This is the first video I've seen where the shadows change with distance. I thought that distance meant diffusion and gave soft shadows, and close light was more "straight" and gave hard shadows; but it's the other way around. In my experience I've tried to make hard shadows with small single powerful light sources. Is distance a better solution? Thanks for the content!
So glad you liked it, I really appreciate your kind words, they made my day! I totally understand why you thought about it that way before, glad my examples helped clarify some. To try and answer your question, there are a few different factors that all more or less adjust the shadows: relative size, distance, and diffusion material to scatter the light/tools to make the light harder. So it isn't exactly a one-size answer. Distance is a REALLY powerful factor here, but it comes at a consequence of exposure. So to reduce the exposure drop you can also use a smaller source so that when moved further away you can get hard shadows while minimizing exposure loss. So I kind of like a middle approach myself, but generally I think that it is important to consider the distance in particular because it is usually a lot easier to move your lamp back rather than get a smaller source if you want your shadows to be a bit harder. The easy to remember example for hard vs soft shadows is the sun itself! The sun is HUGE, but VERY far away, so the relative size is like holding a small coin at an arm's length. On a cloudless day, the sun would create hard shadows on the ground. On a cloudy day, the cloud catches the light and scatters it, but also is much bigger relative to pretty much any subject on earth (like a person). If it is a small cloud the shadows will be less soft, if it is an entirely overcast sky there could be no shadows at all. Of course, in this example, it is a combination of effects from the relative size and the scattering of the light via diffusion material (the cloud). Hope that all helps, I will probably make some more videos on this subject because it is very important! :)
Does a combination of softbox & silk (closer to subject) lead to an additional increase in softness? I seem to be hearing such different takes on this.
Mostly, yes. But there are a few considerations to dial it in. It depends on the size of the softbox and the size of the silk/diffusion, and the proximity to the subject. If the silk is right next to the softbox, further from the subject, the softness wouldn't change as much because of the size of the diffusion relative to the subject, like what is shown in this video. But the additional material would scatter the light more, making it softer, while costing you some exposure. If you diffusion is closer to the subject then it would benefit from both. If your diffusion is smaller than your softbox and the softbox light spills around it, that light would be as diffused as the softbox would be from that distance, while what passes through the silk is further scattered and the "new" source of the silk is closer to the subject, both in turn making that part of the light softer. And, it would feather the change between what is being double diffused and just softbox diffused more. Doubling up on diffusion can also help by using different materials with different light-scattering properties to further customize your lighting look. I would say that to make using a softbox and additional diffusion/silk work best though, use a diffusion material that is larger than your softbox to maximize the surface area of the "final" source before the light hits your subject. That is how to best use both to make your light softer by maximizing both the size effects and scattering effects. I have a video that might help with this, too: czcams.com/video/yXOO8Q2OruQ/video.html Hope that helps! -Trenton
When you move further away actually its not diffuse and make the shadow harsher.. its because of the angle and the size of the light or modifier.. if tou move it further away you need to adjust the angle of the light a bit to the front
This is the first video I've seen where the shadows change with distance. I thought that distance meant diffusion and gave soft shadows, and close light was more "straight" and gave hard shadows; but it's the other way around. In my experience I've tried to make hard shadows with small single powerful light sources. Is distance a better solution? Thanks for the content!
So glad you liked it, I really appreciate your kind words, they made my day! I totally understand why you thought about it that way before, glad my examples helped clarify some. To try and answer your question, there are a few different factors that all more or less adjust the shadows: relative size, distance, and diffusion material to scatter the light/tools to make the light harder. So it isn't exactly a one-size answer. Distance is a REALLY powerful factor here, but it comes at a consequence of exposure. So to reduce the exposure drop you can also use a smaller source so that when moved further away you can get hard shadows while minimizing exposure loss. So I kind of like a middle approach myself, but generally I think that it is important to consider the distance in particular because it is usually a lot easier to move your lamp back rather than get a smaller source if you want your shadows to be a bit harder.
The easy to remember example for hard vs soft shadows is the sun itself! The sun is HUGE, but VERY far away, so the relative size is like holding a small coin at an arm's length. On a cloudless day, the sun would create hard shadows on the ground. On a cloudy day, the cloud catches the light and scatters it, but also is much bigger relative to pretty much any subject on earth (like a person). If it is a small cloud the shadows will be less soft, if it is an entirely overcast sky there could be no shadows at all. Of course, in this example, it is a combination of effects from the relative size and the scattering of the light via diffusion material (the cloud). Hope that all helps, I will probably make some more videos on this subject because it is very important! :)
this is wonderfully informative, thank you!
Glad you liked it and found it helpful! :)
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! :)
Does a combination of softbox & silk (closer to subject) lead to an additional increase in softness? I seem to be hearing such different takes on this.
Mostly, yes. But there are a few considerations to dial it in. It depends on the size of the softbox and the size of the silk/diffusion, and the proximity to the subject. If the silk is right next to the softbox, further from the subject, the softness wouldn't change as much because of the size of the diffusion relative to the subject, like what is shown in this video. But the additional material would scatter the light more, making it softer, while costing you some exposure. If you diffusion is closer to the subject then it would benefit from both.
If your diffusion is smaller than your softbox and the softbox light spills around it, that light would be as diffused as the softbox would be from that distance, while what passes through the silk is further scattered and the "new" source of the silk is closer to the subject, both in turn making that part of the light softer. And, it would feather the change between what is being double diffused and just softbox diffused more. Doubling up on diffusion can also help by using different materials with different light-scattering properties to further customize your lighting look.
I would say that to make using a softbox and additional diffusion/silk work best though, use a diffusion material that is larger than your softbox to maximize the surface area of the "final" source before the light hits your subject. That is how to best use both to make your light softer by maximizing both the size effects and scattering effects.
I have a video that might help with this, too: czcams.com/video/yXOO8Q2OruQ/video.html
Hope that helps!
-Trenton
When you move further away actually its not diffuse and make the shadow harsher.. its because of the angle and the size of the light or modifier.. if tou move it further away you need to adjust the angle of the light a bit to the front
Why use silk because back in the days Arri light dont have bowens mount
How many takes do you think I flubbed "C-Stand Silk"?
Ok, real question of the week: what is your favorite movie with lots of unmotivated lighting?
I particularly like giallo movies for unmotivated lighting, lots of Argentos, Strange Color of My Body's Tears is a good more recent pick too.