How Cinematographers Use Hard Vs. Soft Light

INTRODUCTION

Cinematography at its core is all about being able to manipulate and control lighting to tell a story. Light can be cool or warm, have a high output or a low output and, importantly, be either soft or hard.

In this video I’ll explain what hard and soft light is and how each can be used in different applications to impact the visual storytelling of a film. Then I’ll go over some film equipment and techniques that are commonly used to alter the quality of the light.

HARD VS SOFT LIGHT

Before we get into talking about how different qualities of light can be used and are created, we need to know what the difference is between hard and soft light.

Hard light refers to a type of illumination that creates distinct and sharp shadows with defined edges. In other words, the area where the shadow meets the light has a very small, if any, gradient. 

Hard light is usually achieved by using a direct light source, such as a bare light bulb or direct sunlight, that casts a focused beam of light onto the subject. 

Soft light on the other hand creates diffused and gentle shadows.

 So, unlike hard light that has no gradient between where shadows and light meet, soft light has a gradual transition between light and dark areas. Soft light is achieved by using a more diffused or indirect light source, such as sunlight that passes through a sheer curtain, that spreads light evenly over the subject.

Although I’m talking about the quality of light in quite defined terms, it’s important to remember that the softness or hardness of light occurs on a spectrum. 

Usually cinematographers will use a combination of both hard and soft light either in different scenarios or even within the same shot. How light is used is dependent on the context of the location and story that is being told.

HOW IS SOFT LIGHT USED?

Generally, it’s more difficult for cinematographers to create softer light - which we’ll get to a bit later. So what are some reasons and situations why they might want to do that?

Well, firstly, using softer light is seen as a more flattering way of lighting actors. Because of its gentler gradient of shadows and decreased harshness, it can help to smooth out skin texture and highlights in a more subtle and appealing way. 

If you compare this to a harder light source, you’ll see that harsh shadows and strong direct light accentuates textures, wrinkles and skin imperfections, whereas softer light smooths out faces in a gentler way.

For this reason, soft light has historically been used for beauty commercials as a way to smooth out the skin of the on screen talent. Back in the days of the Golden Age of Hollywood, it was also common to use soft, flattering light on the lead actress, while using a harder light with a more rugged feel for the lead actor.

Another, more modern reason that cinematographers use soft light now is because it can feel more organic, natural and realistic. Of course natural sunlight is not always soft. If you’re shooting outside, in direct sun, the source will be very hard.

However, if you turn off all the lights in a room, and observe how the natural light from the sun hits a space, there’s a good chance the light will be soft. 

This is because, unless it comes directly through a window, sunlight usually bounces and reflects off different surfaces within a room - and, as we’ll find later, bounced light is soft.

Also, if there are clearly defined shadows, such as on a wall, it is clear that artificial light, such as a placed film light, is being used and it’s easy to tell which direction it’s coming from. If instead the shadows are more gentle, it may give a feeling that the light is natural and coming from a motivated source other than a film light.

Finally, soft light also creates a tonal atmosphere or a feeling. Because it’s literally softer and lighter, it can be used to create a sense of calmness, lightness or tranquillity in scenes that have a more peaceful, comedic, romantic or introspective tone.

HOW IS HARD LIGHT USED?

Hard light can be used to create a more dramatic and higher contrast look. Because it creates less of a gradient in shadows, hard sources of light can be good for stories that need to be played out in lower key lighting with lots of shadow and contrast.
This can be particularly effective in creating a sense of tension or danger in scenes with a lot of action or suspense, or to make characters seem more imposing or dangerous. As we mentioned, it is less flattering on the skin, so can be used to portray characters as more rugged and less perfect.

In an exterior, hard light can also be used to accentuate the strength of the natural elements, by making the sun’s rays feel hot and strong. 

A harder backlight can also be placed behind characters in a scene to separate them from the background so that they stand out. 

Because it is easier to create contrast with hard light it’s also a good tool for cinematographers that like to illuminate different pockets of light and shadow within the same frame. 

