Natural Light: One window, five looks

Whether you’re working in your own home, a studio or a client’s home, you can still achieve a variety of looks using natural light from the windows around you.

Despite making the decision several years ago not to take commissioned photography work, I was determined to continue to grow as a photographer. As a mother of four at the time (now five!), I was limited in my locations for shoots, but I didn’t want to feel the limits of the indoors in my work. So I spent the year focusing on taking advantage of window light in my home and learning to produce as much variety as possible.

I’m sharing five natural-light images using a favorite window of mine, but similar images can be captured with any window. Just so you know, I don’t have a big empty room I shoot in. I often move furniture around so I can take advantage of the available light as I did in most of these images.

LOOK 1: Split lighting

Split lighting is perfect for creating a more serious atmosphere. When I think of split lighting, I rarely think of smiles and laughter. I think pensive, moody, serious, etc.

Posing for split light is rather simple. You want your subject’s cheek or line of sight to be parallel to the window and shoulders perpendicular to the window. The side of the face closest to the window will be lit and from the middle of the face over will fall to shadow. It is much more dramatic than 45 degree lighting.

A little trick for this situation is to expose for the highlight side of the face.

Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G lens; ISO 500, 1/125, f/3.0.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at how I created the above split-lighting photo:

LOOK 2: Indoor silhouette

Another take on window light is creating a silhouette. This isn’t my favorite window for silhouettes because I have a play set right behind it. However, I made it the secondary subject by posing my son to convey him wishing to be outdoors.

The key to a silhouette is underexposing your subject. In this image, it looks like it was dark in the room. In reality, the room is just as lit as it was in the other images. Underexposing the image brings back detail in the highlights/window and my subject became part of the shadow areas of the image.

Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G lens; ISO 200, 1/640, f/2.8.

Here’s where I was standing to get this silhouette image using window light:

LOOK 3: 45-Degree lighting

A traditional approach to window light is placing your subject 45 degrees from your light source. In other words, the plane of your window is the zero degree line. Your subject will be placed left or right of the window at 45 degrees.

In this situation the light falls nearly three quarters over the face/subject and then gradually falls into shadow. Your subject is nicely lit while some shadowing maintains depth in your image.

Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens; ISO 200, 1/320, f/1.4.

Here’s the pullback of me using a 45-degree pose in natural light:

LOOK 4: Indoor backlighting

Dreamy backlit images can be achieved indoors with window light. It’s just a matter of having a strong light source in your window and carefully placing your subject. The window I am working with faces south. The natural light is pretty strong mid-morning to mid-afternoon making it an ideal shooting period for backlight. I also open the blinds to let in as much light as possible.

By placing my daughter between the camera and the win­dow, I have achieved rim light and a dreamier feel that I often envy in outdoor images.

Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G lens; ISO 1250, 1/200, f/4.0.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at me using natural window light for backlighting:

LOOK 5: Window light close-up

A window is like a giant soft box. The closer your subject is to the window, the softer the light is. Bringing your subject close to the window will create a glowing quality to the image.

It also allows you to use the window and reflection in your composition. I love how it looks like my daughter has her hand pressed up against a little friend’s hand. Remember to expose for the highlight side of the face.

Gear & Settings: Nikon D700 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G lens; ISO 125, 1/640, f/2.0.

Here’s a pullback of how I achieved the above close-up image using natural window light:

Your only limits with natural light are your imagination. Going outside to capture the scene inside can give you a fresh perspective. Use your window as a frame for your composition. Use a pocket of light on the floor created by a window. A reflector is also a great tool to have handy when you’re using natural light indoors. I have been known to pull mine around all over the house. Use that odd little window that you may have in your bathroom. The possibilities are endless!

This article was first published in Click’s premiere issue, November/December 2012. Click subscribers have access to the magazine’s full digital archives; visit our subscription area to learn more.

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Photos by Stacey Haslem

More tips and info on using natural light indoors:

How to tame these 4 challenging lighting situations for better photos

6 Ways to create beautiful photos in small spaces or dark apartments

5 Ways to create emotive low-light photos in your home

The great indoors: 6 Pro tips for photographing interiors

Light tamer: how to use harsh light to create dramatic photos