Finding the elusive good light
You may have heard the term quality of light before, but do you know what that really means and how do you go about finding the highly elusive good light so many photographers talk about?
In this article, I’m going to explain a few terms and give you some tips on how to find the right light including:
- Hard versus soft lighting
- What situation creates each kind of lighting and how to identify them
- When to use each type of lighting
- How to find good light at any time of the day
Quality of light
Quantity of light is how much light is present in a given scene. But what is the quality of light?
As in most things, quantity is how much or how many, and quality is how good it is. So how do you measure whether the light is good or not?
What that means in real terms is that a small light source will produce hard lighting.
If you have a large light source the light will be soft, however, it is also affected by the distance of the light source to the subject. If it is close to the subject, it is proportionally large compared to their face. But if you move it back away from the subject quite a distance then it changes the relative size of the light.
I’ll give you an example. The sun is a giant burning ball of fire approximately 1.4 million kilometres (864,000 miles) in diameter. That’s large! However, when we look at it from here it appears very small in the sky (size of a quarter) because of our relative distance from the sun.
So the sun is actually a small light source. Does that make sense?
Hard or harsh lighting
Hard lighting is created by small light sources such as:
- The sun (as you learned above it is a small light source)
- A bare lightbulb
- A candle
- A flashlight
- The small flash on your camera (yes even if you take if off the camera the flash itself without any modifiers is a small light source).
Hard light is characterized by strong, well-defined shadows and a high degree of contrast. With hard light, you will notice deep, dark shadows, and bright, sometimes overblown highlights or whites.
People photographed in hard light will often squint and have harsh unflattering shadows on their faces. This is not usually desirable.
Hard lighting – look for strong shadows and high contrast
Soft or diffused lighting
Soft lighting is creating by large light sources such as:
- The sky on an overcast or on a really cloudy day (then the sun isn’t the light source anymore it’s the entire sky which is much larger proportionally from where we stand).
- Large studio lights like softboxes (hence the name!) used by portrait and studio photographers.
- A large white reflector used to bounce light (a 42″ one is a large light source when placed close to the subject).
- Light from a small speedlight or flash bounced off of a wall, ceiling, reflector, or through an umbrella (only when you bounce or diffuse the light from your speedlight does it become softer).
- Window-light from a north-facing window or one which does not receive direct sunlight.
- Light from an open sky such as when the subject is in a doorway or covered area (out of the sun) and the light comes from the sky opposite the sun.
Soft light is the opposite of hard light and is characterized by soft or not easily defined shadows, and low contrast.
In soft light, you may not even be able to distinguish where the shadows fall or if there are any. People photographed in soft light have fewer and/or softer shadows and do not have to squint.
Soft light – look for weak or no shadows and low contrast 
Which type of light is best?
The answer to which type of lighting to use is that there is no right or wrong, and it depends on what look you want to create within your image.
If you want more drama and to emphasize character and texture, then you will want to use hard lighting.
If you want to emphasize a softer mood or flatter a portrait subject you will want to use soft lighting.
Here are some examples. Can you see which type of lighting is being used in each image and if it is appropriate for the scene and the desired result?
Quality of light for people photography
Quality of light is just as applicable to the photography of people as well. While no hard and fast rule applies that says “always do this” for portraits – it is generally more flattering for your subject to use soft light.
Hard light will accentuate everything by adding contrast. That means wrinkles, lines, pores, blemishes, scars, bumps, etc. all the things that most people do not want to be enhanced, will be emphasized.
Your spouse or significant other would probably prefer not to showcase those things. So if you are photographing a friend or spouse, and you want them to continue to like you, then consider soft lighting.
However, if you are photographing a grizzled old man and want to emphasize his wrinkles, then hard light would be desired. For any subject where you want to add character and drama, then hard light is a better choice. Punk rockers with a skateboard – then try using hard lighting.
You can find soft light by getting out of the sun and into the shade, an open doorway (using the light coming in), or by using something to block the sun or harsh lighting (reflector). Many photographers do portraits in the magic or golden hours (about 60 minutes before dusk or after sunrise) as the light is low on the horizon and is much warmer and softer.
Here are a few more examples.
ACTION PLAN
To sum all this up, I’m going to ask you a few questions. Please share in the comments what you plan to do?
