When talking about the quality of light in photography we often use terms such as hard or direct light and soft or diffused light.
In the previous article on using light in photography we talked about looking at the highlight, mid-tone and shadow areas of various subjects.
Let’s look at these same areas in hard light and in soft light.
Hard light comes from a single spot or source point and is very directional. The sun is a very good example of a hard light. The light from an on-camera flash is another good example.
An Example of Hard Light
Because this type of light is very directional you get very sharp, well defined shadows.
On the flower to the left, which was shot in direct sunlight, you can see the sharp distinct shadows each peddle casts.
Notice also how the light and dark areas are sharply defined with no mid-tones separating them.
Soft light is very diffused light and multi-directional. Overcast and cloudy days are common examples of this type of light. Open shade is another example.
Example of Soft Light
Soft light will illuminate objects very evenly, and produce very soft subtle shadows, or sometimes no shadows at all.
This is the same exact flower as above, but shot in open shade. Note the subtle shadows that each peddle casts and note the fine detail in the middle of the flower.
You may also have noticed that the green leaves in the background are not lost in blackness as they are in the first photo. This is due to the difference in brightness range, which will be covered later.
Within these two broad categories of light quality there is a wide range of subtle variations. There can be a combination of both hard and soft light, direct but diffused light, light bouncing off highly reflective objects. The more you study light, the more sensitive you will become to its many qualities.
In the next article in this series we’ll discuss the Direction of Light in Photography.
Here’s to better photography …
Al Hannigan
