Indoor Portrait Shoot with Natural Light

I love portrait photography. Getting a shot both you and the subject love is a great feeling and something that they will hopefully cherish for many years to come. I do use off camera flash when I have to but much prefer natural light when I have the opportunity. It can provide a beautiful soft quality to the subject which can be difficult to replicate with a speedlight. That's not to say artificial light doesn't have its place. I do use it and enjoy doing so and you can get some ace results with it. Check out http://brettgardnerphotography.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/off-camera-flash-portrait-in-flat.html to see what I mean.

If there is a large window available near to where i'm going to shoot a model I will always try to utilise it. The side of the subject lit by the window will provide the main light source and a simple reflector positioned opposite the window will bounce light back towards the darker side of the model, filling any unsightly shadows that may have formed. By moving the reflector you will be able to see the effect it is having and decide on its best position.

Becca 1

The window was used as the main light source with a silver reflector used to bounce a bit of light back towards the models right hand side.

Becca 2

The window's natural light was directly in front of the model with a silver reflector adding a bit of light to the right hand side of the face.

Becca 3

Similar to the first setup. The only difference this time was that the natural light was dropping off quickly so the lamp became the main light source. Any spill from the lamp was reflected back towards the model by using a silver reflector.