- What did you learn from this article?
- What do you want to learn next?
- Do you prefer reading books, articles, and websites? How about a virtual tutoring lesson or an online class?
If you have a hard time finding good light, especially at midday, here is a good exercise for you to do: Create Good Images at Midday – Photography Challenge
Cheers,
can you tell me about quality of light in terms of light sources? Why do street lights provide such terrible lighting that produce grain while studio lights do not.
Hi Morgan – sure I’ll try to help you understand that.
First – it’s not the light that is causing your photos to be grainy, that is noise. Noise is caused by a few things: long exposures, underexposure, and shooting at high ISO. Such will be the case if you are shooting at night under street lights – low light. So it’s the lack of quantity of light causing that not the lights themselves.
Studio lights provide a LOT of light in terms of quantity so you do not have the same issues there. So noise or grain is caused by lack of light (quantity).
Secondly – quality of light has to do with the size of the light source. Street lights are small – so they are hard light sources. Big softboxes in the studio are large so are soft light sources.
Does that help?
Here are some other articles that might help.
https://dev-dpm-2.instawp.xyz/tips-for-low-light-photography/
https://dev-dpm-2.instawp.xyz/how-to-overcome-the-fear-of-high-iso-and-take-sharper-photos/
https://dev-dpm-2.instawp.xyz/six-tips-for-getting-the-best-quality-images-every-time/
I took several shots of elderly women on a recent trip. I didn’t think about what the light was, just took the shots. Looking back I can now see why some are more dramatic, due to the harder light.
Awesome glad this helped.
To answer the questions:
What did you learn from this article?
That the best light for a photograph depends on what you want to portray. Generally speaking, soft light is more flattering to people, but not always the best choice.
What do you want to learn next?
More about using artificial light.
How do you plan to advance your photography to the next level?
Reading, studying, practicing, trying new things.
Do you prefer reading books, articles and websites? Or is a live in
person class more your thing? How about a virtual or online class?
If I’m going to take a class, I would prefer a live class. I’m trying to find a photography group in my area that is active. I like reading books, articles, and websites.
I filled out the survey.
this doesn’t look like bright sunlight to me looks pretty diffused
I did some dodging and took the exposure down a bit. I took this at the family apple butter making get-together and if I remember correctly, it was about 1 in the afternoon. Before the adjustments I made the white shirt was pretty blown out.
ah! well you had me fooled
Here’s the photo:
One of my favorite photos of my dad (on the left) was taken in harsh sunlight. It was the only way to catch the two old friends unaware and natural.
I’d like to find out more? I’d care to find out
some additional information.
What did you want more information on Gabrielle?
What did you learn from this article?
I really didn’t know about Hard or Soft lighting. Its amazing to know how hard lighting could help get texture and also why Photographers use Light diffuzers.
What do you want to learn next?
I need to spend more time to learn many other concepts in Digital Photography and I enjoy reading most of your articles. I subscribed to your website and to DPS.
How do you plan to advance your photography to the next level?
I have been thinking of joining a workshop for about a week to advance by my photography skills.
Do you prefer reading books, articles and websites? Or is a live in person class more your thing? How about a virtual or online class?
I enjoy reading books and articles but whatever I learn theoretically is forgotten in no time. I am not really taking time to practice or experiment much. An Online Class is something I would surely register myself for. Its a rare opportunity to learn from the masters like you, Darelene. I would just love to be part of your next session.
Hi Surya – thanks so much for reading and commenting. While my next live virtual class won’t be for a few months (I have travel tours for Jan-March booking me solid) but maybe you want to try this one that I just introduced yesterday
http://www.herviewphotography.com/online-photography-courses
Thanks everyone for responding and I’m so glad this article was helpful. I sometimes think I over explain things, good to know there is value.
Thanks a lot Darlene for your posts.
I actually did not know about hard and soft lighting. I loved the way you included photographs to explain the concepts/ideas. The more examples I see the better I understand.
I would love to learn more about light.
I plan to advance by continuing to read your articles and trying to apply what I have learned.
I like learning in many ways. I love reading blog posts and articles because they have a small amount of information that is very easy to absorb. I pin the blog posts/articles so I can easily find them later. I also like to read books. However I think I would learn better with a live in person class, which is on my wish list.
