Clever Ways to Use Window Light in Your Home

Even though it’s summer and chances are most of your pictures will be taken outdoors, it’s still important to know how to use the available light in your home. Especially if you’re interested in capturing everyday images of your children. The great thing about window light is that you can get a variety of looks just by getting creative. Remember we talked about different ways to light your subject. Using window light is a great way to practice these.

The first thing I want you to try is side lighting your subject. Grab your child. If you’ve got little ones, have them sit in a chair with a snack by the window. If they’re older, I’m not above bribery. Tell them you’ll treat them to ice cream for a few quick shots. For babies, lay a blanket by the window and place them on it. The closer they are to the light, the brighter it will be. If you move them a little farther away, the light will be softer. Just make sure they are parallel to the window.

In my house, we have huge windows next to our kitchen table. For this shot, there was no direct light coming in so it was perfect. I had my daughter stand with her back to the window so that there was a soft shadow on one side. If I wanted less shadow, I would have asked her to turn her face more towards the window. She was right up against the light so I had to make sure I didn’t over expose her skin on the side closest to the window. You can see that it gets really bright by her ear and the back of the scarf, but you can still see some detail.

For this next shot, I asked her to turn her body towards the window. Notice how there are less shadows? Her hand actually works to block some of the light so her face is lit pretty evenly.

Experiment a little further by turning your subject. First just move them at a 45 degree angle, not completely facing the window. Then, move them a little more so they are facing the window. Now even more so they are backlit. Move them all the way around until you’ve gone in a circle and see how the light changes. Now, this is much easier said than done if you have a cooperative subject. That’s why it might be best to have your child sitting in a chair for this experiment.

Another easy way to maximize the window light in your home is to move your furniture around. I’m all about moving my subject closer to the light and sometimes I have to rearrange things to make it possible. If you’re in the kitchen, slide your child’s highchair close to the window. If you’re in the bedroom, push their bed a little closer to the window. The bench you see this little girl standing on is not meant to be there. She was looking out another window and I adored how she was holding her lovie, but the light wasn’t right. I asked mom if we could move the bench and she was happy to do it. In this spot, she had light coming in from the original window as well as the one pictured. You can’t see her face here because the window is blow out (overexposed), but I’m ok with that because the focus is more on how she’s hugging the bear. There’s a feeling of curiosity and wonder in this shot and I think the bright airiness adds to that. You don’t always need a smiling face in a photograph.

When you’re practicing with window light, look for areas of your home that are out of the ordinary. The bathroom is sometimes a great place! This was taken in a client’s bathroom. They had an amazing tub with a big window right next to it. The bathroom is usually a place for privacy, but you can get creative with composition and include your subject in a fun way!

If your kiddos are on the floor playing, get down on their level and take advantage of the window light streaming in. It’ll illuminate their little faces. In this case, it’s probably best to have your child facing the light and looking up since windows are usually higher off the ground.

You can also use something white as a reflector. In this shot, the window light is behind my subject, making him backlit. Normally he’d be darker because all of the light is behind him, but the white chair helps to bounce the light around and brighten everything up. Look for spots around your home that might be used as a reflector. White tile. White bed sheets. White walls. Use those in conjunction with window light to create a dreamy image.

I hope you find these tips helpful for using window light in your home. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t happy with the images you get right away. Keep trying and practicing. Soon enough you’ll find the ‘sweet spots’ in your home and use them for fabulous shots of your kids. If you’d like this and other photography tips delivered to your inbox every Friday, click here!