5 Tips for Using Window Light in Portrait Photography

Unless you’re a professional photographer, chances are you don’t own expensive lighting gear, nor do you have access to a fully equipped photography studio.

But contrary to popular belief, you don’t need these things in order to create eye-catching and perfectly lit portraits. All it takes is a nice window, some natural light, and your camera! In this article, we'll go over some of the best and easiest ways to perfect your window light portraits.

5 Ways to Perfect Your Window Light Portraits

From window size to taking advantage of the sun, here are our top 5 tips for using window light in your portrait photography!

1. Use Big Windows

When it comes to lighting in photography, the following rule applies: the larger the light source, the softer the light will look on your subject. Since a window is also a light source, this rule applies to window light portraits too!

Larger windows will provide softer-looking light with gradual and subtler shadows. As this type of lighting is most flattering for portrait photography, it’s what you’ll want to aim for when shooting your subject.

Smaller windows, on the other hand, will generate harsher light with dark and sharper shadows. Of course, some portrait photographers might aim for this dramatic look for creative effect. However, in most cases, you simply cannot go wrong with softer and more evenly diffused lighting.

2. Pay Attention to Proximity

The location of your subject in regard to the window will have the most influence on your photograph's aesthetic.

Closer proximity to the window creates more contrast, while a distance of several feet creates a more balanced lighting effect. When your subject's side is facing the window, on the other hand, the light on their opposite side will fall off dramatically. Alternatively, a striking silhouette can be created by placing the window behind them.

Experiment with several positions to find one that suits both your subject and desired aesthetic. You can even add a Photo Effect to your portrait to exaggerate the drama or softness of the portrait.

3. Remove All Other Light Sources

In general, you want total control over the available light when capturing portraits. If you use multiple light sources, however, you risk adding unwanted color casts to your photographs.

Therefore, be sure to turn off overhead lights, lamps, and anything else that's throwing light around inside.

If you’re taking photos in a room with more than one window, you might want to close all the blinds or curtains on those windows within the room. Cover the windows with black sheets if you don't have suitable blinds or curtains.

This creates a "one light setup," where a single window is your primary source of lighting.

4. Choose a North or South Facing Window

East and west windows provide very direct light at sunrise and sunset respectively. While this can work for photographs that require a lot of contrast and drama, many portrait photographers may choose to avoid it.

Instead, they prefer to use a north or south-facing window, as these remain the most reliable and flattering in terms of portraiture lighting. Because the sun doesn’t shine through them directly, their lighting is always evenly diffused and soft.

Additionally, the light remains consistent across the course of the day, which makes planning portrait photography sessions much easier – rain, hail, or shine!

5. Utilize Window Panes, Blinds, or Curtains

Window coverings, such as panes, blinds, or curtains, can create really intriguing light patterns that you may want to take advantage of – especially for more experimental portrait photography.

Window blinds or shutters, for example, can be opened partially to create linear shadows. A windowpane, on the other hand, is great for creating interesting shapes and lines across your photo. A slightly ajar curtain can filter the window light in to hit a specific area of your portrait, thus drawing the viewer’s attention more effectively. Additionally, a curtain with a unique pattern, such as lace, can generate the most intricate and creative shadows or bursts of light on your subject, giving your portrait photography a unique twist.

Window Portraits: An Easy and Natural Indoor Lighting Setup

Who knew capturing stunning and beautifully lit portraits indoors could be so easy? By following the five tips above, you’ll be perfecting your window light photography in no time!

When it’s time to edit your portraits, BeFunky’s easy-to-use Photo Editor can help. It gives you access to essential photo editing features such as Exposure, Contrast, Shadows, Highlights, Brightness, and more to ensure you get your indoor photography just right.

Try it for yourself to see just how easy it is to edit window portrait photography.

Photo Editing, Simplified.

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14 Most Popular Custom Home Options

Below is a list of 14 most popular custom home options homebuyers really value. These are things you can usually add to an existing new home plan as an added new home feature. 