Again, thanks A LOT for your articles.
Thanks Amelia, keep learning!
•What did you learn from this article?
I find that your articles fill in the details and define the photography terms such as hard light, soft light, very helpful. I pickup a little more knowledge each time I read an article.
•What do you want to learn next?
I take a lot of ballroom dance pictures indoors, I cannot use flash, only the ambient light. This is a challenge because the dancers are moving quickly and I have to use a fast shutter speed. Also I cannot get to close, might get run over, lol. I usually use a 50mm 1.8 lens, would a 85mm 1.8 be better? I would like to see some tips on the best way take these kinds of pictures.
•How do you plan to advance your photography to the next level?
I try to shoot something every day.
•Do you prefer reading books, articles and websites? Or is a live in person class more your thing? How about a virtual or online class?
I like articles, websites, online classes. My hearing is very poor so live classes are not good for me.
I post pictures on our Dance Chapter facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/398128475732/
Thanks for sharing your skills and knowledge with us.
Jim
Thanks Jim – what lens you use for the dance photos will also depend on what camera body you put it on. If you aren’t getting close enough with the 50mm then yes the 85mm might do the trick, or you might want a 100mm f2. It’s not quite as fast at f/2 but close.
What ISO do you usually shoot at? What camera body? How high can you go on ISO with it comfortably?
Thanks for the response Darlene, it is very nice of you to answer everyone’s email questions.
I usually use 800 ISO, sometimes I can use less, but to get the shutter speed I need it’s 800 or higher. the camera will go to 6400. I am shooting with a Nikon D5200.
Thanks Again
Jim
What I would do Jim is some testing on your camera at all ISO numbers including 6400. When I do indoor events like a wedding or anything with dim lighting I’m usually shooting at 3200, sometimes higher. So I’d say just don’t be afraid of going higher. Test your camera at all the levels and see what it looks like before you go to the next dance event. I find it’s better to have a slightly noisy image, over a blurry one. Does that help?
Lighting is one subject that I find very difficult to get my head around. However your articles are so precise and easily understood . You have certainly made things alot clearer for me. I am only new to this site but must say I love it. I really look forward to checking my inbox each day. I also look forward to going out this weekend with my camera. You have certainly inspired me again. Thankyou so very much.
Awesome thanks Christine!
Simply love your articles! I would love to learn a lot more about colour, both in the artistic sense and the print technicalities. Basically endorsing what GlenO said above, I also feel that I play around until I find something I like but don’t actually know what I am doing. I also love some of the colours in what I assume are cross processed pictures but have no idea how to get the look.
Thanks Maddie, can you show me an example of the look you want to achieve? Maybe I can do something on it.
I liked this article, even a lot of information i already knew it. Very simple explanations, easy language, a pleasure to read and refresh my memory. Thanks a lot!
I would like to learn about shadows in portrets. I already read about type of portrets and Rembradts light and I found it very interesting. I love to read about composition too.
I want to read a lot about photography, because its cold outside and im thinking to prepare for warm season. Some tips about winter and very white snow will be perfect! 🙂
I prefer all. Of course its more easy when i can ask about what i dont understand or discuss a photo.
Winter and snow – good idea thanks I’ll see what I can do on that one for next week. Thanks Anca!
Great article. Now it all makes sense to me how to create soft and hard light. Great read.
Thanks Steven!
I really enjoyed this article, and the photos. They were both very inspiring.
The large light, small light explanation really stuck with me. The sun being far away, makes it small. The clouds turning into one large light.
I recently bought a couple of cheap flood lights, a white sheet, and some black, and white pieces of poster board. I plan on playing around with these. So an article on home studio lighting would be awesome.
A few years ago I read an article about a woman that read one book a day for an entire year. I enjoy reading, but had quit making it a priority. After reading her story, I made a goal of reading at least one book a month. I stuck to that goal, and now it is just a normal every day thing for me to do. So I am going to set myself a goal of taking so many “Thought Out” photos per month. I hope to snap more photos daily, and that will probably be with my camera phone. But my main goal is to grab my DSLR more often and really put things I have learned, like this lighting lesson, into practice.
I prefer reading the lessons, as opposed to watching the videos.
