4

CHAPTER
NIGHT AND LOW-LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY / People and Places Indoors

The softer light creates much softer shadows,

making for a better portrait, and one of the most

common ways to get a nice, soft light is to use

Window light

WINDOW LIGHT

One of the easiest and most effective methods of

illuminating a person indoors is to use the natural

light available during the day, by placing the sub-

ject in the light coming in through a window.

if you have ever tried to photograph outdoors
under noonday sun. Now, when that hard, small
light source shines through a window, especially
one with some type of diffusion material on it,
like thin drapes or a sheet or even a store-bought
diffuser, the light is diffused in the same way the
light from a flash is when bounced off of a ceiling.
The photograph of the bride and her bridesmaids
in Figure 4-2 was taken using just the light com-
ing in from the left of the camera through a
large window.

ABOUT THIS PHOTO The soft light coming in through the large window to camera left was diffused by the transparent material used in
decorating the room. There are no harsh shadows on any of the faces. Taken at 1/80 second, f/4.5, and ISO 500.

4-2