Shoot iNSide

Learn to overcome the constraints of shooting indoors with these tips

Shooting indoors can be more convenient, provide shelter from the elements and offer a more static background. But if you’re working environmentally then your location is unlikely to have controlled or predictable light.

The temperature of the light will provide the biggest challenge, often primarily from artificial sources – it can be dull, directional and much warmer than daylight. Harsh tungsten lights from above can create unwanted colour casts and hard shadows under the eyes.

To take fast portraits indoors, you’ll need to determine the temperature of the light, locate natural light and use both to shape your image. The following tips will help you succeed.

1 LOOK FOR NATURAL LIGHT SOURCES

Where possible, identify the natural light if it exists. This will typically be coming from windows, doors or skylights. It will be the most flattering light, so place your subject as close to a window or door as possible, facing them towards the natural light. Eliminate unwanted backgrounds or distractions, take a closer crop, or use a wide aperture to blur the background.

2 COMBINE NATURAL LIGHT WITH A REFLECTOR OR FLASH

The angle of view may mean you can only place part, if any, of the subject’s face towards the natural light. This can lead to a difference in exposure or temperature of light across the face. To correct this, add a reflector or your single flash to even the exposure and lift the light on the part of the face that is turned away from the natural light. This will create an even, cooler toned light that will be more flattering and retain the feeling of natural light.

“Identify the natural light… It will be the

most flattering”

right LIGHT THE FACE Face the subject towards the light and use a simple background with a shallow depth of field. By moving the position of the face relative to the window you can create shape and the gentle falloff of shadow

Below POSITION The model is positioned next to the main source of natural light, a large window

Below WORKING TOGETHER Window light is used as the key light, and a silver reflector to the left helps create fill on the side of the face that’s not facing the window. This evens the tone and exposure across the face