All groups

Hard light

Sharp-edged shadows and texture: tough, sunny, graphic.

Use when: Sport, summer, streetwear, anything that should feel raw or bold.

Prompt instructions

Scene: [your subject] in [your setting]. Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot Light: a small hard light source, direct sun or a bare lamp, casting crisp-edged shadows across the subject's face and the wall

Seedance 2.5 reads labelled blocks with timecodes.

SubjectSetting

Say it like this

A small hard light source, direct sun or a bare lamp, casting crisp-edged shadows across her face and the wall.

Watch out

A style word for light does nothing. Name the source, where it sits against the person, and what fills the shadow side.measured: Director Chair field notes on image prompting
Hard light shows every skin flaw; on faces, keep it for looks that want grit.film-craft: General film vocabulary, as also used in ShotDeck's filters

Soft lightPrompt High noonPrompt Low-key contrast

Mostly shadow with a few lit areas: drama, mystery, premium.

Prompt

Sources

Own words; the term from general film vocabulary, as also used in ShotDeck's filters Checked 2026-11-13.

ShotDeck: real film examples of this lighting (paid, link only)

Flim: film, ad and music-video stills of this lighting (free tier, link only)

For agents: this card as markdown, as JSON.