Have I mentioned that landscape lighting is sexy? I know, I’ve said it before. No, I don’t have a problem. It’s just happens to be true. People occasionally get excited about new grass, or a tree, or various combinations thereof. But, when the new lighting system goes in and then goes on, just about everybody goes “Wow! I had no idea!” Why? Because it’s magic. Well, at least that’s the part we are going to talk about in this installment. Since we’ve covered a little history, a little of the scientific, it’s time to cover the artistic part.
Originally, I mentioned that there are basically two main components to a good lighting job. There is the scientific – getting the right amount of voltage to each fixture, using the right transformer, etc. But, basically, this is the entry level or the foundation for what we are trying to do. And, what we are trying to do is create some magic, to make you say – “Wow, you are right. That is sexy.” Once voltage drop has been dealt with, it’s time to create some magic, to saw the lady in half or levitate something, or someone. You get my point don’t you? Well, here it is. Lighting is about creating magic, a mood, a perception. To do that, every magician has his bag of tricks. Here are a few basics.
Good lighting doesn’t happen by accident. It is more than simply putting out a few lights here and there and calling it a day. This is why a lighting person will want to be on site during the day as well as at night to study it. The fact is that good lighting begins before any materials are even brought to the job. Perspectives are looked at. That is to say, how many different views are there that need to be addressed. Lighting magic happens when a site’s different perspectives have been studied and incorporated into the overall scheme. There is a cohesiveness that results from looking at these different areas as part of a whole.
Normally, if you are doing someone’s house, their front entrance is going to be a main attraction. What unique elements can be highlighted to emphasize the positive and create a sense that one has arrived? A good lighting person will know the answer to this question. And as such, they will know whether to use up lighting, down lighting or a combination of both. They will even know when something is missing. And, it is not unheard of to suggest the addition of a statue, or specimen tree to complete the composition. And, occasionally, things need to be removed for an area to look right.
I hear it nearly every time I set foot on a prospective client’s site. Either they say, “I don’t want it to look like Vegas when you are done,” or, “I don’t want it to resemble a landing strip. Please, no runway lights. We don’t want too many lights.” This is a fear of having too much light. The truth is that, as strange as it may sound, more light is often less.
This is because good lighting relies on emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain elements in a landscape. This is done by using varying levels of light. For instance, level 1 is the brightest. Level 2 is slightly lower intensity, and, level 3 is lowest. Emphasis is created by carefully using these different levels of light. Let’s say you have just one light on a specimen. Regardless of how bright it is, it becomes the main attraction. Then, place another light on a nearby specimen you would like to emphasize. Seems like a good idea, right? Here is the problem. You now have separate points of interest with the same level of light on them and nothing in between. This creates black holes, or areas where there is no light. Now, having the same level of light repeated is not always wrong. You may want to create a visual rhythm, for instance, on a series of Italian cypresses lining a driveway. This can be an effective technique. In a less linear setting though, the prodigious use of various levels of light allows a designer to create emphasis, and transition from one interesting scene to another without the viewer being aware of how it is happening. It is the visual equivalent of listening to your child trying to play a new piece of music for you versus a professional musician. One interrupts the music and leaves you nervously waiting for the chord change. The other lets you relax into the music that effortlessly unfolds and enfolds you.
I’ll close with a story about a meeting with a client who challenged me not to use too many lights. So, I did what I often do. I set up a demonstration of lights for a particular area. The client looked at it and said, “Wow, that is sexy.” Ok, maybe they didn’t say that exactly. But they were thinking it. Then, in the interest of not using more lights than necessary, they began tipping lights over so as to see the effect between with and with out. They ended up keeping all the lights. What happened? Well, they finally got it. Sure, I love to sell lights. But, I don’t put lights out on a property based on how many I want to sell. I use lights the same way a painter uses brush strokes. When the picture is done, you know it. After you’ve done it a few hundred times, you may even create some magic.
