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

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

And then came Ms. Chang’s astonishing bestseller—part memoir, part history—to throw a hard light on it all.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 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

Bathed in the hard light, it glowed as if it were made of gold.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan