How photographers/you describe light?

[ccting]

Photographers: Brightness, color, contrast. Blue = cool color; red = warm color; soft / hard shadow (contrast)

artists / lightroom: Luminance/tone, color, contrast; Blue = cool color, red = warm color

me : With light, i can see u... Without light, you can't see me . Blue = hot color; red = cold color. Reasoning; Blue has 5 times higher K and higher frequency than red. What is the quantitative measurement for soft / hard shadow. They are too abstract for me to feel whether it is soft or hard. For me, it may be hard but for you it may be soft...perhaps measuring the exposure of the shadow..and calculate the percentage difference?

So, how do you describe light? Give an full example?

[ceremus]

Hard light comes from a small light source and casts clear, well-defined shadows. Soft light comes from a larger light source, or a "diffused" source, in which it's hard to tell where the shadow starts and stops, its edges are soft.

[ccting]

Originally Posted by ceremus

Hard light comes from a small light source and casts clear, well-defined shadows. Soft light comes from a larger light source, or a "diffused" source, in which it's hard to tell where the shadow starts and stops, its edges are soft

Yes, many experts say about this. But I have question in mind:

a) The sky / sun is a huge source of light, but why it casts hard shadow during the midday?
b) How do you quantify the soft / hard shadow?
c) How do you quantify small/large? As you know, for you it looks small, but for me it may looks large..it casts different perspective..

I find it too hard to understand light..

[IABoomer]

Originally Posted by ccting

Yes, many experts say about this. But I have question about this statement:

The sky / sun is a huge light source, but why it casts hard shadow during the midday?

I believe the statement is not 100% true for all the scenarios.. ;D

When you look up into the sky, how large does the sun look relative to everything else?

[ccting]

Originally Posted by IABoomer

When you look up into the sky, how large does the sun look relative to everything else?

The sun is large source of light which looks small relative to everything else. ...

[ceremus]

There's a difference between actual size, because of course the sun is extremely huge, and effective size, with the sun being millions of miles away it appears much smaller. Cloud cover diffusing the light of course does not increase the actual size of the sun, but it does increase the effective size of the light source, in much the same way a soft box increases the effective size of a strobe.

[RichardTaylor]

(1) The sun is a large, but very distant light source.

(2) Hard shadows have very distinct edges,
As in this example (Very big, directional light source (in relation to the POV) that is very distant)



Soft shadows have a gradual transition from light to dark.



Shot under a shade cloth (probably on a slightly cloudy day).

(3) The shadow being cast is a combination of the light direction, its intensity and it's size.

This is an example when the light levels are low and diffused (it was raining)
Notice there is not much in the way of shaddows.



At high light levels, & no diffusion (clear sunny day) and only slightly directional.

[Doug Sundseth]

Originally Posted by ccting

Yes, many experts say about this. But I have question in mind:

a) The sky / sun is a huge source of light, but why it casts hard shadow during the midday?
b) How do you quantify the soft / hard shadow?
c) How do you quantify small/large? As you know, for you it looks small, but for me it may looks large..it casts different perspective..

I find it too hard to understand light..

a) The sun subtends approximately 32' of arc. That makes it a small light source. An 80cm softbox at 60cm from a subject subtends approximately 36 degrees of arc. That makes it a very large source. The issue is not the size of the source but the angle subtended.

b) I don't.

c) I don't. If the edges of the shadows are soft, the light is a soft source. If the edges of the shadows are sharp, the light is a hard light source. If the edges are a little sharp, the source is a kind-of-hard light source. How will having a hard-line definition improve the photographs you take?

[ccting]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

(1) The sun is a large, but very distant light source.

Currently I can't see everything from flickr, youtube.. . Richard, when i get back home, i try to see all the links... thanks..

Dear Doug,
Is that mean this cheaper version of softbox is not that useful for photographing people, as the size is quite small? What is the nearest possible distance between softbox and subject.

Thanks again...

I find that learning light is much harder than learning basic composition..

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by ccting

Yes, many experts say about this. But I have question in mind:

a) The sky / sun is a huge source of light, but why it casts hard shadow during the midday?
b) How do you quantify the soft / hard shadow?
c) How do you quantify small/large? As you know, for you it looks small, but for me it may looks large..it casts different perspective..

I find it too hard to understand light..

read the book Light:Science and Magic.
or re-read it.
If you really want to know about the qualities of light you'll need to understand that book.