The Do’s and Don’ts of Landscape Lighting Techniques

Adding lights to your landscape improves both the look and feel of your outdoor space. However, many people struggle with where to place landscape lights and how to achieve the desired look. We’ve outlined the main landscape lighting techniques and gathered tips used to help you create the perfect landscape lighting design.

Up-lighting is a technique used to light an element from below. This technique highlights details and features of plants, trees, and smaller structures. Spot lights are commonly used for landscape up-lighting because they are easily adjusted to get the desired light placement. 

Do: Use up-lighting to create a silhouette or grazing effect against a wall.

Don’t: Don’t angle or place your light source too close to an object or wall as this will cut the beam length short.

Down-lighting is used to add illumination from above for increased visibility or dramatic effect. This technique is mostly used in patios and gardens or to add lighting around points of entry like your garage or back door. 

Do: Use a surface mount if you want to install your light fixtures on trees.

Don’t: Don’t choose down-lighting to illuminate small objects on the ground, like a short bush or statue, from far away. Up-lighting would better suit those applications.

Grazing is a landscape lighting technique used to highlight a textured surface such as stone or brick walls by creating shadows. Spot lights, well lights, low-voltage flood lights, and hardscape lights are most commonly used to achieve a grazing effect.

Do: Place your light source up to one foot away from the surface and aim your light upwards or downwards to add dimension.

Don’t: Don’t wash out your wall with too much light. Use light fixtures with dimming control options if necessary.

Wall washing adds a uniform glow to building facades or a long row of shrubbery. Unlike a grazing effect, wall washing is meant to eliminate shadows on a surface.

Do: Use a wide-angled flood light or multiple well lights to eliminate hot spots and maximize the beam spread.

Don’t: Don’t place your light too close to the wall that it creates shadows on textured surfaces.

If you want to highlight certain elements in a statue, tree, or plant, use accent lighting to draw attention where it is needed. Spot lights and well lights are commonly used to create accents and highlights.

Do: Adjust the brightness and placement of your light to achieve different shadowing effects.

Don’t: Don’t use a light with a wide beam angle to accent smaller objects.

To achieve a silhouette effect, place a spot light or well light behind an object and aim your light up at an adjacent wall. The dark shape of the object will be outlined against the illuminated background. This technique works best with tall trees or large bushes. 

Do: Use silhouette lighting to create a dramatic effect in your landscape.

Don’t: Don’t use a light source with a beam spread narrower than the object you will be placing the light behind.

Moonlighting is an effect used to mimic the feel of natural moonlight. To get an authentic look, mount your lights high in trees or above your patios or outdoor spaces and angle them downwards. Use low-voltage landscape flood lights, spot lights, or a mix of both.

Do: Use a bulb with a cooler color temperature. Natural moonlight has an average CCT of 4000K.

Don’t: Don’t use a light source with a high-lumen output. The best moonlighting effect is made with a subtle light.

A shadowing effect is achieved by placing a spot light or low-voltage landscape flood light in front of an object and projecting the object's shadow on the wall behind it. This technique is best used with statues or other decorative features. Large shadows create a striking and bold effect.

Do: Choose a light with a beam angle large enough to cover the entire object.

Don’t: Don’t use a shadowing effect in a crowded landscape area where the projection will not be clearly shown.

Use path lights to illuminate walkways for increased visibility and safety by highlighting plants and other features along the path.

Do: Place your path lights in an alternating pattern along the sides of your walkway to maximize illumination. 

Don’t: Don’t place path lights too close together. Allow several feet of space between each fixture.

Add underwater lighting to highlight a pond, pool, or fountain. Fixtures that will be submerged must have a rating of IP68 to protect the internal elements from damage.

Do: Submerge underwater lights that are prone to overheat. The coolness of the water will naturally cool the fixture.

Don’t: Don’t position your lights in a way that creates a glare effect in the water. Angle the lights downwards or outwards for the best effect.