short video without rebuilding the shot from scratch. Use it to add golden hour, create a cinematic grade, move the key light, turn a flat frame into a moody scene, or test lighting directions before committing to a look in the edit. {% hint style="info" %} **Relight Scene is for changing light, not changing the shot.** The best results preserve the same subject, pose, camera angle, background, and composition. You are asking the model to relight the scene, not redesign it. {% endhint %} #### When to Use Relight Scene Use Relight Scene when the shot is structurally right, but the lighting is not. * **Make a flat frame feel cinematic** with contrast, mood, and direction * **Turn midday into golden hour,** perfect for real estate, travel, or lifestyle edits * **Create a clean studio look** from a usable but uneven product or portrait frame * **Add a backlight or rim light** to separate a subject from the background * **Preview lighting directions** before sending the image into Motion Director or AI Transitions * **Match a generated still to the tone of the edit** before turning it into video * **Apply a relit reference frame back onto a short video** so the moving clip follows the same lighting idea Relight Scene is strongest when the original frame already has good composition and recognizable detail. If the frame is blurry, badly exposed, heavily compressed, or missing important subject detail, relighting cannot fully rescue it. *** #### How the Workflow Works Relight Scene has two paths:

Input	What Happens	Best For
Image	The image opens directly in the lighting configuration step, then generates a relit image	Stills, generated frames, thumbnails, product shots, portraits
Video	You pick one representative frame, relight that frame, then optionally apply the lighting to the whole short video	Short clips where one lighting look should carry through the shot

#### Getting Started **Step 1: Add an Image or Video** Relight Scene opens with an asset loader that accepts an image or a video. You can start from: * **Upload** * **Recents** * **Timeline / frame sources supported by the Studio loader** Use an image when you want a single finished still. Use a video when you want to relight a moving shot. **Step 2: If You Use Video, Pick the Hero Frame** For video, Relight Scene first asks you to scrub through the clip and capture a frame. This captured frame becomes the lighting reference. The workflow relights that frame first, then uses it as the visual guide when applying the look back to the video. Pick a frame that shows: * The main subject clearly * The important background elements * The lighting problem you want to solve * A representative moment from the clip, not a motion-blurred in-between frame {% hint style="info" %} **Pro tip: choose the frame you would use as the thumbnail.** If the lighting looks good on that frame, the video pass has a better reference for the whole clip. {% endhint %} #### Direction vs. Style Relight Scene has two modes:

Mode	Use It When	Result
Direction	You want to move the light source	Custom multi-light rig: Key, Fill, Hairlight, and Accent lights positioned freely around the subject
Style	You want a complete lighting mood	Golden hour, studio, overcast, daytime, nighttime, cinematic

Direction is about **where the light comes from**. Style is about **what the shot should feel like**. ***

#### Direction Mode Direction mode gives you an interactive **3D light stage**. Your image appears centered in a stage with orbit rings — visual guides representing the sphere of directions a light can occupy. Drag a **light gizmo** anywhere on that sphere to set the light's direction: in front of the subject, to the side, above, below, or behind. **Lighting Controls Panel** Expand the **Lighting Controls** panel below the stage to configure the selected light:

Control	Options	What It Does
Type	Key, Fill, Hairlight, Accent	Sets the cinematic role of the light in the rig
Color	Color picker + H / S / L sliders	Neutral white for standard lighting; colored for gels or creative looks
Depth	In Front / Behind	Places the light on the near or far side of the subject on the Z axis
Intensity	0–100% slider	Controls brightness relative to the other lights in the rig

**Light Types**

Type	Role	When to Use
Key	The dominant main light — defines shadow direction and subject form	Start every rig with a Key; it establishes the direction and character of the whole look
Fill	A softer secondary light that lifts the shadows the Key creates	Add a Fill to prevent Key shadows from going too dark or harsh; keep intensity below the Key
Hairlight	A rim or back light above-behind the subject that separates it from the background	Use on any talking-head or portrait where the subject risks blending into the background
Accent	An edge or color light for creative highlights	Use with a colored gel for neon, editorial, or dramatic looks; or as a neutral edge for added depth

