How important is lighting to you?

I’m not talking about shooting video’s. Just yoyoing general. I’ve found that a huge part of whether or not I enjoy a throwing sesh comes down to what kind of lighting I have. If I’m indoors and don’t have the best lighting it’s just not the same. Outdoors on a sunny day is undoubtedly the best and I find myself getting lost in the yo a bit more than normal.

Just wondering if this is how everyone feels or if it’s just me. Also wondering if any of you guys have specific light set ups just for yoyo play?

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I don’t have a specific light set-up, as long as there is enough light (getting older will do that to you). We have a dimmer switch in the dining room which is where I usually throw because there aren’t too many obstacles (human or otherwise). I set the dimmer switch to the center position which is bright enough to see the string fairly well but not too bright to feel like I’m in an operating room. Outside I’m more aware of wind than light. Outside my office there’s usually a pretty strong breeze between the buildings so I have to make sure I’m throwing in the right direction if I want to practice one handed binds (whip, ghost, laceration, I’m not sure what the preferred term is).

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Depends on the string really. If I have a new neon yellow or kitty hot pink I can yoyo in pretty dim lighting.

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Green and yellow are my go to string because of this.

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YESSSSS. My favorite place to yoyo.

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I need more light for suicide catches, to best see the loop. Other than that, haven’t thought about it.

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I have mentioned in other threads that I don’t like black yoyos because they are harder to see. For lighting, it is the placement of lights that can bother me. I DO NOT like eye level lights. Bright table lamps are the worst.

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For sure. I have some string that is simply way too dark for indoor use.

I’ve been looking at getting a daylight balanced lamp for painting and was thinking maybe it would work well for yoyo as well.

Also was talking about this with my uncle and he mentioned that some LED’s run at a lower frequency than other sources of light. So you’d maybe be getting a lower yoyo FPS depending on what kinda lights your using? Dunno the science on that though haha.

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lighting is huge, im not great at it but it is so important

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I’ve got night vision for Gods sake. Lights out in London doesn’t mean a thing around these parts.

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Hello everybody!
I have played more indoors than outdoors.
My favorite lighting light to play outdoors is the light of dusk, twilight, when it starts to get dark and there are no direct sun rays but it is still visible, at sunset … when I have a neon yellow rope on, WOW!It’s just amazing, a few magical minutes: it seems to shine on its own!
Personally, indoors I play well whatever the light, I think that indoors it depends more on the background and the color of the floor where you play, rather than the lighting, you have to look for a high contrast between the color of the string and the color of the floor and the walls of the room.
(forgive me the translation;)
Have a nice day!
Regards!

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I’m a newb, but older (pushing 50) and my eyesight is not what it used to be. I notice a big difference when I throw in subdued light vs. turning on the overhead lights in my living room.

@Chaman makes a great point about the importance of contrast. Some of my strings are not brightly colored and they are definitely harder for me to pick out. I plan to only buy strings from now on that are eye searing neon.

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I’m 51 and definitely need plenty of light and bright string if I’m doing anything like suicides or slacky things. Overhead light is by far the best. My eyes need all the help they can get. Bright yellow is the easiest for me to follow, followed by neon orange, neon pink, neon green. White can be surprisingly tough for me to follow. I throw a lot in my office which has white walls and if I don’t have the overhead lights on, even in the middle of the day with the shades up, that white string really disappears. That’s the only downside with my beloved dragon and draken markmont strings, but I do fine with the blue eyed dragon, just that tiny bit of blue in there helps.

It’s a shame I have quite a few great dark or muted color strings that I just can’t track well enough. The others that I have a hard time with are the really multicolored string like Higby’s signature string from zipline, I love the string but I have a hard time following it… almost like there’s too much going on.

In our house we use LED lights in the daylight color temperature, it somehow helps prevent my wife from getting migraines. I really like them for yoyoing too, colors and contrast really pop under those lights. We have some older cheap LED bulbs with a low refresh rate which definitely make some of my yoyos look like they have a strobe light on them, or lows FPS lol, especially if the yoyo has a splash or spiral colorway. The saturday market colorway looks absolutely trippy under those lights. The effect can definitely throw me off, so I use solid colored yoyos there.

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Yes, agreed on the contrast being important.

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