5 Tips for Using Natural Window Light for iPhone Portraits

For most amateur and enthusiastic photographers, using the natural light available is the best way to get a more professional look to your photographs without having to splash out for big expensive lighting equipment. Much like learning how to make use of the golden hours to get the best of our outdoor shoots, it’s important to learn how to harness the natural window light to improve your indoor images, and portraits in particular. The quality of natural window light is almost always superior to artificial light, even that of a softly diffused lamp, and what’s better is it’s always at your disposal and really easy to make use of! You don’t have to go outside, there’s no cumbersome set-up, and best of all it’s FREE!

Here’s our best 5 tips for using natural window light for iPhone portraits:

One of the best characteristics of natural window light is that it is very flexible – it can be used softly diffused (by shooting on a cloudy day or through a soft white curtain) but it can also be used as direct light to create interesting shadows. Soft light can be very illuminating, casting a warm glow over the whole image whereas direct light has the ability to bring out lines and shadows while emphasizing the detail of the scene. By shooting with the light in front of the subject you’ll illuminate the face and body while keeping the background relatively obscure.

Blinded

Photo by XDPI

We’re sure that you already know that when you shoot into the sun you get a silhouette, and you can achieve the same effect by shooting against a well-lit window. The key to getting good silhouettes using natural light is using a strong shape and emphasizing the natural curves of the human figure. You can use this to great effect for portraits and profiles, or for a full-length body shot.

Crown of Branches

Photo by Mikkers!

Sometimes overexposure is a good thing…yes, you heard that right. If you happen to have a very well-lit room with big windows you can create stunning dreamy scenes by overexposing your portrait with natural light. This works great for portraits of women and children, emphasizing the natural beauty of the subject. It also works really well for creating dual exposure portraits, creating a spooky ghost-like image.

If the sun happens to be shining directly into the window (usually around the golden hours), you can create very cool lens flare effect by placing your subject directly in front of the window with the sun right behind their head creating a golden aura around their head and a washed out romantic feel to the whole image. Depending on the lighting in the rest of the room, you may need to give your subject a bit of light from the front as well to bring out the detail in the facial features.

This is particularly useful if it’s been raining, you are working with a dirty window, or if the window has some kind of coating obscuring the reflection (think frosted bathroom windows). By placing your subject behind the window and shooting from either the outside or the inside, you can create fabulously creative portraits that appeal in the same way portrait silhouettes do. Using the lines and contour of the body, or the effect of the window the subject can be seen but much of the detail is obscured creating a really interesting and unique image.