The bigger the light source...

The bigger the light source, the softer and broader the light.

As you venture deeper into the wonderful world of photography you will start to experiment with off camera lighting. When one talks about lighting there are two types of lighting:

• Hard lighting is where there is minimal transition between the light and dark areas also know as high contrast.
• Soft lighting is where there is a gradual transition between the light and dark areas degree of contrast between the light and dark areas of the subject.

The image below provides an example of hard and soft lighting.

The type of light source used to light your subject would determine the quality of light (hard or soft). Just keep this in mind when choosing your light source, the bigger the light source the softer the light e.g. the sun and the smaller light source e.g. your camera pop up flash the harsher the light on your subject.

The complete article can be found here.