To explain soft versus hard light, Taylor uses the example of sunlight on a clear day (hard) and sunlight on a cloudy day (soft). On a clear day, the light comes from one small source – the sun – and therefore creates a hard shadow. On a cloudy day, the light comes from all sides as it is diffused by the clouds, so there is little to no shade. In the world of photography and videography, hard light comes from a small source, such as a bare flash, while soft light is what you would get if you put a large diffuser (or a softbox) in front of the flash.
The position of the light can change the photo in many ways, be it creating a silhouette, separating a subject from a background, or even illuminating the background itself. To illustrate how the position of a light can affect the impression of an image, Art Streiber uses the example of an on-camera flash, which immediately evokes the feeling of a captured moment at an event, or a paparazzi shot. If that flash were taken off the camera, perhaps in your hand at the end of your outstretched arm, the same shot would make a completely different impression.
The intensity of light relates to how bright the light is, which in the images translates to whether you want to create a natural look or make the scene appear intentionally lit. David Hobby applies the cooking metaphor to dialing in the intensity of the light: “You taste the soup. You think, ‘It needs a little more salt.’ You add some salt. The only real difference is that with lighting, if you add too much salt, you take it out right away.”
Karl Taylor says that most of our visual systems are not based on color, but on brightness and shade. “We see in black and white without realizing it.” Taylor uses the example of spots on a deer or the stripes on a tiger, which don’t seem very inconspicuous in color, but in terms of brightness to other animals that see in black and white, it’s brilliant camouflage. Taylor warns that color can trick the eye into thinking an image is brighter than it actually is, so he often edits the brightness of an image in black and white first, and then then edits for color so that the color does not mislead his eye into a false sense of brightness.
Build a lighting schedule
The lighting spice rack can get messy quickly, so the professionals build up their lighting schedules step by step. “The first light source is what’s known as your ‘key light,'” says Austen Paul. After you’ve determined where you want to place your first light, place the “fill light” on the other side. For most setups, the fill light isn’t as bright as the key light. According to Paul, one reason for this is that the subject looks more 3D, and with a fill light that is slightly darker than your main light, you create a gradient from lighter to darker.
