Creating Harsh Light: A How-To Lesson
How to Create Harsh Light
Creating harsh light seems to be ever growing in popularity. And with those beautiful rays shining on a subject, complimented by those crisp, dark shadows, how could it not be?
But how do you create harsh light? Especially in the dead of winter, when you can only get a few hours of sunlight?
That's pretty simple, actually.
You see, in order to create those clean dark lines, you just need to understand two things:
The size of the source of light that shines down on the subject.
The distance of the light to the subject.
Now, most people associate harsh light with natural light coming from the sun. And since the sun makes the whole world light, it must be a huge source of light, right?
Wrong!
Actually, by the time the sun reaches your subject (the distance) it has actually become a very small source of light.
So, in order to replicate that look, we just need to use a small source of light when photographing our subject. The smaller the source of the light, the cleaner, crisper, and darker the shadows.
Let's take a look, shall we?
In this photo, the image is being created with a flash. You can use continuous lighting as well. However, for the purpose of this lesson I have used a flash because the light source is the size of my fist.
Notice in the image above, those clean lines around the shadows.
Now, let's look at some images where I am using some form of modifier with the flash.
In this first picture, I have used an umbrella modifier. For the second I am using a large diffuser. In the third picture, I am using a Godox umbrella that reflects back off of the reflective surface inside of the umbrella.
You will notice that you have completely lost the shadow from the glass, and the shadows around the oranges are faint, with blurry edges.
So why is there such a difference? Especially if all images are using that one flash that is the size of my fist?
It is because when you use those modifiers, they become the new source of light. So, with that big diffuser, even though I am using the flash, it is going through that massive sheet. And it becomes the new source of light, which is quite large.
Okay, so now we know how to create harsh light.
But how do we also manipulate the length of those beautiful shadows? That brings us to point two, the distance of the light to the subject.
Back to using just my flash with no modifier, I've got the small source of light covered. So, here is what you need to know:
The further away the source of light is from the subject, the longer the shadows will be.
In the images below, I have moved the light closer and further away from the subject, so you can see the difference in length of those shadows. Where, the first image the light is very far away. And in the last image the light is right up next to the subject.
Let's summarize this harsh light lesson, shall we?
To create harsh light with clean, crisp shadows, you need to use a very small source of light
Distance matters when manipulating the length of the shadow. So, far away equals long shadows. Close up equals short shadows.
Now before I send you off with your homework lesson for the week...
I want to very quickly touch on continuous lighting and natural lighting.
If you are using a continuous light source, like a soft box, you may need to make that light smaller. To do this, you can block off some of that light with some foam board. You can also try removing the soft box and seeing how that works on its own, or with some other fine-tuning.
For natural light, the sun is already a super small source of light. So, it will just be about finding the time when the sun is shining through that window of yours. If you're not getting the look you want, you can also try blocking off part of the window with foam board.
Onto the harsh light homework!
And, don't forget, you can get featured on Instagram for doing the homework lesson!!!
To get featured, first make sure you have subscribed to the Master Food Photography Community, by following that link. Then when you create your harsh light image:
Post it to Instagram.
Use the hashtag, #MFPHarshlightLesson
This way, I can be sure to comment on it, provide feedback, and share it in my stories and my feed to the IG world! And, you will get extra points if you also email me the pictures of your process, while you shot that beautiful light!
I can't wait to see what you create!!!