Why Direct Window Light Is Often Bad Light

If you’ve ever been outside and looked up at the sun, you already know it’s a pretty harsh source of light. When that harsh sunlight hits people you’re trying to photograph, it’s not pretty. You get squinting, and ugly, hard shadows on your subject’s face, and it’s mighty unflattering, to say the least. Now, what if you put a clear piece of glass between your subject and the sun? Well, sadly, that wouldn’t change a dang thing, as harsh sunlight has no problem traveling right through that clear glass, and when it does, it’s just as harsh and nasty as ever. This really throws a lot of photographers because you’ve probably heard for years that window light can be the most beautiful light for portraits. It’s what the classic Dutch master artists from the 1600s used to light the subjects of their paintings, and their light was legendary, right? Right. But, that’s because they did things to make the light from that window soft and beautiful. That’s a lot of what this chapter teaches you—how to take that harsh, nasty sunlight and make it soft and beautiful—but it all starts with the understanding that window light, in most instances, is not soft, beautiful light. Once you understand that, and you understand that you are in charge of making the light from the sun soft and beautiful, you’re on your way to some of the best-lit portraits you’ll ever make.