This is a youtube video of an anonymous caller who claims to be in possession of a highly sensitive piece of video footage. In order to preserve his identity and anonymity, he is silhouetted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o160kbVvzOQ
When one speaks of the lighting of an image that person is commenting on how the lightness and shadows work with an object or action to create certain vibes and feelings that would otherwise be absent. For instance, fluorescent lights are typically associated with harshness and the unnatural, so when an image is taken in a fluorescent light it will carry those attributes with it. That’s why dystopian films like Visioneers use fluorescent lights to create a sterile, bland, and flat vibe/feel. A lack of lighting—or shadows—can be used to completely erase one’s identity, at least on camera. In the example video above, some guy wants to preserve his identity by having his talking head silhouetted in darkness. Without lighting, as we can see (or not see), this man would have to either keep his absurd secrete to himself or reveal his identity for his perceived ‘greater good.’
20th Century Literature 