Tap **+ Add Light** to add a second or third light. Each light is configured independently. Up to **3 lights** are supported in a single rig. **Two-Step Preview Workflow** After configuring your rig, Direction mode generates a **lit still preview** first. Review the still, tweak light positions, types, colors, or intensity, and regenerate as many times as you need. Once the still looks right, click **Apply Lighting to Video** to apply the rig to the full clip. **Rig Guidance** **Build around the Key first** Start with a single Key light. Position it where the main illumination should come from and get the angle and intensity right before adding more lights. **Add a Fill to control shadow depth** Place a Fill on the opposite side of the Key to lift the shadow side without flattening the look. Keep Fill intensity below the Key — typically 30–50%. **Use a Hairlight for subject separation** Position a Hairlight above-behind the subject. A neutral or slightly warm white at moderate intensity creates a thin highlight along the hair and shoulders that keeps the subject reading clearly against the background. **Use Accent lights for color** Set an Accent light to a deep blue, amber, magenta, or any creative hue using the Color picker. Keep intensity moderate so it complements — rather than overpowers — the Key and Fill. *** #### Style Mode Style mode applies a complete lighting atmosphere.

Style	Best For	Look
Golden Hour	Travel, lifestyle, real estate, beauty, outdoor scenes	Warm sunset glow, long shadows, amber color
Studio	Product, headshots, ads, thumbnails, clean explainers	Soft-box light, balanced exposure, polished commercial feel
Overcast	Documentary, natural realism, outdoor matching	Soft diffused light, low contrast, no harsh shadows
Daytime	Bright social edits, upbeat content, outdoor scenes	Clear natural daylight, vibrant color, high-key energy
Nighttime	Mystery, tension, cool moods, dramatic scenes	Blue moonlight, deep shadows, low-key darkness
Cinematic	Trailers, music videos, narrative edits, dramatic posts	High contrast, teal shadows, warm highlights, moody grade

#### Model Notes Relight Scene uses two models depending on what you generate.

Stage	Model	Purpose
Relit Image	Nano Banana 2	Relights the captured image or source still
Relit Video	Kling O3 VFX (`kling-o3-pro-edit`)	Applies the approved lighting look to the original short video

**Image Relighting** The relit image is usually the most controllable part of the workflow. You can regenerate the still until the lighting idea works before spending time on the video pass. **Video Relighting** For video, the workflow first creates a relit image. If you like it, click **Apply Lighting to Video**. Kling O3 VFX receives: * The original source video * The relit image as a visual reference * A lighting prompt based on the selected direction or style The video pass is more expensive and slower than the image pass, so treat the image result like a proof before applying it to the video. {% hint style="warning" %} **Approve the relit frame before generating the video.** If the still result has the wrong mood, wrong shadows, or a changed identity, the video pass will inherit that problem. {% endhint %} *** #### Working With Images For images, the flow is simple: 1. Load an image 2. Choose Direction or Style 3. Generate Relit Image 4. Compare before and after 5. Click **Done** to save the image to chat Use image relighting before: * Motion Director, when you want to animate a better-lit still * AI Transitions, when your start and end frames need a consistent mood * Cinematic Lab iterations, when you have the right scene but want a better lighting direction * Thumbnail or hero-image creation, when the subject is good but the shot lacks polish *** #### Working With Video For the video, the flow is: 1. Load a 3-10 second video 2. Scrub to a representative frame 3. Capture the frame for relighting 4. Choose Direction or Style 5. Generate the relit image 6. If the image works, click **Apply Lighting to Video** 7. Compare original vs. relit video 8. Click **Done** to save the relit video to chat Video relighting works best when: * The camera movement is simple * The subject stays visible * The lighting change is plausible across the whole clip * The clip is already edited down to the moment you want * The captured reference frame represents the full shot It is weaker when: * The shot has fast cuts * The subject leaves frame * The lighting changes dramatically inside the original clip * The video is too dark, noisy, or motion blurred * Different parts of the clip need different lighting designs *** #### Pro Tips **Start with the least destructive lighting change** If you only need polish, start with Studio or Overcast in Style mode, or a front-centered or mild side Key light in Direction mode. Save Nighttime and heavy Cinematic looks for shots that can handle more stylization. **Use relighting before animation** If you plan to animate a still in Motion Director, relight it first. A strong source still gives the video model a cleaner visual target. **Use a hairlight or rear-positioned light to separate subjects** A Hairlight or rear-positioned light is one of the most useful creative fixes. It can turn a flat subject/background relationship into something with depth without changing the composition. **Use Overcast to normalize mismatched outdoor footage** When two outdoor shots have harsh lighting differences, Overcast can sometimes make them easier to cut together because it reduces hard shadows and color extremes. **Use Golden Hour for warmth, not accuracy** Golden Hour is a mood tool. It can make lifestyle, travel, real estate, and creator footage feel more premium, but it may not match physically accurate sun direction in every frame. **Use Nighttime only when the frame has enough detail** Nighttime needs information to work with. If the original is already dark, pushing it darker can lose the subject. **Do not judge video relighting from a bad reference frame** If the captured frame is motion-blurred, blinking, obstructed, or poorly composed, go back and capture a cleaner frame before relighting. **Regenerate the image before regenerating the video** The image pass is the cheaper creative loop. Get that right first, then apply it to the clip.

