5 ways to make the most of the natural light in your house

When I first moved into my new home just over a year ago, I was excited about the opportunity to shoot in a new spot, but that excitement quickly vanished as I figured out that, on the surface, the light in my new home was anything but ideal.

I spent a good portion of the spring and summer shooting daily, often outdoors. Fall came and I stopped picking up my camera, shooting only once every week or two, and mostly outside the house.

I quickly got bored of my go-to spot in the house (the master bedroom). In January I decided to challenge myself to do a 365, and quite honestly, I wasn’t sure I would make it through the winter with the boring, less-than-ideal light that I had to work with inside my home.

It was a particularly cold winter, and with two young children, we spent a good portion of our time indoors. I quickly learned that I was going to make it through my 365, I would have to learn to make the most of the light in my house.

With the cooler months approaching, I wanted to share some of the ways I did just that.

1. Find your comfort zone

We all have spots in our home where the light is just right and we are most comfortable shooting.  Explore your home to find that spot.  For me, it’s the south facing window in my master bedroom, and the north facing window on the landing of my staircase.  I love these two spots for different reasons, and I feel comfortable manipulating the light to get the look that I’m after.

Learn more about creatively using window light here.

2. Shoot from different angles

You can completely change the look of the light in a certain spot just by changing your vantage point.  Even with the same subject and same location, a backlit image will look totally different from a side-lit image.  Choose your favorite room in your house, grab a cooperative subject and see how many images you can make just by changing your position in relative to your light source.

3. Set the mood

When you’re shooting, think about the mood you want to set.  Perhaps you want a soft, dreamy feeling, or maybe a quieter more intimate feeling. What changes can you make to help set that mood?  I often use exposure creatively to set the mood. I can shoot in the same spot and the same position to my light source and create two completely different feelings just by exposing a little darker.

Learn how to create dramatic light at home here.

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4. Look for interesting shadows and patterns

Take the time to really explore the light in your home, even when you don’t have your camera.  Do you notice there are certain times of day where the light and shadows create interesting patterns? Maybe the late afternoon light filters through the trees outside of your window, or the hard afternoon light shining through your blinds creates a striped pattern. Can you find a way to photograph the interesting light?  This is where you can really get creative and create unique and interesting images.  If you notice interesting light, make a note of the location and time of day and then come back to it when you are ready to shoot.  Even if an image is unsuccessful the first time, you can always try again.

Read more about light and shadows here.

5. Use light and locations you would never think of using

My back yard is southern exposure and I have windows along the back of my house.  During the day, the light is very strong and hard and creates patches of light on the floor.  A big part of my style is soft, directional light and before moving to my new house and forcing myself to shoot daily, I never would have thought to use that mid-afternoon light in my living room.  My master bathroom is also on the same side of the house and I noticed that when the strong afternoon light shines through the glass shower door, it creates a little rainbow inside the shower.  Before my 365 project, I would have never thought to shoot inside my shower in the middle of the day, but I just love the resulting image.

For those of you heading into the cold winter months and getting ready to hunker down indoors, I challenge you to keep shooting through the winter.  Get creative and push your photography to a new level, even when you think you can’t.

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