Natural Light Portraits with Sarah Scotford
Sometimes a simple quote is enough to reset your mindset for the day:
“Our brains are wired to find things we’re looking for – if you’re always cynical or waiting for things to go wrong, then your life will reflect that. On the other hand, having a positive outlook on life will bring you joy and provide you with inspiration when you least expect it.”
I came across that quote today and it felt like the perfect way to frame this shoot.
Natural Window Light Portrait Photography
These photos were shot several months ago with the gorgeous Sarah Scotford. She’s easily in my top ten favourite models of all time… ever… in the whole universe. Seriously.
Beyond being an incredible model, Sarah is just an awesome person. I actually owe a lot to her because she played a small, but important, role in helping me launch my photography brand years ago. That’s a story for another blog post though.
For this shoot, Sarah and I were experimenting with natural window light portraits. For most of my career I’ve been a dedicated studio strobe photographer, but over the last year and a half I’ve started shifting gears and exploring what can be done with natural light photography.
And honestly, it has opened up a whole new world creatively.
Natural light forces you to think differently about direction, softness, and mood. Window light in particular creates this beautiful, organic look that feels intimate and cinematic at the same time.
Having a talented friend like Sarah who’s willing to jump in and help experiment with lighting setups definitely makes the learning curve a lot more fun.
I’m really happy with how my natural light portrait work is progressing so far. Cheers to pushing through that learning curve.
-> More Sarah Scotford Content
Upcoming VX2 Magazine Feature
On another exciting note, the “Bank Robber” photo set featuring Sarah has been picked up by VX2 Magazine and will be published in the coming months. If you’ve already seen the original Bank Robber series, don’t worry. I dug back into the archives and edited a collection of previously unreleased images from the shoot. On top of that, I’ve re-edited the entire set in a more modern editing style to give the photos a fresh artistic look while keeping the original concept intact. I’m incredibly excited to see the work in print and can’t wait to share more when the issue drops.
Stay tuned.
