chapter 02

Light & the room

Which windows work, and how to spot bad light.

Window ranking

Situation	Verdict
North-facing window, any time	Best. Steady indirect sky light all day
Any window, overcast day	Just as good; clouds are a giant diffuser
East window, ~9–11 am	Fine once the direct sun has moved off it
South/west window, afternoon	No. The golden cast reads warmer than you are
Direct sunbeams anywhere in the room	Never. Hard shadows and a warm cast
No usable window at all	Last resort: ONE 4000–5000K bulb, nothing else on

Every artificial light OFF: overheads, desk lamp, string lights. why: mixed light is the enemy: one warm bulb adds enough amber to flip a warm/cool reading, and the gray card can only correct ONE illuminant
Curtains pulled fully ASIDE, not just open. why: light passing through colored fabric arrives pre-tinted
Window screen? Open the window or use a screenless one. why: mesh eats 15–25% of the light and gray/bronze mesh tints what's left
Nothing strongly colored within ~3 ft of your face: posters, bedding, painted wall. why: surfaces bounce their color onto you; hang a white sheet if the wall is loud

Symptom in the photo	Cause	Fix
One cheek warmer than the other	a lamp or screen was on	kill it, reshoot
Gray card shows two tints across its surface	two light sources mixing	single window only
Hard shadow edge across the face	direct sun	wait for clouds or switch windows
Face much darker than the window behind you	you're backlit, facing away from the light	turn around: FACE the window