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Hard Light: Hard light is just as it sounds: harsh. It smashes into the subject and creates drastic shadows and high contrast. For the most part, it’s thought to be a poor quality of light.

Take a look at the forest shots here. One feels warm and welcoming, while the other seems cold and lonely. The only difference is the color of light used for the scene.

Along with the key, color, and contrast, another very important thing to think about when lighting for a mood is the quality of light. Quality of light refers to whether a scene is lit with hard light or soft light, and will vary depending on your light source, the time of year, time of day, and location.

This image of a woman on the beach is an example of a high-key, low-contrast image. Most of the image is comprised of highlights and the upper end of the mid-tones. There are almost no dark shadows throughout the image.

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Deciding how much contrast to have in a scene will be based on the mood you’re trying to create. Lighting strategies with higher contrast tend to make the scene feel more tense or mysterious, while scenes with low contrast feel more calm and fun.

The color of a scene is usually determined by the art director and displayed through various set pieces, like wardrobe, props, and background. However, adding or mixing lighting color will have a tremendous impact on the scene’s mood.

The exposure of a high-key shot is usually slightly flat, and made up of mostly mid-tones and highlights. There aren’t a lot of deep, dark shadows in a high-key shot. This lighting strategy portrays a happy, positive, upbeat feeling, making it perfect for comedies.

Different lights output different qualities of light. There are also a ton of modifiers that can help adjust and shape the light from a given source.

An example of hard light would be high noon on a clear summer day, which is usually considered the worst time to take portraits. The hard light from the sun creates unflattering hard-edged shadows that often highlight imperfections in the subject’s skin.

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The portrait below is an example of a high-contrast image. It offers a full range of tones, from bright highlights to dark shadows — tons of contrast.

Soft Light: Soft light is considered to have a rich, beautiful quality. It casts subtler, softer shadows that are much more flattering to the subject. Landscape and portrait photographers often talk about the “Magic Hour” (aka “Golden Hour), as being the best time to take outdoor photographs. This is the time right after sunrise, or just before sunset, when the light is a nice, soft glow.

High-Contrast vs. Low-Contrast: High-contrast images display a full range of tones, from bright highlights to dark shadows. Low-contrast images, on the other hand, have a much smaller, shallower range of tones.

Determining what mood to portray will depend completely on the story or subject matter of your scene. Regardless, one of the most important factors in creating the mood you’re going for is determining your lighting strategy, including key, color, contrast, and quality of light.

Along with good acting and creative composition, developing a motivated lighting strategy is one of the most powerful ways to create a mood for your scene. An experienced director of photography can walk onto any given set and create an immediate mood just by turning on lights. The actors don’t even have to be there for a scene to portray a specific feeling or emotion.

Low-key setups are often used in drama and horror stories, but are also used in very intimate or romantic scenes, as well. Regardless of genre, using this lighting technique will always create a sense of tension within a scene.

If you’re new to lighting, you may want to check out our post on lighting basics, as it’s a good place to get an overview of general lighting techniques. Once you understand how to setup a three-point lighting scheme, you can begin to create and develop different moods by controlling the basic lighting components: key, color, and contrast.

Low-Key: Low-key lighting is quite the opposite. It’s very shaped, high-contrast lighting with a range from bright to dark black shadows. While there are bright portions of a low-key scene, the light is usually focused to draw the attention of the audience to a specific subject. This type of lighting separates subjects from their surroundings to create a sense of isolation, vulnerability, or even fear.

Illumination is Amir Dvir's project, created to spread joy among psychedelic fans. Amir, who started his way back in 1998, has been involved in several projects such as Xerox & Illumination, Humanoids, Born Sleepy, and Luminus. Known for his unique analog sound, he uses his modular rack and collection of analog synths to make a lasting impression on audiences worldwide. Recently, he has collaborated with the legendary record label Nano Records and is currently working on a new album.

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Combination Light: Combination light refers to a scene that uses both soft light and hard light sources, such as a portrait taken under the shade of a tree with scattered beams of hard sunlight piercing through the branches. The result is an image with areas of both hard and soft shadows. Mixing or adding splashes of hard light in a more evenly lit scene will certainly help create a more specific texture or mood.

Here’s a perfect example of how contrast can drastically change the mood of a scene. The left side of the image has very low contrast, and feels lighter and more relaxed, while the high-contrast side feels way more sinister and suspenseful.

High-Key: High-key is even, low-contrast lighting with minimal shadows. High-key setups are often used in sitcoms, soap operas, and romantic comedies because of the forgiving nature of the lighting setup. The light looks good from every camera angle, and an actor can walk or turn in almost any direction and keep the same look and feel.