IN photography, light is everything. Understanding it helps photographers get the result they want.
Basically, light in photography can be divided into hard light and soft light.
Hard light refers to a condition where the source of light is relatively smaller to the subject. Meanwhile, soft light happens when the source of light is relatively bigger than the source.
Sunlight is considered as hard light.
However, during a cloudy day, the rays get diffused and the light becomes soft.
Artificial light, like the one from a flash, is considered hard but a soft light can also be created from a flash by using soft box, flash umbrella or bouncing flash to a ceiling or a wall.
Here are few tips to help you understand light in photography better.