Lighting... Hard light
Nadia

Lighting... Hard light

June 2021

Entry 8790222
1993rd
38

Great composition! The natural light striking the runner is very good!

However, the picture could have benefited from a clearer focus as I am not sure if the subject of the photo is nature or the runner.

The colours here are also quite muted, and a black and white shot might have accentuated the finer details better.

Entry 8790380
3066th
4

I love the feeling of warmth that emanates from this shot. I can almost smell the food cooking. However, it isn't in focus, which detracts from the subjects and leaves us unsure of what's going on. If this were clearer, we'd have been able to enjoy the details more; the bright, hard light from the window and the contrast of it vs. the warm light of the fire.

Entry 8790699
2584th
6

Wow! What a gorgeous chandelier! I could only dream of having something like this in my house. However, I think you've detracted from the subject slightly by placing it in front of the window like this. It's beautiful and deserving of more focus. Also, the framing is slightly off in that the chandelier is just off-centre, which can be quite jarring on the eyes.

Entry 8799973
5th
231

Wow! I love this shot! The use of black & white works really well with this photo, and makes the smaller details really pop, like the lines on the huts and the single cloud in the sky.

The use of the 3 beach huts as a way to frame the picture is very clever.

The only thing that might be improved is the framing. At the moment, the middle hut isn't quite central, and the left-hand hut is slightly smaller. Symmetry would have really elevated this image and drawn the eyes easier.

Entry 8807929
29th
11

What an outstanding close-up portrait!

The use of the hard light and the Rembrandt effect is hard to achieve. You really need to know how to use studio lights to do it well, and here it looks effortless! Congratulations.

The pale hues of the subject's skin and hair could easily have been washed-out by strong light, but you've retained the colour here very well. Well done!

Great use of strong natural light here. I love the big windows and the feeling of warmth that you get from them.

However, I'm not sure what the subject is here, what you want us to focus on.

If the shadows are the centrepiece, then I think that the person sitting actually detracts from that.

By removing them from the shot, we'd be able to enjoy more the striking shadows and the contrast between the hard light of the right-hand side of the shot vs. the darkness of the left-hand side.

Expert
winner

Congratulation on being the first choice out of thousands of pictures! What an image!

Your photo is stunning and makes excellent use of hard light against a dark backdrop. Your eyes are drawn immediately to the subject and you can almost feel the tension, the adrenaline, the fear and anticipation of the match!

Simple yet very effective use of framing and strong light leaves us wanting so much more!

EPIC!

Entry 8872087
2296th
13

Wow! I love the colours! Really inviting! The strong orange and red hues against the dark wall really do make the picture!

However, I think that the shadow on the right-hand side of the frame isn't quite strong enough. The photo could have benefited from more presence here, with a clearer definition between the wall and the shadow.

Perhaps if the light were a bit more to the left, so that the shadow was slightly more in the frame?

That being said, this is a brilliant shot! Congratulations!

Entry 9031884
1534th
16

I loved this photo and the feeling of noise and activity that it gives off. The light here is very strong.

However, I feel that the picture could have benefited from a clearer focus. What is the subject? Is it the workers or is it the architecture itself?

Keep up the great work!

Entry 9098553
1653rd
39

Wow! Brilliant picture! The black & white helps to accentuate the detail and the shadows thrown by the light; a great choice. The use of the ceiling light was also very clever, as it frames the shot really well and draws attention to the subject.

The viewers are left wanting to find out more about what's going on? It's clear that the subject is getting his hair cut, but the shot captures a thoughtful moment in that which is both dramatic and reserved.

Great job!

Entry 9115116
20th
21
Entry 9201725
38th
17
Entry 9221090
59th
26
Entry 9244304
34th
128
Entry 9395041
43rd
27
Entry 9436087
207th
290

Very clever!

In the beginning, the viewer is left thinking that you took the picture from afar. However, once you look closer, you notice the finer details: it's not a human, but a toy, and the white shadow is not created by natural light, but by flour! Outstandingly clever!

The use of full black around the flour is very interesting and definitely helps the overall mood of the photo.

This photo deserves to be in the final 10! Congratulations!

Entry 9490092
8th
66
Entry 9531924
14th
290
Entry 9663886
12th
50
Entry 9679104
19th
113

What a great picture! It's not easy to capture white against white, but here it looks amazing. Great work!

I love the personality of the horse, too. He looks as though he's acting up for the camera :)

It's one thing to take portraits of people, but a completely different game taking photos of animals. You managed to achieve that AND make it look effortless!

Entry 9729605
10th
136
Crowd
winner

This picture deserves to be in the top 10! The harsh spotlights, the black & white and the clever use of shadow all make for a great shot. However, it's the subject that deserves total admiration for her efforts!

From what I've read in her introduction, holding this position must have been really difficult, excruciating even, and taken a lot of time and effort. We salute you! We admire you! We are deeply touched by you!

Please never ever give you your creativity! You are an inspiration!

Entry 9748893
46th
143

3,360 Images entered

2,038 Photographers

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127,034 Ratings

Brief

See more contest details

Hard light refers to light coming from a single source aimed directly at the subject. This would often be a naked light bulb or strobe light, with nothing in front of it to disperse the light. And the sun on a cloudless day is the most natural source of hard light. Hard light produces a strong distinction between parts of the subject that are lit, and parts that are in dark shadow, with a clear delineation between the two areas. For example portraits lit from the side in this way show the subject half in light, half in shadow.

Meet the expert judge

Great picture! There is some mystery going on here, and that draws us in. It is out of focus and the strong light behind the subject makes it rather sinister.

However, I feel that the photo could have benefited from having the subject more in the centre, to draw the eye better. Also, it might further the story if we were able to see a few more facial details; this could further that sense of menace, or give the shot a completely different emotion.

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