Before one starts a landscape lighting project it is important to become familiar with the various lighting techniques. Learning about these techniques before you start your landscape lighting project will not only help ensure your project goes smoothly but will also inform and diversify your plan.

There are many techniques so we won't discuss them all at once. Let's take a few of the more common techniques as a starting point and get to know those.

Spot Lighting

Most people are probably familiar with the term "spot lighting." In landscape lighting the term is used to define the use of a bright, focused beam to highlight interesting features of a building, tree, monument or other object. In some cases it is best to position the spot light overhead in order to minimize glare and give a direct path for the light to the subject.

Silhouetting

A lesser known but similar landscape lighting technique is silhouetting. This technique involves placing a landscape lighting fixture directly behind a subject such as a tree, fountain or other object, and pointing it at a large vertical surface such as a wall. The result is that the light displays a dark outline of the subject to the foreground observer. This is an interesting technique to use for highlighting the shape of interesting objects in your landscape.

Shadowing

A third technique which is another variation of the first two is know as shadowing. As the name suggests, shadowing is a landscape lighting technique which involves the use of a spot light aimed at an object which creates a shadow in the background. This can be accomplished by placing a landscape spotlight directly in front and aimed upward of a large object such as a tree. The light can be positioned so the shadow is cast on a large vertical surface such as an exterior wall.