Thank You,
Donnie
Thanks Donnie – I’ve made note of that request, I’ll se what I can do. I don’t personally do a lot of studio stuff myself perhaps I can get a guest.
COMO SIEMPRE ESTOY ATENTO A SUS PUBLICACIONES , INFORMACION QUE ME HA SERVIDO PARA MEJORAR MIS CUALIDADES COMO FOTOGRAFO NOVATO.PERO NO TENGO, EN SUS ULTIMAS PUBLICACIONES , REFERENCIA DE LOS AJUSTES QUE SE LE HICIERON A LA CAMARA EN ESAS FOTRGRAFIAS , REFERENCIAS QUE ME SERVIRIAN PARA MIS PROPOSITOS DE MEJORAR.
ESPERO COMO NOVATO EN LA FOTOGRAFIA DISCULPEN MI IGNORANCIA
CORDIALMENTE
NESTOR
Nestor if my translation app is working right, you want to know the camera settings is that right? So this article isn’t about settings it’s about light. You can practice looking at light with a smart phone or just your eyes. It’s about learning to see light. Sometimes you need to let go of the need to know camera stuff and just learn to see light. Try that for a while and see how you do.
Darlene,
You are a great writer about your passion. Always easy to read thru to the end. Great examples. Simple concepts.
I am gaining an appreciation for light but your language and simple explanation will stick with me. So much of what we read or see in videos seems compelling at the time – but we so quickly lose the information amongst all of the junk that we store in our brains. Your definition of quality will stick with me now forever. I know it will. And THAT is a tall order for a simple blog post! It may not be precisely accurate and true for every single time we want to judge quality, but it will be partially true every single time. Thank you for that. Nothing else is needed. Simple memorable concepts!
I love your blog posts and congratulations on your new role at DPS. I am a subscriber to both and these are now my go-to tip providers. I use them as a mobile reference. For example, I know that I can take fantastic photos of fireworks but who does this every wee? (Noone!). So rather than trying to remember how I did it last time, I now know that before I set up to shoot fireworks, or portraits, or sunsets, or whatever, I do a quick search of your blog or DPS, review one of the posts that are relevant and then all of my own experience, knowledge and capabilities becomes instantly more accessible to me.
I am at a stage where I feel I get what I need from blog posts and am not sure when I would need to take a course. I have taken courses that delve deep into a “genre” like “hockey photography”. This worked for me – it included field work and class-mate critiques which is useful. The most useful “class” experience would be a photo walk or trip – but I have not yet been able to pull away from family time to do this for me only. And now my teen son is getting into photography!
The next interesting topic for me would be to better understand light and colour – to be more knowledgeable about the post-processing steps. I can use the various settings including curves, levels, saturation, luminance, gamma vignettes, white balance settings etc, but I don’t feel that I “know” what I am doing. I simply play around until I like the settings but sometimes later I find that I did something that is too extreme (e.g. saturation, contrast, etc). I feel that I need a bit more understanding and some of your “simple” definitions so that I can be more confident using these settings consistently.
Thanks for your work.
Glen – “Always easy to read thru to the end.” wow I’m honoured thank you! That it will stick with you also is huge, it means I’m doing something right and will keep doing it! Thank you for affirming that.
I think it’s great your son wants to get into it too, some opportunity for father/son bonding time for sure. Do something special, make time to do it with him once a week if you can.
What program are you using for your post processing?
Darlene,
I am using Aperture 3 for post processing. For finer adjustments I use PSE 11 and Photomatix (Aperture Plugin) for HDR. I used Lightroom back at V2 but preferred the Aperture interface. At the time they seemed very similar. I am beginning to wonder if is should switch: I think that LR v5 has some attractive features that Aperture lacks (gradient filter etc) but I am reluctant to convert until it is really compelling. I also have developed a simple but disciplined work-flow to ensure that I can process images efficiently.
And…this morning I am reviewing the many online options for pushing me towards taking my craft more seriously and seeing if I can make money, win awards, etc. I have been hiding behind being an amateur and am wondering if this is blocking me from learning even more about what I can do with photography.
That’s my story in the RD version.
Thanks for that Glen. As for Aperture, I’ve not personally used it but I have had at least 3 students in my LR classes that were switching from Aperture to LR. We had a hell of a time figuring out how to find their original files and get them out of there. The issue for them was there is NO support for Aperture, no books, no classes, nothing other than that Apple provides which isn’t much.
