Outdoor lighting rental

What outdoor lighting is and the mood it creates

Outdoor lighting is all the lighting you deploy on a site, in a garden or on a festival field once darkness falls. The difference from indoor lighting is not only about mood, but above all about the demands: outdoors you are dealing with rain, moisture, wind and usually no fixed power connection within reach. Good outdoor lighting is therefore just as much a technical challenge as an aesthetic one.

In terms of atmosphere, outdoor lighting does two things at once. It makes a site safe and easy to read, so guests can see paths, steps and changes in level, and at the same time it gives a space depth and warmth that cannot be seen during the day. A garden with warm accents in the trees, measured light along the paths and a lit terrace feels inviting after sunset, whereas that same site looks bare and unfinished without light. By working with colour, direction and dosing, you decide whether a site feels calm and atmospheric or lively and festive.

From functional to decorative

Outdoor lighting ranges from purely functional to fully decorative. Functional light keeps people moving safely: lighting at entrances, along walking routes, on stairs and by the bar. Decorative light sets the mood: uplighting against trees and facades, string lights above a terrace, coloured accents on set pieces and focused spots on a stage. In practice we combine these layers, so a site is both easy to move through and beautifully dressed. You can read more about our full lighting range on the lighting page.

When to use outdoor lighting

Outdoor lighting comes into play as soon as part of your event takes place outside and continues past sunset. The approach varies with the occasion.

For a wedding in a garden or on an estate, it is all about warmth and romance: soft uplighting against the trees, string lights above the dance floor and lit paths between the ceremony spot and the dinner. For a company party or outdoor celebration, the lighting can be more expressive, with colour on a stage, lit bars and accents that keep the site energised late into the night.

For a corporate event at an outdoor venue, we often use outdoor lighting to bring a site in line with the house style and to clearly separate reception, catering and programme elements. For a festival or a multi-day event, walking safety and coverage of a large area come into play as well, and the power plan takes centre stage.

Concrete examples

• A garden wedding where lit paths guide guests from the ceremony to the dinner.
• A festival site where bars, stages and walking routes each get their own lighting.
• A company drinks reception on a rooftop terrace where warm accents finish the space after sunset.
• An open-air dinner where string lights and table lighting set the mood.
• An outdoor opening where set pieces and facades are lit in the house style.

The technology behind outdoor lighting

Working outdoors calls for different choices than indoors. Rain, moisture and the lack of fixed power drive much of the approach. Below we explain how we handle that.

Weatherproof setup and fixtures

For outdoor use we choose fixtures with a suitable IP rating, which indicates how well they resist dust and water. We work with waterproof connectors and protected cable connections, so rain and dew cannot cause a short circuit or a failure. Fixtures that are not fully weatherproof go under an awning, inside a marquee or in a closed housing. Sensitive components such as the control desk and distribution cabinets are always kept dry. We mainly use LED fixtures, because they draw little power, give off hardly any heat and can render any colour.

Power plan and distribution

The power plan is at least as important for outdoor lighting as the fixtures themselves. We calculate the total consumption in advance and distribute the connections carefully across the available circuits. If the venue has no mains power, or too little, we allow for a generator with sufficient reserve, and we prefer to put the lighting on a separate circuit so other equipment cannot interfere with it. Wherever possible, cables are kept out of the way and protected with cable ramps or covered along walking routes, so no one trips over them and the connection stays dry.

DMX, control, testing and on-site operation

We control the fixtures via DMX, the standard for lighting control. This lets us set the colour and intensity of each fixture and combine groups into fixed lighting states, for example a calm state for the reception and a livelier state for the party. On the day itself we place and aim every fixture, connect the power plan and the control desk and test the whole rig in the dark, exactly as it will stand during the event. Colours and accents fall differently on a tree, facade or lawn than they do on paper, so we adjust on the spot until it is right. For simple setups we can leave fixed states behind; for larger productions a technician stays on site to operate the lighting and to step in immediately if the weather turns. Afterwards we collect everything again.

Points to watch specific to outdoor lighting

A few things decide whether outdoor lighting really works reliably outdoors. The most important is weather protection: rain, wind and moisture must not put the installation at risk, so an IP rating, waterproof connections and dry setup spots for the technology are not a luxury but a necessity. When designing, we always allow for a change in the weather, even when the forecast is favourable.

Power is also a concern that weighs more heavily outdoors than indoors. Without a solid power plan and enough capacity, the lighting fails at the worst possible moment. The distance to the power source matters too: across a large site cables sometimes run a long way, and they must lie safely and dry. Walking safety deserves extra attention as well, because outdoors there are more often changes in level, dips, tree roots and loose ground. Finally, we take account of light spill towards the surroundings and any agreements the venue has about the view and the finishing time. We factor in this kind of thing as standard, so the lighting is not only attractive but also safe and reliable throughout the evening.

Combining with other disciplines

Outdoor lighting comes into its own best as part of a bigger whole. Combined with sound, you can have the lighting states move along with the music and the programme on a stage or dance floor, so the outdoor site feels like a single whole even after sunset. For a presentation or film screening outdoors, you tune the light to the image from the video, so walking routes stay lit without any light falling on the screen.

For an extra layer, combine outdoor lighting with special effects, such as a thin low-hanging haze that makes the beams visible or focused effects on a stage. Because we, as an audiovisual production company, deliver light, sound, video and effects under a single direction, the disciplines fit together and share the same power plan, so you do not have to juggle separate suppliers.

Practical tips

• Share a site plan or photos of the grounds in advance, so we can plan the positions and the cable routes precisely.
• Let us know where power is available, or whether we need to schedule a generator.
• Think about walking routes, stairs and changes in level, so we can light those safely.
• Keep an eye on the weather forecast, but always plan for a possible turn: we do so anyway.
• Tell us if there is a stage, a bar or a photo moment, so we can give those spots extra attention.
• For a large or unfamiliar site, plan a site visit, so we can gauge the distances and the ground.

Renting outdoor lighting from HuurAV

HuurAV is an audiovisual production company in Amsterdam, based at Zeeburgerpad 89 and part of Speaker Verhuur Amsterdam and SpeakerVerhuur.nl. We deliver complete AV productions including technicians on site, so you can focus on your event instead of the technology and the power plan. If you only want to collect individual equipment and operate it yourself, you can turn to SpeakerVerhuur.nl.

Want outdoor lighting that makes your garden, site or festival safe and atmospheric, weatherproof and backed by a reliable power plan? Tell us what you have in mind and what the venue looks like, and we will help think through the design, the power supply and the operation. Request a no-obligation quote, and we will put together a proposal that suits your event and your venue.