Light

 

These images were taken to show the difference between hard light and soft light. 

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• Soft light falling on the subject from a source that's large compared to the subject, wraps light around the subject, filling shadows and lowering contrast. Outdoors you see this  light on a cloudy bright day when the entire layer of clouds is the light source.

Hard light coming from a source that's small compared to the subject, casts hard shadows and has high contrast. Outdoors you see this light on a bright sunny day. The sun may be very large but it's also far away and small in the sky so it casts hard light on subjects.