Practical light

Practicals do two jobs at once. They give the frame a believable source, so the viewer accepts why light falls the way it does, and they put depth behind a subject who would otherwise sit flat against a wall. Control is the hard part, since a lamp bright enough to read on camera is often too bright to look at. Swap in a lower wattage bulb, move it further from the lens, or put it on a dimmer. A warm bulb next to a daylight-balanced key is the commonest giveaway in a home studio.