So I can’t really speak to comparing the two, all I know is that I’ve helped people switch. LR has a trial version why not download it and give it a go for 30 days and decide?
I found this article helpful, especially with the examples. I have not shot much this last month due to illness, but I did spend a lot of time reading various photography articles. I also know I will be shooting quite a bit in two weeks while visiting family and friends. Purchased a wide angle/telephoto/macro lens and hope to get some shots of snowflakes and winter while visiting with family.
As far as learning, it depends on what the topic is whether an article is better or a video or on line class is better. I am right now learning how to use BBF, and had to read a few articles a few times to begin to understand about the modes. Since I will be photographing children while visiting family I think that will be an enormous help while shooting them. I want lots of candids and they will be too excited to be still.
I know this is late, but remember I was ill! Congratulations on your new post at DPS- I found you originally because I am subscribed to their letter.
Hi m! thanks for that, glad you’re here. Keep shooting and enjoy your time with family.
Hi Darlene!
I learn something in every article that you post and I share them with my 4H Photography group as well, so keep them coming!
What did I learn?
I recently did some photos on a cold, foggy day for the first time and was worried I had done something wrong as the focus on my subject was softer than I thought it should be. Looking at your foggy example and reading the article – I was not off, it’s just the quality of the light.
What do I want to learn?
You have taught me SO much – THANK YOU! I still have so much more to learn like more strategies to work with the light you have when you have no other options – like low light or really hard light.
How do I plan to take my photography to the next level?
I plan on experimenting, taking as many pics as I can, reading everything I can get my hands (eyes) on and going on a travel adventure workshop with you!!
What works best for me know?
I love these articles and have done self-paced online workshops before which work well where I live and with how busy life is.
Regards,
Ardell
Thanks Ardell it’s been fun watching you grow as a photographer
As always, thank you for taking the time to publish and share your knowledge!
To answer your questions on order,
I gained some more insight on setting the mood with light. I am becoming more in tune to how light effects my images.
Next, well that’s a tough one as light on and of itself can be quit the study. As I find myself doing more portraits, to me learning how to manipulate/utilize light for the best effect is what I need to work on.
As for advancing, gaining as much knowledge and experience with lighting techniques to maximize image impact is high on my list.
Your articles AND webcasts are both very helpful. As time allows, your webcasts are great and your willingness to communicate one on one are awesome! Being able to read articles with my very busy schedule is a plus.
I am grateful that you(Rob too!) take the time and energy to help others improve! I read everything I can, and when I come across something I think I know, I ask myself,”What more can I learn here?” I always find something!
Thank you again, and time willing, the next online session you have, I will participate.
Sincerely,
Derek (originaldirk)
Thanks Derek!
Hi Darlene, As always your article with examples included makes it so much easier to understand the points you are providing.
What did I learn from this article?
The more often I read about the importance of light, the more I am aware to look for better light when taking photo’s.
What do I want to learn next?
I am hoping to have the opportunity to capture some lightning images over the next few months. Where I work in North West Australia we have now entered the wet season and thunderstorms are likely to be a daily occurrence. In addition I really want to learn how to take panoramic images and stitch them together. I don’t have Photoshop yet but intent to purchase some time in the future. On top of that I would like to learn how to share my images online and where best to do so.
How do I plan to advance my photography to the next level?
By continuing to read every article I come across and try to put what I learn into practice.
Do I prefer reading books, articles and websites? Or is a live in person class more my thing? How about a virtual or online class?
I really enjoy reading articles on websites as that allows me to read as I have time. When at work during my current 14 days on 14 days off roster I have very little spare time. I really like the idea of online classes however this is likely to be problematic for me to tune in on specific dates. I am sure I would still learn heaps from any recordings provided however.
Thanks again for this great article, I always look forward to them along with those from DPS.
Kind regards
Geoff
Thanks for that Geoff! I’m glad you find value in the articles. That’s what keeps me doing it!
As for the course coming up this week it’s self-paced – so you don’t have to do it by any specific dates. Work on it when you can!
I’ll be keeping an eye out for the course Darlene and am more than interested in subscribing. One of these days I’d love to attend a photography tour but that will have to stay on the wish list for a while.