Difficult light does not have to be removed. Often it is exactly the element that makes a place recognizable. Neon in a bar, violet stage light, a bright wall of windows or dark brickwork all belong to the atmosphere of a production.
Staying readable without losing the color
The challenge is to keep what matters readable inside that light. At La Biosthétique the intense colors stayed in the wide shots, while hair and skin were photographed in more neutral areas. In the Mojo Bar the neon was allowed to keep its color. At the Radisson Blu the city behind the window had to stay as visible as the hotel room itself.
Why neutral lighting is the wrong way out
Lighting the scene flat and neutral would have produced technically clean pictures that could have come from anywhere. So not every light source present gets fought. Instead, viewpoint, timing and exposure are chosen so that what is particular about the place survives.
Rooms where that was the whole task are under interior design.
