A method (400) of controlling a lighting unit (110) of a lighting system (100a, 100b) is disclosed. The lighting system (100a, 100b) comprises the lighting unit (110) and a lighting control device (120) comprising a user input element (122) for receiving a continuous user input for changing an intensity of the light output of the lighting unit (110). The method (400) comprises receiving (402) a signal indicative of the continuous user input, obtaining (404) one or more parameters, the one or more of parameters comprising at least a current light setting of the lighting unit (110), the current light setting having an intensity level between a predefined maximum intensity level and a predefined minimum intensity level, and controlling the intensity of the light output of the lighting unit (110) over time while the continuous user input is being provided, wherein the intensity of the light output is either increased or decreased based on the one or more parameters.