Example Ideas

**Flat Interview to Cinematic Key Light**

Setting	Choice
Input	Talking-head still or short interview clip
Mode	Direction
Rig	Key light at 45° to one side + Fill on the opposite side at 30–50% intensity
Goal	Add shape to the face while keeping the subject readable

**Product Shot to Studio Polish**

Setting	Choice
Input	Product frame with uneven lighting
Mode	Style
Preset	Studio
Goal	Create clean commercial lighting before using the shot in an ad

**Travel Shot to Golden Hour**

Setting	Choice
Input	Outdoor lifestyle or landscape frame
Mode	Style
Preset	Golden Hour
Goal	Add warmth, premium mood, and softer sunset energy

**Subject Lost in Background**

Setting	Choice
Input	Portrait or character frame with weak separation
Mode	Direction
Rig	Hairlight above-behind the subject; optionally add a Key for front shape
Goal	Add rim light so the subject stands out from the background

**Day Scene to Moody Night**

Setting	Choice
Input	Clear daytime frame with enough subject detail
Mode	Style
Preset	Nighttime
Goal	Build a darker, cooler, more mysterious version

*** #### Best Practices **Keep expectations focused** Relight Scene is not a full VFX compositor. It can convincingly change mood and direction, but it is not meant to replace masks, rotoscoping, manual grade work, or scene reconstruction. **Preserve the original composition** The workflow is built around identity and composition preservation. Avoid asking it to change wardrobe, pose, location, camera angle, or props. **Use one strong lighting idea** "Golden hour with cinematic nighttime studio backlight and overcast softness" is too many directions at once. Pick one lighting concept per generation. **Avoid text-heavy frames** Like most image and video generation models, relighting can disturb fine text, labels, UI, and small logos. Use product frames with large, clear branding if text must remain visible. **Trim video first** For video, send only the section you need. A tight 4-6 second shot is easier to relight than a 10 second clip with changing action. **Check identity carefully** The workflow uses prompts to preserve faces, hair, skin tone, clothing, expression, and background, but you should still inspect portraits closely before using the result in client work. *** #### Troubleshooting **The Generate button is disabled**\ Check that your FAL API key is configured in Settings. **My video was rejected**\ The clip must be between 3 and 10 seconds and under 200 MB. Trim or compress it before loading it again. **The relit image changed the face**\ Try a less aggressive setup. In Direction mode, a front-centered or gentle side Key light is safer than extreme angles. In Style mode, Studio, Overcast, and Daytime are safer than Nighttime or heavy Cinematic looks. **The lighting looks too extreme**\ Regenerate with a softer style or reduce light intensity in Direction mode. In Style mode, Overcast and Studio are usually safer than Nighttime or Cinematic. **The video pass does not match the still perfectly**\ Video relighting has to preserve motion while applying the look. If the reference still is good but the video is inconsistent, try a shorter clip or capture a more representative frame. **The subject becomes too dark**\ In Direction mode, move the Key light toward a front or front-side position. In Style mode, Studio, Daytime, or Overcast are safer choices. Nighttime and rear-positioned lights can reduce subject readability if the original frame is already low exposure. **The background changed too much**\ Use a less stylized mode and start from a cleaner source frame. Relight Scene tries to preserve the background, but very aggressive lighting changes can still reinterpret details. **The result is close but not final-grade quality**\ Use Relight Scene to create the base lighting direction, then finish the grade in Premiere with normal color tools. *** **Next:** Use Motion Director to animate a relit still, or use AI Transitions to bridge two frames with a matching lighting mood. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.chatvideopro.com/features/studio/relight-scene.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.