Hard Light and Soft Light

Lighting Challenge

Objective

Your goal is to explore the edges of light this week, learning to distinguish between the sharp lines of hard lighting and the feathered gradients and ombres of soft lighting.

Guide

This challenge is all about exploration. Push yourself to go beyond your usual taste for lighting and angles to really make shadows, light rays, silhouettes, or indirect lighting important to your scene.

Explore setting your exposure to different levels as you take photos. What impact does over- or under- exposure have on the edges of shadows?
Try using large light sources (like the sun), small light sources (like a phone light), and diffuse light sources (like a computer screen.) What difference do you notice in the shadows?
Can you include multiple light sources at different colors, sizes, and distances? What happens when you move your camera between different lights?
Try capturing photos of the same subject at different times of the day. What changes about the shadows?

Thinking Beyond the Viewfinder

Does the hard lighting in your photo feature sudden contrasts between light and shadow?
Look at how the tone or exposure of your photo changes from left to right or foreground to background.
Can you feather or graduate the shadows across at least half of the frame?
Should your shadows be just a smidge darker, pitch black, or somewhere in between.
Are the shadows a frame, line, texture, or… something else in the composition of your photo?

Examples

Examine the lighting and shadows in these example photos.

Self Assessment Checklist and Rubric

To get the most out of photography club, ask yourself these questions and aim for High Quality (3) in all of your photos. Remember that it’s ok to share Low Quality photos, especially if you have questions about how to improve them.

▢ Posted multiple photos.
▢ Commented on other’s photos.
▢ Participated in discussion.

	High Quality (3)	Mediocre Quality (2)	Low Quality (1)
Concept / Theme	The photo effectively clearly shows hard or soft light and uses it to shape the impact of the photo.	The photo has light and shadow, but it doesn’t quite feel important to the image.	The lighting is relatively flat or chaotic and doesn’t add anything to the story of the photo.
General Composition	The photo uses composition tools effectively, organizing lit and shadowed areas to guide the eye.	The photo attempts to use some composition tools, but light and shadow are incidential.	The photo does not show any deliberate control or use of lighting in its composition.
Light and Shadow	The shadow edges are sharp or feathered with intention that the photographer can express or the audience can feel.	The subject features areas of light and shadow, but the hardness of the light doesn’t contribute the photo.	The subject is poorly lit or washed out without intention.
Originality	The photographer has combined their interpretation of the theme with deliberate lighting choices to present a captivating image.	The photographer attempted to find a unique perspective on light and shadow.	The photo is dull or derivative.