Photography and Daylight Studios

A large area light is one of the most attractive, and efficient, styles of illumination, and many photographers go to considerable effort and expense to build one. Naturally you don’t have to buy all the materials at once. It took me over two years to have a full armed daylight studio.

However, the largest of all area lights, the sky, may be a much cheaper and even more attractive alternative. It has severe limitations, certainly, but for some methods of working it may be better than artificial lighting, and some notable photographers of people – Snowdon, for instance – use it by choice.

Only a room with skylight is worth considering for a permanent daylight studio. In many ways, an angled skylight, of the type found in lofts, is ideal, giving some direction to the top-light effect. For some specific shots, such as full-length portraits, full floor-to-ceiling windows give good, broad, side lighting, but this has rather limited uses.

The great difficulty with daylight as a studio light source is control. In one way – direction and position – it cannot be altered, while in another – intensity and color – it varies too much.

The time of day and weather both control intensity and quality of the light. If the skylight is so angled that the sun strikes it for part of the day, then there will be a massive variation from time to time – with some unwelcome shadows included for good measure. Many rooms with skylights, however, were built as artists’ studios and face north to avoid this problem; the lighting quality is often more consistent – in everything except color. The standard for color temperature is 5500K Mean Noon Sunlight, and all other weather conditions are variable. The worst case is bright blue sky through a north facing skylight needing considerable color correction with filters. There are two types of control possible. One is a system of blinds and diffusing material that can be hauled in front of or below windows in different combinations. Depending on the window area, b lack cloth blinds can alter the direction and brightness of the light, while thin white cloth can soften direct sunlight and increase consistency (fading, or the nature of the material, may alter the color). The other control is to use a filter, an essential precaution with color film (transparencies especially for those who still shoot film). A color temperature meter and a full set of light-balancing filters are necessary equipment, except for black and white photography.

The great advantage, for which some photographers are prepared to put with these inconveniences, is simple and general illumination at a reasonable cost. As the light source is, in effect, set in the ceiling, a daylight studio does not actually have to be as high as other types. Large hinged reflectors are useful for modifying shadows.

For pictures from Snowdon take a look at this site:

http://www.chrisbeetles.com/gallery/artist.php?art=2871