hard light

American  

noun

Cinematography.

1. directed light, especially light whose beams are relatively parallel, producing distinct shadows and a harsher modeling effect on the subject.

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Example Sentences

“The light in the sky is actually bouncing off the clouds, so the clouds are a diffusion rather than a straight-up hard light source.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

One wears sprinkles like confetti or a glaze sticky as the night and waits under hard light at an airport coffee counter.

From Salon • Feb. 5, 2026

His natural instinct is to seek out the untold, unflattering story, to shine the cold, hard light of reality on a guy who seems too good to be true.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2019

“This is why I didn’t come down sooner. I’ve got an upgrade for Ami, Alex. You remember hard light, yes?” she managed a knowing smile.

From The Verge • Feb. 13, 2019

The dull tubes of them beginning to move sluggishly in the cold hard light.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy