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LIGHTING STRATEGIES: What Makes Soft Lights Cast Soft Shadows?

It’s one thing to understand that soft sources make soft shadows. It’s another thing to understand why. Fortunately a friend from the insect world can help us if we will look at soft light through his eyes.

Let’s look at an example environment that I built in Poser 9:

That small dot at the right of the “backdrop” is the light source for the scene. It’s very small, so it casts a very hard shadow.

Let’s pretend that we’re an ant crawling along the backdrop to one side of the shadow. From our perspective we see this:

Then we walk a little farther, look up, and see this:

Then we walk a little farther, look up, and see this:

Suddenly we’re in shadow. We can back up one step and see the light source:

And then step forward again and not see the light source:

That’s what makes a shadow hard: a small light source is easily blocked by an object between you and it.

Let’s increase the size of the source:

Then let’s back the ant up and then take another walk toward the shadow:

From this perspective there is no point where the source is there for one step and gone the next. There is a transition period where the source gradually becomes hidden and the shadow becomes darker and darker until the light source is completely blocked. That’s how a shadow becomes soft: a big source is gradually eclipsed by an object, but there’s no point where the light is abruptly hidden by the object.

Soft light is dependent on how big the source is in relation to the object it is lighting. If I backed that large source 200’ away from the column it would cast a shadow as sharp as the small light source, because from the ant’s perspective a big source a long distance away now appears to be a very tiny source. (We have a daily example of that: the sun.)

There’s more to know about soft light but that’s the gist of how soft shadows come about. We’ll play with soft light more in the new year. Happy Holidays!

Art Adams is a DP who casts a large shadow, albeit a soft one. His website is at http://www.artadamsdp.com.

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The Best of Stunning Good Looks Art Adams | 08/30 A directory of my best articles, sorted by topic. This entry is a guide to my best articles, sorted by topic. Enjoy!

NAB 2012: Assorted Snapshots Adam Wilt | 05/08 A few cool things I saw at the show that didn’t fit into any other articles. NAB is too big a show in too short a time to see more than a fraction of it. I’ve covered a few things in some depth (as have other PVC folks), but there’s plenty more that slips by without proper coverage. Here, I have a few photos…

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Awesome article Art!

  This article reminds me that its not always about the distance of the light source that determines the softness of the light, but the way that it wraps around a subject. The circular globe that you illustrated in the second set of pictures reminds of a china ball.

If I placed a china ball, and a square LED panel of the exact same light output 4 feet away from a human face. Which one would produce a softer light. I’ve always assumed that the spherical shape of a china ball produces softer light, but I’m not sure.

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)  on  01/02  at  01:10 PM

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Loving your lighting series Art! Please keep them coming.

Posted by PROFusioNZ  on  01/04  at  11:44 AM

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