Modeling window light in the studio

One of the most expressive light sources for a portrait is regular natural light, especially in spring and summer. The window light in your home or studio is excellent for creating portraits. It is a good tool to highlight the features and emphasize the character of your model, giving you the opportunity to realize your creative idea.

The window light is very charming in its own way, diffused by glass, it has a special softness. Using the window as a light source, you can change the light level by moving your subject closer to the window or farther away from it. For a more voluminous and expressive look, you can add shadows by moving the subject in front of or away from the light source.

In the example below, the model was placed against a window. The window is large, and it was directly in front of it, so the shadows are soft and they are minimal.

In the example below, the window light was incident on the model from the side. The left side of the face was too dark, so a reflector was added to fill it out. Diluting the shadows enhances the skin texture and makes the facial features appear softer.

The problem with the window as a light source is that this technique is most effective only in bright sunlight, during the spring or summer months. In fall and winter, overcast weather and oblique sunlight can make working with window light much more difficult. What we’re going to do in this lighting lesson is recreate the big window effect in the studio using a soft box and reflectors.

Equipment

LiteDome Softbox: Extra Large

LiteDisc Oval 41×74″ SunLite/White reflector

42″ MultiDisc Reflector

ProDuty BackDrop Support Kit background holder

Canon 5D Mark III camera

Canon lens 24-105mm f4.0 L lens

Part One – the classic portrait by the window.

In this example, I wanted to create a classic portrait by the window, so I took some light, translucent curtains and hung them with the background mount. For the background, I used a white background to mimic a wall and placed the LiteDome Extra Large soft box right in front of the curtains.

The most important element to simulate the window light is the corner of the soft box. I like to place it vertically with a slight tilt. Usually when I work with soft boxes, I place them at a 45 degree angle, but in this case, the straighter angle better simulates the diffusion of sunlight despite the large glass panel.

To get started, I asked Emilia to stand on the opposite side of the curtains. To be more convincing, I asked her to pretend that the soft box was really a window and that she was standing near it.

In the examples below you can see that the background really looks like a wall, and the filtered light of the soft box simulates a sunny day. I took these shots at the following settings: f5.6, shutter speed 1/125 and ISO 100.

I don’t mind the shadows on the face, but I wanted to soften them a little bit to even out the exposure. I added a LiteDisc Oval mirror reflector on the other side of Emilie. Below you can see the same pose without the reflector on the left and with the reflector on the right. Adding the reflector depends on your preferences and on the final result you would like to get.

Part Two – Spectacular Lighting

For the following example of a shoot at a window, I wanted to try something a little more sophisticated. The window light is great for model lighting, but very difficult to control. If you place the model in front of a bright window, with her back to the glass, you can bring out her skin tone in great detail, and the background would simply disappear if the sunlight was bright enough.

To achieve this effect, I placed a soft box behind the model and moved the curtains to make Emilia stand behind them

This effect is difficult to achieve without getting some extra light in the frame. I wanted Emily to have the freedom of movement, so I used the light flux, letting it cover her body from behind. This creates a dark, shadowed area in the center of the face, but I personally like this effect.

To soften those shadows and make sure the face would be detailed enough, I used a 42″ MultiDisc Reflector that specifically has a white surface. I placed the MultiDisc at a 40 degree angle in front of and below Emilie to reflect the light onto her face. The first example of the effect illumination below is done with curtains to make it look like the model is standing by the window. These shots were taken at the following settings: f5.6, a shutter speed of 1/125 and ISO 100.

After trying this out I took away the curtains and took a few more shots, which are shown below. The reflector in front of Emilia, gave confidence that enough light would be reflected on her face and the shadows would be softened.

I like the effect of the light in the way the model softly dissolves in the light, and makes it look very light and airy. The following two shots demonstrate this.

If you have the LiteDome soft box at hand, you can start to imitate the window effect in your own studio. Have fun taking pictures!