Hard light vs Soft light Demo

As an opportunity to try my new Westcott 43" compact umbrella, I took a few pictures just for the sake of taking pictures. This entry will demonstrate the difference between bare flash (hard light) vs. flash through a shoot through umbrella. The pictures were both taken with the camera and flash on Manual so the settings and the total amount of light were the same. The subject for these photos was my Birkenstock sandal, which has weathered a fair amount of abuse over the years and the leather shows the character of that.

By the way, I highly recommend Birkenstocks for anyone that spends a lot of time on their feet. They offer great support and comfort, and this pair has lasted me since Gary Chang got married, whenever that was because I bought them when I was in Seattle for his wedding.

This first photo is hard light. Because the exposure was probaby better balanced for the soft umbrella light, this picture looks especially harsh. The shadow behind the shoes is very clear, and there even appear to be specular highlights on the dull leather shoes. Much of the character of the shoes is lost in this photo.

However, the softened light coming through the umbrella gives a much different protrayal of the sandals. You can make out much more of the detail and see how ratty these sandals really are.
On an unrelated note, you will notice that the wall, though white, darkens and turns grey the further down you go. This is an example of how the distance from the light changes the illumination of an object.