Most soft lights are bulky — a panel, a box, a frame on a stand. The LiteGear LiteMat threw that out. It is a thin, flexible LED mat barely thicker than a hardcover book's spine, so it goes where a rigid fixture simply can't: taped to a car headliner, hidden over a tabletop, gaffer-taped to a ceiling, or built into a set. You get genuinely beautiful soft light from a fixture you can hide in the shot. That combination — soft quality plus a vanishingly small footprint — is why LiteMats are everywhere on car interiors, tight sets, and product tables.
What the LiteMat is
The LiteMat is a low-profile, flexible LED soft source built from thousands of small emitters across a thin mat, so the light is even and naturally diffuse. It comes in two color flavors — Hybrid (bi-color) and Spectrum (full color) — and a range of sizes. The numbers that matter:
LiteGear LiteMat — key specs
- Type
- Thin, flexible LED soft mat
- Hybrid (Series 2)
- Bi-color, ~2,600–6,000K, CRI 95+ / TLCI 95+
- Spectrum
- 6-color wide gamut, ~2,000–11,000K, full ± green tint
- Spectrum color
- Hue & saturation control, CRI / TLCI ≥ 95
- Sizes
- 1×1, 2, 2L, 3, 4 (small accent up to large key)
- Efficiency
- Series 2 ~40% brighter than original at same draw
- Profile
- Thin and flexible — tapes and hides in tight spaces
- Dimming
- 0–100% with a compatible LiteGear dimmer/controller
The LiteMat's whole reason for being is soft light with no bulk. The thin, flexible mat lets you mount it flat against a surface or curve it slightly to wrap a subject, and the spread of emitters makes it an even, flattering source. Choose Hybrid when you want a clean, color-accurate bi-color key or fill (2,600–6,000K, CRI 95+), or Spectrum when you want that same soft quality plus full six-color control and green–magenta correction for designed color.
Why creators reach for it
It fits where nothing else does
The flexible, low-profile build is the headline. A LiteMat tapes to the inside of a car, hides above a product table, lays flat on a ceiling, or builds into a set wall — places a rigid panel or softbox could never reach. That's why it's the go-to soft source for car interiors, cramped locations, and tabletop product work, where you need beautiful light but have no room for a normal fixture.
Soft and accurate, by design
Because the light comes off a large mat of small emitters, it is inherently soft and even — a gentle wrap with a natural falloff, no hotspot. The Series 2 Hybrid runs CRI and TLCI of 95 or better across a 2,600–6,000K range, so skin and product read true, and it's about 40% brighter than the original LiteMat at the same power draw. You get a flattering, color-correct key from a fixture you can practically fold into a bag.
Bi-color when you want clean, Spectrum when you want color
The two flavors cover both jobs. Hybrid is the workhorse for accurate, tunable white — keys, fills, and soft accents where realism matters. Spectrum keeps that same soft quality but adds six-color, wide-gamut control with full hue, saturation, and green–magenta adjustment, so the same mat that lit a face cleanly can also wash a background in a precise designed color. Renting both lets you mix accurate and expressive across a single build.
Shaping and rigging the light
LiteMats are soft on their own; the craft is mostly in how you rig and control them, with help from the modifier wall:
- Snapbag / softbox — add a frame and grid to wrap the mat even softer and tame spill.
- Eggcrate / louver — narrow the wide soft spread so the light stays on subject.
- Flexible mounting — tape, clip, or rig the mat flat to a surface or curved around a subject.
- Diffusion / skirts — feather the edges for a seamless wash on faces or product.
Studio and video workflow
As a continuous source, the LiteMat shows its exact quality and color on the monitor as you rig it — essential when the fixture is hidden in a tight build and you need to confirm the look before you commit, which is the everyday advantage of continuous light over flash on a video set. In the studio, LiteMats shine on tabletop product work and any compact build: tape one over the seamless for an even, soft toplight, or tuck them into a set where a panel won't fit. Run a Hybrid for a clean key and a Spectrum for separation color, and you have a flexible soft-light kit that adapts to nearly any space.
When to rent it
A range of LiteMat sizes plus dimmers is a substantial purchase. Renting makes sense when:
- Space is tight — car interiors, cramped locations, or tabletop builds where a rigid fixture won't fit.
- You need a specific size — pull just the 1×1 for an accent or a LiteMat 4 for a big soft key.
- Color is part of the look — add a Spectrum for full six-color control without buying the whole line.
- You're already booking the studio — add the mats to the reservation and rig a hidden soft key.
On our shelf the LiteMat Hybrid Series 2 rents from $90 (1×1) up to $225 (LiteMat 4) — with the 2 at $150, 2L at $175, and 3 at $200 — and the full-color Spectrum variants run $150–300. Browse the full continuous and LED lighting lineup to match sizes and color to your build.