These pockets of shadow can be used either to disguise details or the identity of a character within a shot, or be used to create a more stylised visual interest. 

Hard light even has associations with certain genres, such as film noir, which has extensively used it to elevate stories from realism and evoke a darker, ominous mood by creating carefully shaped, textured shadows - such as the classic office blind shadow.  

EQUIPMENT FOR SOFT LIGHT

There are two main techniques that can be used to transform hard light to soft light: diffusion and bounce.

To diffuse light, a type of translucent material needs to be placed between the light source and the subject the light will hit.

There are many different types of diffusion, but perhaps the most basic are diffusion gels - which come in rolls of white polyester plastic that can be cut into a size that can be directly clipped onto the light or a diffusion frame in front of the light.

A popular diffusion gel is a 216 White Diffusion from Lee Filters. This greatly spreads and softens the light source, but also takes away a stop and a half of light. The same is true of any diffusion. While softening the light source it also reduces the amount of light that hits the subject. The more that you soften light the dimmer the light will be. 

Therefore, DPs that want very soft light may need to use high output fixtures in order to have a bright enough light to expose properly. 

There are many other types of diffusion gels available which spread and soften the light in different ways, such as a Frost, Brushed Silk, Opal or Hampshire Frost. Some gels like a white diffusion gel also come in half, quarter and eighth strengths if DPs need diffusion with less softness that lets through more light.   

Another type of diffusion is to use a textile rather than a plastic gel. This is a cloth material that can be tied onto frames of various sizes such as 8x8, 12x12 or 20x20. 

In my experience there are three main fabrics which are used for diffusion. Silk is a very sheer, natural diffusion fabric and comes in different strength gradients. It offers a light to medium diffusion of light.

Grid cloth is a popular, waterproof fabric that comes in various strengths, such as a 1/2 , 1 or 2. Each number refers to how many stops of light it will reduce, so a grid cloth 1 will reduce the strength of your light by 50%. 

Finally, there is muslin. This is a much thicker textile which comes in either white, called bleached muslin, or a warmer cream, called unbleached muslin. Because of its thickness it takes away a lot of light when used as diffusion, which means it requires very strong, high output film lights to be used.

Other equipment, such as a softbox, uses this same idea of placing a diffusion substance in front of the light, but attaches it directly onto the front of the fixture.

Diffusion can be used in front of artificial fixtures, but it can also be placed between a subject and the biggest light source there is - the sun. Typically this will be done with one of the textiles mentioned on a metal frame such as a 12x12.

The other way to soften a light source is to bounce it. A light will be placed so that it faces away from the subject, but towards a surface that is used to bounce that light onto the subject. Like with diffusion, bouncing light can greatly diminish the strength of the source - so you need a higher output light to compensate. The further a bounce is from the subject the weaker the light will be, but the softer it will be.  

 Again, light is usually bounced off a textile, such as a muslin. However other surfaces, such as a poly board or even the walls inside a house could be used as a bounce. However, remember that whatever colour the bounce is will affect the colour of the bounced light. 

Finally, a book light takes this idea to the extreme, by first bouncing a light and then diffusing the light that comes from the bounce. This makes it super soft, but also means that very high output lights are needed to compensate for the large amount of light that is lost.  

EQUIPMENT FOR HARD LIGHT

Creating hard light is much simpler. The easiest way to get hard light is simply by positioning a direct source of light straight at the subject without diffusing or bouncing it. This could be direct sunlight or a direct film light. The stronger the source of light is, the harder and more contrasty it will appear.

 Also, minimising the amount of light sources is a good way of creating hard, high contrast light with more shadows. The more light sources that are added to a space, the more the light will get evened out.

A cheaper way of getting strong, hard light, without putting up big film lights, is to use a mirror. Mirrors can be used to directly angle a hard beam of light at a subject, without diffusing that light. 

You can also position practical sources which you see in the shot, such as a bare lightbulb. As long as these don’t have diffusion they will create a hard source of light.