 

 

1. Extra Storage Space

New custom homes offer better storage options than other homes. Here are a few of the most standard and popular options for more storage space: 

• Add extra coat closets, linen closets or a walk-in pantry to your new custom home

• Increase kitchen cabinetry storage by going as high as 48" with full-extension drawers and pull-out trash bins

• Enlarge the master closet so you have more room to hang clothes and store shoes. You can even add options like shoe racks, dressers or seasonal storage. 

 

 

2. Open Floor Plan

Gathering in the heart of the home is more popular than ever. Open floor plans in new homes enable the person cooking in the kitchen to keep connected with activity in the family room, like movie-watching, or conversations happening in the open dining room. 

The views from interior rooms are also enhanced by the removal of walls and doors. It allows sunlight to flood in from the outside through the windows and into the heart of the home. 

This is a standard option in most floor plans that buyers love, so not only will it offer you benefits while you live in the house but buyers will also enjoy it if you ever decide to sell. 

 

 

3. Large Master Suite

Master Suites are all about privacy and comfort. With new custom homes, you can make the master suite larger than typical bedrooms and fit for a king-sized bed. It can also have more windows than other bedrooms in the house and the connected master bathroom is separated from the rest of the house, allowing for more privacy.
 

QUICK BUDGET TIP FOR HOMEBUILDING

One way you can save money on your master suite is to include a soaking tub/shower combination instead of doing a separate shower and tub. You can also do a single-bowl vanity sink instead of two, finish the bedroom with carpet and use vinyl plank flooring for the bathroom. 

Tile is more expensive; you can always do that for a later bathroom remodel. 

 

 

 

An upgrade you can make to your master bedroom is raise the ceiling in the master bedroom, enabling the sunlight to filter through the room and lend a light and airy feel to the room. 

 

 

4. Open Dining Area

Another standard and popular new home feature are open dining areas. They have become more popular as dining has become more casual. People want to be more connected as they sit at the table. 

We are also doing more things at the table these days other than eating, like homework, crafts or playing board games. Now that the dining room is a multi-use space, it has moved into the heart of the home and remains more open to both the kitchen and living room. 

Still, some people don't like looking at dirty dishes when they host people for dinner, so the open dining room isn't necessarily for everyone. 

 

 

5. Flexible Space

Rooms with flexible uses have become very popular. Flex rooms can be used for home offices, homework and learning spaces, music practice or workout rooms. 

More people are working from home now, too, so a home office off the entry is a desirable option. 

A nice addition to a flex room might be a french door with glass panes, which gives the occupant a quiet space without shutting them off from the rest of the home. 

QUICK BUDGET TIP FOR HOMEBUILDING 

When selecting doors, consider that French doors will add around $1,100 to $1,400 to the cost of the room. 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Taller Ceilings

If you've lived in an older home with 8-foot ceilings then you know why taller ceilings as a new home feature is so freeing. You have a couple of options to make this happen: 

1) Vaulted Ceilings - vaulted ceilings are a nice house feature and can be dressed up further with a wood-clad ridge beam and additional can lighting. 

How Much Do Vaulted Ceilings Cost?
Vaults might run $1,400 to $2,000 depending on the height and trim package you choose. 

2) Tray Ceilings - Tray ceilings in the master bedroom are another option. This is where you angle the ceiling up an additional 12 inches.

 

 

 

7. Convenient and Spacious Laundry Room

Most people say one of their top new home features is to have a dedicated laundry room that doesn't feel cramped, so they can store their house supplies easily. 

Most new laundry rooms have a place to fold and hang clothes, and for another $500 to $1,000 you can add upper cabinets to store laundry supplies and household items. 

Some laundry rooms have space for additional counters and even an extra sink and faucet. This new home feature could cost you $1,600 to $2,000 more. 

 

8. MudRoom or Mud Bench

Mud Spaces are nice, new home features that could be as simple as a 3- to 4-foot-wide area for a bench and cubbies, or it could be an alcove off the owner's entry or near the laundry room. They provide a place to sit and take off dirty shoes, coats and bags and store them conveniently in a location that is out of the way. 

A mud bench and cubbies might add anywhere from $1,200 to $1,500 to a home depending on its size and configuration. One way to save money on this new home option is to plan for the space but then buy a package from Ikea and install it yourself, which would probably cost more like $300 to $500. 

