That light is essential in photography is something you probably already know. And if you don’t know because you just landed in this world, that’s the first lesson you need to learn. To do this, you can delve into this mega guide that we have prepared for you on lighting in photography. You should also know that, in addition to being essential, it plays other roles, since by working with it you can achieve more creative images or even convey certain sensations or others. There are different types of light depending on whether they are classified by direction, intensity or quality. Today I will deal with this topic from the point of view of quality, according to which the light can be hard or diffuse.
My goal in this article is to give you some tips that can help you achieve wonderful images with diffused light. But before continuing, I think it is essential to answer this question.
What is the difference between hard light and soft (or diffuse) light?
Hard light causes a more abrupt transition between highlights and shadows. While diffused light makes this transition softer or more subtle. In this graph you will see it very clearly, below I detail both types of lights.
hard light
This type of light is produced when the source is small, the smaller and more distant it is, the harsher the light it generates. It has nothing to do with quantity, but with the way it affects objects. Hard light produces much stronger shadows and contrasts. The transition between shadows and lights is very abrupt. It is used to convey aggressiveness, strength… and highlight textures. Here is an example of hard light.
Soft or diffuse light
In this case, the transition between light and shadow is more progressive and subtle. It transmits tenderness, sweetness and is much more romantic. The light falls on objects more diffusely and allows better appreciation of details. It’s the kind of light I’m going to focus on today.
To know if you are facing one type of light or another, if you have doubts, it is best to look at the shadows. If these are very marked and defined, you are facing a hard light. Notice the difference in this image:
Observe the shadows to distinguish what light you have
If you look at the shadows, you will notice as in the image below, they are much more marked, that is the effect of hard light.
How to get diffused light?
The quality of light depends on the size and distance of the source, regardless of whether it is natural or artificial light, outdoors or indoors. Let’s see how to achieve it in different situations.
Natural light
- Outdoors: You can get diffused light without any type of intervention taking advantage of the first and last hours of the day. Sunrise and sunset produce much softer light than the central hours. Like cloudy or foggy days, because it and the clouds work as a diffuser of light. If you have to photograph with a lot of sun, you can use a fill flash or a reflector. You can also look for the shade of a tree or any other element. Below is an outline of how clouds and fog act as diffusers, and then an example of a portrait with the diffuse light of sunset.
If you look at this portrait you can see the warmth of this light, the sweetness it gives off, how it completely envelops the girl without producing unwanted shadows.
- Indoor: If the sun’s rays fall directly on the window, the light is harsher, so you’d better move away a little or place a completely plain white curtain or tissue paper on the glass in front of it. In this way the light will be diffused, offering you a much softer result. You can also change the window if you have that possibility 😉 In the example of the baby, a white tissue paper has been placed on the glass to make the diffuser effect and the result is really remarkable.
Artificial light
If what you are using is artificial light because you are in a studio, or outdoors at night or in any situation where you do not have natural light, you also have some resources to achieve diffused light.
- hand flash: If you shoot with a handheld flash directed directly at the subject or object you intend to photograph, the light will be very harsh and will cause shadows that if you do not intentionally look for them, you will be annoyed. The trick To achieve a diffused light with this tool is very simple, you just have to bounce the flash off a wall, the ceiling or even if you have someone very trustworthy with a white shirt nearby, it also works for you 😉 In this way you will get the light is diffused and falls on your protagonist in a less “aggressive” way. Another trick is to use diffusers, which you can find in the store, on the Internet or make them at home in a very simple and cheap way (my colleague Iaio tells you how to do it here, you can’t miss it!). You can also use diffuser umbrellas or reflectors. It will be good for you to take a look at this article.
- light windows: The light windows are, as their name indicates, a “pile” that imitates a light window, said in a very crude way to make it easier to understand. It would be like having the light of a flash but continuously and more diffused. They are also known as “softbox” and you can find them for less than a hundred euros on Amazon (at least as of today 😉 ).
You can expand all this information here.
When to use diffuse light in photography?
If you are looking for an even, shadow-free light that fully illuminates your subject or object, this is the type of light to use. Not everything in photography is technical, photography is an art and many times what we are looking for are contrasts, shadows, dimly lit parts that suggest but do not show… And other times what we need is to show everything, convey warmth, sweetness, softness, feelings positive… It is in those moments when the light has to come from all directions, completely surround the protagonist of your image, showing each and every one of its parts, either with a warmer light for a sweeter portrait or with a whiter light so that the product that should appear in a catalog can be seen well. The situations are very different but the objective is the same, that the whole image is illuminated in a homogeneous way.
Why use diffuse light?
With this question I do not intend to convince you to always use this type of light, on the contrary. But there are opportunities for everything and like any art, you have to try, discover and know all the tools or resources you have. My question is rather motivating, since what I want is for you to put into practice what I have told you in this article. If you’re reading this, it’s because you want to learn, grow as a photographer, improve your technique… and for that, you need to practice. It is very good that you read the articles, but if you do not put it into practice, everything is forgotten and it is useless. That’s why I’m going to leave you a gallery of images with diffused light, to convince you to practice, so that when you see these photos you want to try building a light box, use a reflector, or go out on cloudy days… 😉
Thank you for reading this far. Hopefully these tips will help you and that you liked the article enough to want to share it on Facebook, Google + or Twitter. If so, I will feel happy and I will be eternally grateful to you 😉 Until next time!