There’s no definitive answer to this, as the best type of lighting depends on what you’re trying to achieve with your photograph. However, understanding different lighting conditions and how to work with them can greatly improve your photography.
Natural Light: This refers to the sun and can vary greatly depending on the time of day, weather, and season. The golden hour (shortly after sunrise or before sunset) often provides soft, warm light that’s ideal for many types of photography.
Artificial Light: This can range from studio strobes and speedlights to continuous lights like LEDs or even household lamps. Artificial light can be controlled more precisely than natural light and is useful for various genres, including portrait, product, and indoor photography.
Diffused Light: This is light scattered by clouds, fog, or diffusing materials like softboxes in a studio. It’s soft, even, and low contrast, great for minimizing harsh shadows.
Hard Light: This is direct, undiffused light, such as sunlight on a clear day. It creates strong contrasts and defined shadows and highlights.
Each type of light can create a different mood and effect, so it’s beneficial to experiment and see what works best for your subject matter and creative vision.