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Track 2 · Light2 min read

LESSON 07

Hard and soft light

The size of the light, next to the size of the subject, decides whether shadows have sharp edges or soft ones.

ONE BALL · TWO LIGHTS

Left: a small lamp casts a sharp-edged shadow behind a ball. Right: a wide light source casts a shadow that fades at its edges.

Two kinds of shadow

Hard light comes from a source that is small next to the subject: high contrast and shadows with sharp edges. Soft light seems to wrap around the subject, and its shadows fade gently at the edges.

What makes light soft

Mostly the size of the source, the distance to it and how much diffusion it passes through. A softbox is a lamp in a box with a diffusing front; an umbrella or a reflector softens light by bouncing it off a broad surface.

Outdoors

Cloud cover works as a softbox the size of the sky, which is why an overcast day is kind to faces. Even direct sun does not cast perfectly hard shadows.

When to use which

Soft light flatters faces and keeps colours rich. Hard light shows texture and shape and draws graphic shadows; a focused Fresnel lamp can cut a crisp edge on purpose.

Try it today

  1. 01Put a small object on a table by a lamp with a bare bulb.
  2. 02Shoot it and look at the edge of its shadow.
  3. 03Hold a sheet of baking paper between bulb and object and shoot again.
  4. 04Now bounce the lamp off a white wall and shoot a third time.
  5. 05Compare the three shadow edges.

Figures from Wikipedia, 'Hard and soft light' and 'Softbox', read 2026.10.16. The steps under Try it today are working practice, not a standard.