I know some of y’all saw the title and clicked just to tell me I’m wrong—so pause for a second, relax, and hear me out. In this video I break down what specularity actually is, because it’s not “a light thing” the way people talk about it. Specularity comes from the surface itself—chrome is reflective because it’s chrome, and oily skin is reflective because it’s oily. Light doesn’t magically make something specular; it just reveals what the surface already is. Then I get into the big misconception: “soft light eliminates specular highlights.” A larger light source will absolutely reduce intensity and soften the edges (that highlight-to-shadow transition gets smoother), so the highlights feel less jarring. But it doesn’t inherently remove specular highlights, especially if the surface is reflective. I also clarify the difference between a specular highlight and a hot spot—hot spots are about intensity approaching or exceeding clipping, where you lose detail. To show it, I light a mannequin with a big modifier and everything looks smooth—then I add oil to the skin and the specular highlights pop right back up, even with the same soft light. The real fix isn’t just “bigger modifier”—it’s dealing with the surface (makeup, reducing oil), or if you have to, cleaning it up in post.