Sunlit doorway
Doorway Photos: Simple, Sharp, Nothing to Distract
Simple, sharp, nothing to distract.
A doorway is a light modifier that happens to be architecture. Standing just inside one gives you a huge soft light directly in front, walls either side blocking everything else, and a dark interior behind. That is precisely how a portrait studio is set up.
Use it when the rest of the set has a lot going on. Every profile needs at least one photo where nothing is happening except your face.
What to wear
- Plain and well-fitted, with nothing to look at. The frame is tight and the face is the subject
- A darker top if the interior behind you is dark, which keeps the frame coherent
- One texture, such as knit or denim, so it isn't completely flat
When to shoot it, and the light
Any time there is bright daylight outside and no direct sun in the doorway itself. Soft light coming in beats sun coming in every time, since direct sun in a doorway gives the harshest contrast of any setting here.
The mistake that ruins this shot
Standing outside the door looking in. It has to be the other way round: you in the shade, the light outside, coming to you.
Where it goes in your profile
First or second. It rivals the plain-wall headshot for the opening slot, and it's warmer.