Shooting strobes through windows to create window light

[ndwgolf]

Not sure if this has been done before but yesterday while it was absolutely chucking it down (zero sun) I put a Profoto beauty fish outside of my dining room window looking into the house where I had my model standing............turning out quite nicely

 

[Scooter]

I think it's been done before I also think you're going to get really good at this lighting business Neil - it's great to see you experimenting! This is a technique used in the movies all the time - if your shooting schedule says "evening sun through the window", well you better have some sun on the call sheet! I find film-set lighting to be a great source of inspiration for some mood and drama in still photographs.

I do this *all the time* on location - just remember that the sun is small from our point of view here on Earth - so if you want to emulate direct sunlight, a smaller light source such as a speedlight is ideal. You can get away with a small reflector too, but my Sunlight of choice is the Godox AD200 with the rectangular Fresnel head on it. Also, add a half or full cut of warming gel for that evening/dawn look. For soft even daylight from an overcast day, cover the window with a diffuser (a white sheet will do) and get the light far enough away that it illuminates all of the diffuser.

Of course, the one aspect of sunlight you can't emulate is the distance, and a fake sun will make shadows obviously radiate away from a close light source rather than appear parallel to each other. Most viewers tend not to notice this though If there are multiple windows, you can use multiple suns to get the shadows through windows parallel from room to room (although the shadows cast in each light will still diverge).

I don't have any SFW examples really, so rather than plaster the thread with nakedness, here are some links (which are Not Safe For Work)
Two light sun emulation

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Nicole Rayner, Makeup by Nicole Rayner, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Nicole Rayner / Uploaded 3rd July 2023 @ 02:19 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

One light sun - grubby windows are a gift

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Miss_C, Makeup by Miss_C, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Miss_C / Uploaded 10th May 2023 @ 02:40 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

Volumetric rays (demonstrates the divergence you wouldn't see from the real sun)

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Nicole Rayner, Makeup by Nicole Rayner, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Nicole Rayner / Uploaded 20th April 2023 @ 03:09 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

Real sunlight for comparison - parallel light shafts:

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Nicole Rayner, Makeup by Nicole Rayner, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Nicole Rayner / Uploaded 2nd July 2023 @ 12:18 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

 

[ndwgolf]

I think it's been done before I also think you're going to get really good at this lighting business Neil - it's great to see you experimenting! This is a technique used in the movies all the time - if your shooting schedule says "evening sun through the window", well you better have some sun on the call sheet! I find film-set lighting to be a great source of inspiration for some mood and drama in still photographs.

I do this *all the time* on location - just remember that the sun is small from our point of view here on Earth - so if you want to emulate direct sunlight, a smaller light source such as a speedlight is ideal. You can get away with a small reflector too, but my Sunlight of choice is the Godox AD200 with the rectangular Fresnel head on it. Also, add a half or full cut of warming gel for that evening/dawn look. For soft even daylight from an overcast day, cover the window with a diffuser (a white sheet will do) and get the light far enough away that it illuminates all of the diffuser.

Of course, the one aspect of sunlight you can't emulate is the distance, and a fake sun will make shadows obviously radiate away from a close light source rather than appear parallel to each other. Most viewers tend not to notice this though If there are multiple windows, you can use multiple suns to get the shadows through windows parallel from room to room (although the shadows cast in each light will still diverge).

I don't have any SFW examples really, so rather than plaster the thread with nakedness, here are some links (which are Not Safe For Work)
Two light sun emulation

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Nicole Rayner, Makeup by Nicole Rayner, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Nicole Rayner / Uploaded 3rd July 2023 @ 02:19 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

One light sun - grubby windows are a gift

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Miss_C, Makeup by Miss_C, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Miss_C / Uploaded 10th May 2023 @ 02:40 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

Volumetric rays (demonstrates the divergence you wouldn't see from the real sun)

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Nicole Rayner, Makeup by Nicole Rayner, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Nicole Rayner / Uploaded 20th April 2023 @ 03:09 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

Real sunlight for comparison - parallel light shafts:

Photography by Owen Lloyd, Model Nicole Rayner, Makeup by Nicole Rayner, Post processing by Owen Lloyd, Taken at Basford Hurst Cottage Photography Location, Hair styling by Nicole Rayner / Uploaded 2nd July 2023 @ 12:18 AM

'', an image by Owen Lloyd.

purpleport.com

Wow mate that 3rd one is amazing........they're all good but the 3rd one wow. We're going to try some outdoor natural light shots today at an old Tin Mine Museum.........it's currently chucking it down so not sure if we will make it today. Thanks again Owen for all the help and feedback

 

[Phil V]

I can’t add anything really helpful to what @Scooter has posted.

Other than
1: now I know why you were trying to add ambient and that’s perfectly valid and a good use of light. (Great image)

2: a tiny gripe (as you’re new to talking lighting) once the sock is on that beauty dish, it’s a softbox. A beauty dish is the description for the dish and little saucer reflector thingy, it creates a very specific kind of hard light - the opposite to what you’re doing here.

 

[Garry Edwards]

Yes, a bog-standard tool in pro studios.

I built a couple of "windows" into one studio that I had, very useful for all sorts of photography including some fashion shots. One of these windows was a permanent feature, built in front of a real window. The real window could only be used rarely because (generally) we try to exclude natural light because it varies so much, so it was basically a very large box, with a couple of flash heads inside, bouncing off the white panel at the back. "Glazing bars" were made of gaffer tape and could be changed (width and colour) as required, plus curtains. The other one was movable, measuring 8' x 4', and the wheels allowed it to be placed anywhere it was wanted, used mainly for roomset photography (furniture and the like).

At one point I produced a series of tutorials, including one on artistic nude photography. A window was ideal for this, partly because I had total control of the light and could use it as a backlight and could also produce both full and semi-silhouettes as required, and partly because a real window would have allowed people outside to see the model

The challenge, as Owen pointed out, is that the ISL affects the fall-off of the light much more when the light has only travelled about a metre rather than the 93 million miles of sunlight.

 

[woof woof]

Well done for the learning curve and the picture Neil, it's lovely. Well done

 

[juggler]

This is a short article but has an awful lot of information in it:

Lighting through windows is an essential art to learn

Lighting through windows is an essential art to learn

www.redsharknews.com

It's exactly what @Scooter's done in his images. (And very beautifully it works too!)

 

[swanseamale47]

TV and movie companies have done it for decades, even going so far as to "gel" the windows to get the right colour light, I've seen building more or less covered in scaffolding for lights and diffusers to control the inside lighting.
Dont think I've even done it through a normal window but I'd have lights outside castle door and arches a few times.

 

[zx9]

TV and movie companies have done it for decades, even going so far as to "gel" the windows to get the right colour light, I've seen building more or less covered in scaffolding for lights and diffusers to control the inside lighting.
Dont think I've even done it through a normal window but I'd have lights outside castle door and arches a few times.

I was just about to say, it is done for film and TV location shots. Not only is the window light then controlable but it is consistent through the day and during repeated takes.

 

[eccles lad]

I was just about to say, it is done for film and TV location shots. Not only is the window light then controlable but it is consistent through the day and during repeated takes.

seem to film a lot at local pub , some serious kit involved