 

 

9. Luxury Bathroom

Bathrooms have evolved from utilitarian spaces to comfort spaces. We want master bathrooms, especially, to be bigger, to feel bigger, to have natural light, and to include multiple bathing options like a shower and separate tub. 

Upgrading from a typical bath to a luxury bath with a 3- by 4-foot walk-in shower and a separate soaking tub, as well as a double-bowl vanity, could run anywhere from $3,800 to $7,400. The higher end would include the cost for a tiled shower, tub deck and floors. 

QUICK BUDGET TIP FOR HOMEBUILDING

There are a couple of ways you can have your luxury bathroom while also saving yourself some money on the total cost of your new custom home. 

1) Choose to build a 5 foot, walk-in, tiled shower with no tub. This option would cost only $3,200. 

2) Forgo the tile for now and stick with an acrylic shower surround for the time being. 

 

 

 

 

10. Outdoor Living Space

Another popular new home feature, especially in Texas, is creating rooms outdoors to allow families to host and entertain lots of friends and family. It also gives them a place to retreat and stretch out for some reflective time. 

Extended covered patios in the rear of the house are one of the most popular new home options for this. Adding a 12' x 12' covered patio would run around $4,500, while a 6' deep x 15' wide extension to a patio would run around $3,500. 

 

QUICK BUDGET TIP FOR HOMEBUILDING

One way to save is extend the concrete patio out and wait to build the cover until later. You could add a cedar trellis or a framed roof when the time is right. 

 

 

 

 

11. Enlarged Garage

In Texas, the garage may need to be deepened to fully fit an extended cab pickup; or a third-car garage bay may need to be added to fit a third car, boat or UTV. The garage can be used as a shop or place to store tools, as well. 

To add a third-car garage bay to a two-car garage plan will add around $12,000 to the cost, while adding an entire two-car garage to a plan that doesn't come with a garage included would be around $21.000.

Garage storage cabinets are another added house feature that can run anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. A nice alternative for this is a garage ceiling rack over the garage door for things you don't access very often.

 

 

12. Fireplace

Fireplaces are important to some people, and for them no family room is complete without one. It feels cozy, like a campfire; and the fireside may hold a special place in our hearts. They certainly do give us something to gather around other than the TV, and they help us slow down and ponder. 

A 42" wood-burning fireplace with a cedar mantel and 5-foot tall stone surround will run around $2,400. Adding gas and gas logs with a glass door kit will run around $1,000 - $1,200, including the gas. 

QUICK BUDGET TIP FOR HOMEBUILDING

One way to save on the fireplace is to locate it away from the edge of the house so the chimney can pass through the roof and doesn't need to be finished. A tile surround is also a less expensive option than stone or brick for the fireplace finish. 

 

 

13. Unfinished Bonus Room

The taxing authority will typically not count a room unless it is conditioned, so one way to build inexpensive space for future expansion is to add an unfinished bonus room upstairs. This requires adding a staircase downstairs and reconfiguring the first floor plan, but you can leave it simply framed and insulated with power run to a junction box and finish it out later. 

The cost of an unfinished bonus room might be anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000, depending on the size of the room, the plan and the mechanicals included. 

 

14. Architectural Style

Another popular home option you'll have to choose from is the architectural style of your new home. Every floor plan we offer in our base portfolio comes with two standard architectural exterior style options: the Classic and the Legacy. 

The Classic Exterior

The Classic Exterior is our standard architectural treatment and our most affordable, with James Hardie siding in different patterns, a roof pitch of 6/12 and 8' tall walls (and ceilings inside) around the outside perimeter. The ceilings in the foyer, family room, kitchen and dining rooms are all 10' tall. 

 

The Legacy Exterior

The Legacy Exterior is built of brick with stone accents around the entire first floor, has a steeper roof pitch of 8/12 to give it slightly more mass, and has 9' wall heights around the outside. Some of the Legacy Exteriors also have larger covered front porches. 

 

Want to figure out which new home building features to prioritize with your custom home? Check out popular home bloggers to see what they wish they would have considered for their custom home and what they absolutely love that they chose!

 

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