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Track 2 · Light2 min read

LESSON 09

Window light

A window is a large, soft light that costs nothing. Where you put the subject decides the picture.

FROM ABOVE · A PORTRAIT BY A WINDOW

Plan view: a window on the left lights one side of a head; a white reflector on the right bounces light back into the shadow side; the camera faces the subject.

Available light

Light you did not bring, sun through glass or a lamp already in the room, is called available or ambient light. You cannot turn it up or move it, so you move the subject, the camera or yourself.

Why a window is soft

Soft light comes from a source that is large next to the subject. A window a metre or two from a face is large next to it; on an overcast day, or behind a thin curtain, the light is softer still.

Fill the far side

The side of the face away from the window falls into shadow. A reflector, a white card or a sheet held on that side, bounces some of the window light back and opens the shadow up.

Catch lights and colour

Turn the face a little toward the window and the eyes pick up a small bright reflection, a catch light, which draws attention to them. Room bulbs are redder than daylight, so switch them off and the colour stays even.

Try it today

  1. 01Seat someone a metre from a window, side on to it.
  2. 02Switch the room lights off and shoot.
  3. 03Hold a white card or sheet on the shadow side and shoot again.
  4. 04Turn their face toward the window until catch lights appear.
  5. 05Move them two metres back and compare.

Figures from Wikipedia, 'Available light', 'Hard and soft light', 'Reflector (photography)', 'Catch light' and 'Color temperature', read 2026.10.16. The steps under Try it today are working practice, not a standard.