For a portraitist, a large light source that throws dispersed light is heaven! When this kind of light falls on the skin of the subject, it brings out a soft skin texture which is attractive and soothing to view. Now, what if your light source is fairly large and it is controlled to be somewhat directional? You get a dramatic angled light. If drama is what you want, you've got it. My room has no other light except the light jumping off the LCD monitor of my computer. I asked the subject to stand in front of it and I positioned it lower than his eye level and tilt it slightly upwards. This was what I got: dramatic and soft.
