• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • French Croissant Video Course
  • Bessie Bakes Backdrops
  • Contact

Bessie Bakes

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Soul-satisfying food at home
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Bessie Bakes Backdrops
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Food & Product Photography Tips » How to Create Fake Window Light in Photography

    Published: Jun 14, 2022 Last Modified: Jun 14, 2022 by Bessie Bakes · 2 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links

    How to Create Fake Window Light in Photography

    Share
    Pin
    Tweet
    Email
    How to create fake window light for photos and videos via @bessiebakes

    Have you ever wondered how to create beautiful fake window light with strong shadows?  It’s never been easier than now!  As a food and product photographer I’ve come up with a solution that doesn’t require cutting out fake windows by hand, hooray!

    Pink glasses in window light with window shadows

    Typically when you want to create a photo or video with bright hard light with hard shadows in the frame you have two options.

    1. You find a south-facing window at the time of day when there are no clouds in the sky so the full sunlight beams in through your window panes creating hard light and strong shadows.  In this case you’re on a time crunch because the sun will move and any clouds in the sky will cover the sun keeping you from capturing those hard shadows.
    2. Buy a fake window that’s heavy and hard to stand up or use some sort of cardboard material and use a box cutter to cut out shapes to replicate a window.  It can be tricky to perfectly cut level clean crisp lines and you have to make sure not to cut yourself!  

    Luckily I’ve found an easier solution that creates beautiful patterns of shadows that add visual interest, contrast, and drama to your scene.

    What are fake windows called?

    Fake windows used in photography and videography are called a cucoloris.  This can be any device or item that casts a pattern of shadows on a scene.  They can also be called cookies for short.  Another term for them is a gobo or go-between, which can be any device or item that is place between the light and the scene your are filming or photographing.

    A chocolate cake on a cake stand with window shadows

    How do I create a window illusion?

    I’m excited to share that I’ve created three different self-standing faux window pane styles that are available on Amazon!  All you have to do is set up an artificial light on a stand and find the best position for the light to beam through the window to create the shadows you want in your scene.

    Raising and lowering the height of the light, as well as changing the position of the stand will alter the way the shadows hit your scene.  You’ll want to play around with the position and height of your light so that you get the best looking shadow cast for your scene.

    Pictured below is the traditionally-shaped faux window frame.

    Behind the scenes of a photoshoot of chocolate cake with a fake window and artificial light

    Faux Window blinds

    I find window blinds shadows to be captivating in photos and videos because of the consistent pattern of lines.  Typically you have to use real blinds even when using artificial light, but you still need to hang them up while filming or taking photos.

    These Self-Standing Faux Window Blinds are so easy to stand up and light, no extra equipment necessary!

    Chocolate cake with window blinds shadows
    pink glasses in light with window blind shadows
    Behind the scenes of a photoshoot with chocolate cake and fake window blinds

    Artificial Light for food and product photography

    I almost exclusively use artificial light for photos and videos now because it’s consistent and doesn’t move or change like natural light.  Plus video needs more light typically for better quality videos.  Because I do both photos and videos I like to use a continuous light since I can use it for both applications.

    I’ve been using the Godox SL-60W for over a year now and I love it!  It’s not the most powerful of all the continuous lights but it’s a fantastic budget light if you are just getting started.  You’ll also need a tripod stand that works for artificial lights.

    I eventually want to start using a flash for photography since it’s emits more powerful bursts of light that are great for shooting with faster shutter speeds which enhances the quality of your photos.

    Can I use these faux windows with natural light

    Using natural hard light as the light source with the faux windows is a tricky and more restrictive but can technically be done. If you are indoors, you are going to need to shoot next to a window will full sun beaming through, but if there are already window panes in your window, you’ll have those shadows in your scene as well.

    Another option would be to shoot outside in the full sun (preferably when it’s not windy) and let the sun beam through the faux windows. You’ll likely have to work fast, but if you just need a few quick shots or videos you can make it happen.

    Using artificial light is ideal though, because you can control the position of the light, you don’t have to deal with the outdoor elements, and you can take your time creating your scene since your light source isn’t changing.

    Arched Faux Window Frame

    For the final look I created an arched window frame.  The window pane lines are a little thinner than the traditional faux window pane shape and the curve at the top adds a little something extra to the shape of the shadows.

