Light is the major element in the basics of photography.  It determines the feelings of those photographs.  Two basics of light are soft and hard.  Today, I will talk about the window light.  It not only expresses the subtlety, but creates the beauty mood of the photographs.  However, it depends on how the photographs have been taken, straight  forward, backward, profiling or even through a window.

For taking photographs through glass or a window, the first photographer that comes into my mind is Saul Leiter.  His work portrayed blur photographs, creating the surreal story behind them.  If the technique is applied in taking portraits, it will reduce the boredom and create a new perspective of the photographs.

Four important elements of taking photographs with the window light are the direction, the exposure, the focus and the composition.

The Direction of Window Light

Lighting from different directions delivered different feelings.  The examples show how the light has been used: straight forward, backward, profiling, or taking photos from the outside.  By that, the light shined through the window before landing on the objects.  Anyway, the focus has to be carefully checked.

The Focus

One of the problems of taking photos indoors is that it is too dark to focus; for outdoors, the focus may land on the reflection on the window pane.  Manual focus adjustment, AKA hand turn, is recommended for this situation.  For the camera equipped with the peaking focus system, it is advised to use it.

The Exposure

Spot metering is suggested, or at the focus point where the light hits the object.  It makes photographs not to be too bright.  Always remember that the closer the object to the light, the brighter it will be.  That makes the background darker, too.  We, thus, have to be certain of what mood of the photographs we want or the background is too messy that we want it all  black. 

The Composition

Making use of the existing window is a clever way of using the window light, just take photos through it.  The photographer must bear in mind the reflection of the window frame on the object or the window blend with the object.  Moreover, the photographer can experiment with the frame on frame technique, the object within the window frame, finding the foreground or putting other materials in the photographs.

Break the Rule!

At the end of the day, when we are informed of all the basics.  We should try breaking all rules in order to take new things into the photographs.  Some suggestions will be: the light ray crossing over the eyes, the near focussed together with the feelings of the object, a little darker exposure to create the mysterious look.

Enjoy photo taking!

Special Thanks : Akirart Cafe & Akirart Minilab