I have a love/love relationship with both hard and soft light. I see a lot of photographers who gravitate towards only wanting to use soft light in the images they create. While soft light is absolutely beautiful, I wish more people would embrace hard light! I love the distinct shadow it creates. The pop is perfect and lends itself nicely to editorial and fitness portraits!

Below is a video I did for Paul C. Buff, Inc. where I did two different looks using both soft and hard light. To be honest, I thought I was going to think the hard light shots (my favorite kind of shots) were going to be the clear winner, but I ended up really digging the soft light shots as well!

META DATA for ALL IMAGES SHOWN BELOW – ISO: 100 | Aperture: f/5.6 | SS: 1/125 sec.

EQUIPMENT USED
LINK 800Ws Flash Unit
CyberSync™ Trigger Transmitter 2
35″ Foldable Octabox
7″ Standard Reflector
13′ Combination Boom Stand
V-Flat

SPECIAL THANKS TO
MODEL – Amber Milam
HMUA – Zack Lankford
VIDEO/ASSIST/RETOUCH – Kimberly Nail