    Chocolate cake on a cake stand with window light and shadows
    baked chocolate financiers in a cupcake pan
    Behind the scenes of a chocolate cake photo with a faux window with shadows

    You can’t underestimate the power of great lighting in videos and photos.  Creating images and videos that really POP is more important than ever in order to stand out from the crowd.  Hard light and strong shadows creates impact in your scene and can stop people in their tracks when scrolling.

    More photography tips

    • 3 Essential tools and resources for Food & Product Photography that aren’t cameras or lenses
    • 3 Easy ways to hang backdrops

    Follow my backdrop account on Instagram and see the content that all of our customers have tagged us in for lots of inspiration!

    You can also check out our Amazon store with all of our backdrops.

    Sincerely,

    Leslie Osborne

    Share
    Pin
    Tweet
    Email

    More Food & Product Photography Tips

    • 3 Essential Tools for Food & Product Photography (that don’t include cameras or lenses)
    • 3 Easy Ways to Hang Backdrops

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tim says

      February 12, 2023 at 9:51 am

      These are brilliant!

      Curious when the window frames on Amazon will be available again?

      Tim

      Reply
      • Bessie Bakes says

        February 16, 2023 at 1:17 pm

        Thank you Tim! We apologize for being sold out for these and we are hoping to get them back in stock by some time in March. We haven’t announced a new wonderful change in our business, so it’s going to take a few weeks for us to catch up and get everything restocked. Feel free to subscribe to the backdrop email list for news on these exciting updates and when everything gets restocked:
        https://www.bessiebakesbackdrops.com/pages/subscribe

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hello I’m Leslie

    Leslie Osborne Bessie Bakes

    As a lover of sourdough bread, baking, & easy whole foods recipes, I want you to feel confident when tackling a new recipe or baking technique.  Learn how to turn simple ingredients into mouth-watering meals.  Read more

    Search for a recipe

    Recipe Categories

    Sourdough Baking Recipes

    banana walnut muffins on a wooden cutting board

    Sourdough Discard Banana Nut Muffins & Streusel Topping

    Sourdough biscuits with fig jam on a plate

    Sourdough Discard Biscuits Step-by-step & Video

    Thai Pumpkin Butternut Squash Soup Recipe with Sourdough Bread

    5 SOUL-SATISFYING BONE BROTH SOUP RECIPES TO PAIR W/ SOURDOUGH BREAD

    Sourdough Bread Recipe wih step-by-step photos and a video

    EASY SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE & SHAPING VIDEO, SHAPED 2 WAYS

    Sourdough Focaccia artisan bread with loivrs and rosemary

    SOURDOUGH FOCACCIA | OLIVES & ROSEMARY RECIPE & VIDEO

    Sourdough Cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns, and garlic rosemary rolls

    Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls, Garlic Rolls, Hamburger Buns | 1 Brioche Recipe 3 ways

    More Posts from this Category

    Most Popular Posts

    • Bone Broth Butternut Squash Soup My Before & After Photos on 30 Days of the Bone Broth Diet
    • Roasted chicken in a pan with vegetables Upside Down Roasted Chicken Recipe
    • A black plate of French Croissants French Croissants |Chocolate Croissants (40 step-by-step photos)
    • Sourdough Cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns, and garlic rosemary rolls Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls, Garlic Rolls, Hamburger Buns | 1 Brioche Recipe 3 ways
    • Banana muffins with a streusel topping on a cutting board The Best Streusel Topping for Muffins
    • A charcuterie cheese board on a wooden board with a linen napkin Epic Charcuterie Cheese Board on a Budget
    • Cucumber ginger drink in a glass with a cucumber garnish Cucumber Ginger Lime Mocktail
    • Instant pot chicken bone broth recipe HOW “THE BONE BROTH DIET” HELPS YOU SHED POUNDS & LOSE WRINKLES ACCORDING TO DR. KELLYANN PETRUCCI
    • Avocado nutella in a jar with a linen napkin Magical Chocolate Avocado “Nutella” Recipe
    • Bone Broth Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe with carrots, onion, and peas BONE BROTH INSTANT POT BEEF STEW RECIPE | CROCKPOT & STOVETOP TOO
    French Croissant video course

    Bessie Bakes Backdrops

    Bessie Bakes Backdrops photography backdrops widget with chocolate cake

    Footer

    Privacy Policy

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Accessibility Policy

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2020 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme