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Daylight from a window offers a soft light, and higher level of contrast/modelling for any photographer like photographers. Direct sunlight will also cast strong shadows from window frames, leaded window panes, and so on.

The size of the window affects the quality of the light. A little widow can act like a gentle spotlight, while a large window offers a more diffused light like a floodlight. Similarly, the closeness of the subject to the widow will certainly affect the way they are lit. The closer these are, the smoother and also more even the light is going to be.

Your aim should be to place the subject matter so the light falls on their front, and not behind them. The topic ought to be facing approximately parallel to the window. They are able to turn to look through the window, but should not be looking straight out of the window, or into the room and away from the light.

The base of a big (e.g. floor length) window can easily be masked-off (newspaper and tape can do) so the light falls from above at an angle of in between 30° and also 45° (see the basic principles of lighting).

The lighting from a single widow will frequently produce too much contrast, plus a "fill-in" light is generally required.

A white reflector is usually the best way to offer fill-in illumination. A large piece of white card works well, and is simple enough to obtain when you keep your eyes open for these things (or you can buy a sheet of white mount board). The aim is to use this to reveal or bounce light from the window back onto the subject. You need to be able to clearly see the effect of the mirrored lighting while the reflector is repositioned.

The closer the reflector is to the subject, the stronger the reflected light is going to be, however the strength of the rebounded light will be less than that of the main light source.

Another choice is to use an on-camera flash. This is a a bit more tricky to get right as the level of fill-in achieved can only be observed once the image has been taken. If the degree of illumination supplied by the flash is greater than that coming from the window, it then becomes the primary light source, and modelling is lost. The power of a flash can be decreased by attaching layers of tissue over it.

Normally, the position of the fill-in light will be on or near to the axis from the digital camera. Can make an on-camera flash perfect when utilized as a fill-in. The position of a card reflector ought to similarly be so that it bounces lighting on to the subject along the axis from the digital camera.

Don't expect to obtain the lighting right the very first time. Some testing will be necessary, but the results that can be acquired should make the effort worthwhile.

If there are two windows, lighting will become much easier, because there will be a greater amount of ambient lighting, but you may still have to use a fill-in, and also mask-off the primary window.