Diffused and soft light are often used interchangeably among photographers. Indeed, to an untrained eye, the two can sometimes appear to be the same. Furthermore, modifiers such as softboxes that give both soft and diffused light make it hard to spot the difference. Nonetheless, diffused light is not necessarily soft, and soft light is not necessarily diffused.
As photographers, we generally aim to shoot perfectly to where our photos require minimal to no editing. But for some of us, the editing process can be just as creative of a process as the photography side.
We all love soft light because it adds that dreaminess to food and drink photos that will always be great. However, recently I have been seeing more people use hard light in their food and drink photography.
Here's a 3-minute video by photographer Francisco Hernandez that shows the difference diffusion panels can make for an outdoor portrait. There are both pros and cons to hard or soft light, but knowing which one to use and when is always handy.
Ever since the middle of high school, I’ve been immensely interested in “the process.” You know, that middle bit between point A and point B that nobody but the artist ever sees. I’ve always loved peeking behind the scenes to see where something started and what kind of work and thought went into creating the finished product.
I love hard light. I love the shadows it creates and the colors it brings out. I also love the convenience it affords. I work exclusively with small flash, and by using predominantly hard light in my images, I am able to travel extremely light, as I need few to zero modifiers.