jcolman wrote in post #17763088
Exactly. By moving your lights closer you soften the light.
This. Basic rule which to many seems illogical is this.... the smaller the relative light source the harsher (relative to the subject)... the larger light source the softer. You can make a light source relatively larger by bringing it in closer... This also why using a softbox or umbrella or reflecting off anything larger works to soften the light, it makes the relative light source larger. Larger light sources allow the light to wrap around the subject more which causes the softness.
The sun is a relatively very small light source. Yes it's huge in actual size, but relative to us it a small circle in the sky and very far away. This makes it harsh. When a cloud moves in front of the sun now that cloud is the relative light source and relatively much larger (to the subject) than the sun was which makes the light much softer.
One thing to consider when moving the light source closer to the subject is that this will also alter the 'depth of light' or falloff relative to the subject. If you bring the light source in very close and expose properly the effective light 'depth' becomes shallow much like focus becomes shallow with wide apertures and shorter distance to subjects. You can use this falloff technique to better control the ambient of the background better and controlling 'spill' of your light on areas other than your subject.
...and by the way, love the shots!
