Why is Northern Light so desireable?

I've been studying up on my natural light photography, and I would like to know why light comming from the direction of north is so talked about and so lusted after by photographers, especially of the past. how is it different from the light comming from the south the east, and the west?

Nothing but soft light, reflected from the sky. A north facing window never gets direct sun light. (For down-unders: it's the south facing window, of course ;-)

--
cheers, Peter

Germany

well, also isn't it very hard to get the color right, or at least for video cameras?

--
http://www.andrewthomasdesigns.com

For me, the sun travels west> east in the southern sky so northern light is indirect light and generally reflecting off other buidings so it's naturally less harsh.

Joe

goorackerelite said:

I've been studying up on my natural light photography, and I would
like to know why light comming from the direction of north is so
talked about and so lusted after by photographers, especially of the
past. how is it different from the light comming from the south the
east, and the west?

Click to expand...

The sun travels from east to west... So a north facing window never receives direct sunlight, so you always get a soft lightning with soft shadows...

Why not a south facing window? Well... I'm not sure about that one!

--

Please feel free to correct my spelling and grammar... I'm from Argentina, so English isn't my native language...

minotaur2k7 said:

The sun travels from east to west... So a north facing window never
receives direct sunlight, so you always get a soft lightning with
soft shadows...

Why not a south facing window? Well... I'm not sure about that one!

Click to expand...

You are from Argentina, south of the equator...are you sure you're looking through a north facing window...and not to the south? ;-)

--
cheers, Peter

Germany

"Northern light" is a quality of light - not necessarily from the north. In the good old days, a studio in the northern hemisphere was usually situated so that a large window or door was pointed north. This would avoid direct sunlight entering (depending upon the season and time of day). The result was a flattering light quality that you see in many early 20th century images as well as contemporary photos lit with very large soft boxes, diffusion screens, etc.

Many photographers such as Richard Avedon chose studios with very large window in the roof tilted to point to the north. Many portrait / head shot photographers use their garage if the door opens north (again, to avoid direct sunlight entering the garage).

Of course, the emphasis is on the very large door or window. If you have direct sun light, the lighting has strong directionality. This can usually be "fixed" if you diffuse the entire door or window with a white cloth diffuser.

Here is a candid shot example in a barn taken a couple of weeks ago. The barn door was about 20 feet wide and 15 feet tall. The subject was 15 feet inside the barn. The barn points mostly west - however the day was overcast.



--
tony
http://www.tphoto.ca

The answer was for goorackerelite, who lives in USA... So I made an adaptation for him ;-)

But tell me, Peter... What's the difference between a north facing window and a south facing window? I mean, what makes the light of one of them best than the other?

Thanks

Peter Berressem said:

minotaur2k7 said:

The sun travels from east to west... So a north facing window never
receives direct sunlight, so you always get a soft lightning with
soft shadows...

Why not a south facing window? Well... I'm not sure about that one!

Click to expand...

You are from Argentina, south of the equator...are you sure you're
looking through a north facing window...and not to the south? ;-)

--
cheers, Peter

Germany

Click to expand...

--

Please feel free to correct my spelling and grammar... I'm from Argentina, so English isn't my native language...

The farther you are from the equator (ie. at a higher lattitude), the sun will actually pass over you closer to the equator - when on the northern hemisphere it will be to the south, and when on the southern hemisphere, the sun will be to the north.

In fact, it will only be exactly overhead then on the equator and at equinox (winter or summer solstice; March 20 and September 22). That is because the Earth has a slight inclination to its orbit around the Sun. If it didn't have that, we wouldn't have seasons, but it would pass directly over head at the equator. The Wikipedia page on equinoxes has some pretty graphics half-way down:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox

Hmm I wonder why light comming from the south would be any different from light comming from the north. I'm not talking about any specific locations on the earth, I'm just refering to the direction of light that comes during the day time. Southern light would not get any direct sunlight as well but I've never heard photographers or artists wax poetically about the quality of southern light. I've seen the work by richard avedon and patrick demarchelier and they do indeed have the iconic northern light look to their photos.

How do I go about getting that light from my own studio/garage?

Any direction can work, so long as the sun is on the opposite side of the builiding -- a west window in the morning, or an east window in the afternoon (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Light from a north window is pretty constant through the day, while light from other directions changes dramatically. That's very important to a painter who spends hours at the easel, but less so to a photographer who is usually done and gone before the light changes much.

With a digital camera you will need to do a custom white balance from a white card, gray card or some other method.

--
W.

Assuming your garage door is pointed away from the sun....

set the subject maybe 1 to 2 meters into the garage. Start with the subject on the centre line of the garage. If you like, place a white reflector (sheet, foam core, etc) under the face of the subject - maybe about breast level. Shoot the subject.

You can play with differential lighting by moving the subject left and right off centre.
--
tony
http://www.tphoto.ca

goorackerelite said:

Hmm I wonder why light comming from the south would be any different
from light comming from the north. I'm not talking about any specific
locations on the earth, I'm just refering to the direction of light
that comes during the day time. Southern light would not get any
direct sunlight as well but I've never heard photographers or artists
wax poetically about the quality of southern light. I've seen the
work by richard avedon and patrick demarchelier and they do indeed
have the iconic northern light look to their photos.

Click to expand...

It is clear that you did not read the previous post. Niffux explained it very well. If you still didn't understand it, there is no point in asking. Good luck.

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

Regions such as the UK never experience the sun directly overhead. The sun rises soueast and sets souwest. So in the Northern Hemisphere, a south-facing house is desirable as it is warm and gets the light. A north-facing house will be cold and damp, and has a far lower market value for this reason.

Whoever said it won't get direct sunlight must be living in a very unusual spot on the globe. But in most countries, the sun is noticeably lower in winter than in summer, which is when the direction the house faces is most important.

It really has nothing to do with photography - all positions of the sun have their benefits depending on your location.

Peter Berressem said:

Nothing but soft light, reflected from the sky. A north facing window
never gets direct sun light. (For down-unders: it's the south facing
window, of course ;-)

--
cheers, Peter

Germany

Click to expand...

From Jun 21 to Sept 21 windows on the north side to get direct sunlight during several hours in the morning and the evening. At least here at the 45N parallel.

But yep mostly they don't get much direct light.

minotaur2k7 said:

I mean, what makes the light of one of them best than the other?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't label one better than the other, that's not the point. How could light be 'better' in itself? Horses for corses.

Just a further note on this, when the first (flash) softboxes hit the market in the 70th they were branded 'Northlight flooter'. Well, that's what a softbox does, to emit even light over a large area - opposed to a point light source.

--
cheers, Peter

Germany

you are genuinely helpful, I feel I've learned so much from your post.....

Pradipta Dutta said:

goorackerelite said:

Hmm I wonder why light comming from the south would be any different
from light comming from the north. I'm not talking about any specific
locations on the earth, I'm just refering to the direction of light
that comes during the day time. Southern light would not get any
direct sunlight as well but I've never heard photographers or artists
wax poetically about the quality of southern light. I've seen the
work by richard avedon and patrick demarchelier and they do indeed
have the iconic northern light look to their photos.

Click to expand...

It is clear that you did not read the previous post. Niffux explained
it very well. If you still didn't understand it, there is no point in
asking. Good luck.

--
Speed is significant and interesting but accuracy is downright
fascinating
http://www.pbase.com/pradipta

Click to expand...

--
photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the

significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms that give that event
its proper expression - cartier bresson