‘Shaw’, a gaffer and cam OP, talks about great lighting and how it’s less about adding light and more about knowing what the image actually needs.
In the world of films and entertainment, a gaffer’s work is often associated with equipment like cables, fixtures, rigging, power distribution, control systems, and the technical aspects that make a lighting setup possible. However, for New York-based gaffer Shaurya ‘Shaw’ Chopra, the real work begins much earlier. It begins with looking, he says.That way of seeing came to Shaw through photography.
Before thinking about what fixture to bring onto a set, he learned to pay attention to what light was already doing. Moving a subject closer to a window could change the shape of a face. Turning someone slightly in a scene could shift the contrast, and sometimes, simply waiting for the natural light to change could achieve more than introducing another fixture. This very instinct has remained central to his work.
He always starts by considering what the image is trying to communicate before deciding what equipment belongs on a set. He also makes sure first to understand questions like: where should the light come from? How large should the source be? What should remain visible, what can disappear, and what’s motivating the light within a scene?One question has become particularly important to him: Do we actually need to see that? It’s a deceptively simple question, but it says a lot about how his thinking has changed since his photography days.
For Shaurya, equipment is a means, and not the starting point. The objective isn’t to recreate a lighting diagram as is, but to understand the qualities that made a reference image work in the first place. A reference for a scene might have been created with a huge source pushed through diffusion.
The actual production may have a different location, limited power, a tighter schedule or a completely different camera movement. Trying to reproduce the original setup literally may therefore make little sense. Instead, he breaks the image down. He looks at the direction of the source, its size, softness, and falloff, and even studies the shadow side of a face and the separation between the subject and the background.
Shaurya also considers how colors can affect the frame’s emotional quality and, importantly, where the audience is meant to look. Only after understanding these elements does he move on to fixtures.It’s an approach that has followed him across very different kinds of productions. His credits include commercial work for brands such as Gucci, Nespresso, Kiehl’s and Mango, and more, alongside narrative films and music videos.
The productions may look very different from one another, but the underlying question remains the same: what is the image asking for? A DP friend once joked that Chopra sometimes seems happier turning lights off than turning them on. The joke is revealing because, in several ways, that restraint has become part of his visual personality.
One of the more crucial shifts in his development as a lighting professional has been becoming comfortable with not showing everything. Photography initially encouraged him to reveal more information, like showing a face or something in the background, because it felt natural to ensure the audience could see it. However, filmmaking gradually challenged that instinct.
Sometimes darkness carries more meaning than illumination. A face can lose part of its detail and become more mysterious. A background can fall away and allow the viewer to concentrate on the subject. A silhouette can remain a silhouette instead of being filled in simply because the technology allows it. For Shaw, this is where lighting becomes less about making an image look conventionally beautiful and more about deciding what the audience should experience. “Do we actually need to see that?” becomes a creative question rather than a technical one.Shaurya Chopra, for all the sophistication available in modern lighting departments, considers one principle more fundamental than the size of a lighting package: direction.
A large fixture placed in the wrong position can still produce the wrong image. Conversely, a small practical light in exactly the right place can become the defining element of a frame. While he appreciates today’s technical possibilities, he also believes tech cannot replace visual decision-making. For him, lighting is often about refinement rather than reinvention.Because lighting plans often can change due to weather, blocking, time, or equipment, he focuses on protecting the image’s intention rather than following a fixed setup.
He translates a cinematographer’s references or emotions into practical solutions while encouraging collaboration. By adjusting diffusion, bounce, negative fill, sources or positioning, he adapts while keeping the creative vision intact. That practical problem-solving is a recurring part of the work he enjoys. Some of his favourite moments on set begin with a deceptively simple question: “How the hell are we going to do this?” The answer often emerges through a conversation between the DP, gaffer and crew rather than from one person having the perfect solution immediately.Shaurya’ Shaw’ Chopra believes there’s no single correct setup.
A gaffer’s technical skill must be matched by communication and trust, he believes. Lastly, he emphasizes that a gaffer’s real skill lies in understanding what the frame needs, adapting quickly and knowing when not to add another light.
