In the book, Beyond Green Gables, Kevin Sullivan describes how important the lighting and production design was in making the sets seem believable.

“The lighting a cinematographer uses to embellish all of the set details is a key ingredient in bringing any story to life,” he writes.  “Many moods were painted on the Avonlea canvas.”

No matter what time of year it was, there was a look created for all seasons, whether it was for exterior or interior shots.  The cinematographers worked to create “diverse contoured lighting” and “hard shadows”, which helped to evoke the right mood for different scenes.

For example, in the picture of the Avonlea road above, a specific treatment of light and dark for a pictorial piece of art was used.  The treatment is called Chiaroscuro (an Italian term) and was a common lighting technique used during the series.