Previously, I posted a tip in which I suggested shooting in the shade in order to get better pictures of people outdoors. This time, I have a quick tip for when you are taking pictures indoors: Use Windows for Lighting People.
When posing people for an indoor picture, photographers may have them stand in front of a window with the hope of bringing some beauty from outdoors into the picture. The problem is that the camera will probably expose the shot based on the brightest areas in the frame, more than likely from the window behind the subjects. Without overriding the automatic exposure, the people’s faces will be poorly lit, or they may even be in silhouette. And even if the automatic exposure is overridden, the scene outside the window will be blown out, obscuring it from view anyway.
You can see those sorts of results in the first two pictures below. In the first, despite poor Pooh’s primping, we can’t see his adorable face because the camera is exposing the picture for the light coming from outside. In the second, though we can now see Pooh, we can’t make out the overexposed outdoor scenery.
Window behind subject
Window behind subject (auto exposure overridden)
Window behind photographer
On the other hand, if a photographer places the window to their own back, the light coming from the window will be available to illuminate their subjects’ faces. And as a bonus, the light from the windows will usually be indirect, or “soft”, providing nice, even lighting for the subjects. (Unless, of course, the sun is beaming in at a low angle.) This is why professional event and portrait photographers use indirect lighting and diffusers to create soft, even lighting. Lucky, a window can often be used for the same purpose.
The third picture above shows the result of having the window to the photographer’s back. We can now see Pooh’s wonderful mug! All three of these pictures were shot in the same room just moments apart, but the third shot is the one most folks will want to post on social media or email to Mom.
This is not to say that you can’t get the outside background and the inside subjects exposed so you can see both sufficiently well. However, doing so will require more thorough knowledge of the equipment you’re using and will still likely result in the need for editing in a sophisticated program or app. It might even require multiple exposures and a tripod, a level of effort and planning that the majority of folks are neither prepared for nor interested in. The camera’s flash can be used, of course, and it can yield very nice images. But it can be tricky to get desired results using a flash to fill in dark areas, especially with the camera the majority of us are likely to be using – our smart phones. If not done correctly, flash can cast harsh shadows and even cause the dreaded “red eye”. Turning around and using the window light is a far simpler and quicker solution.
So when taking daytime pictures of people at the next indoor party, work gathering, or event, put the windows to your back. This simple technique will likely yield results you’ll be happy with.