North light (in the northern hemisphere) perpetually provides indirect lighting.
That is the crux of \"north light\".
Whether or not north light is best depends on whether or not you want indirect light. Its origins likely go back to pre-photographic endeavors. While part of the issue is the light that is illuminating the subject ... part of the issue is how much easier the lower contrast of indirect lighting is for viewing.
A painter who is viewing his subject over long periods of time would likely have better viewing in the lower contrast indirect light than harsh direct light.
It is true that the color temp of the indirect sky light will be different from that of direct sun light or a combination of direct sun & indirect sky. For a painter, the human eye accomodates WB adjustment better than the camera does (which is no big deal, just know that it does exist).
North light is also \"easy\" light to shoot with because of its relatively large (size vs. distance) source (open sky) vs. the relatively small source of the direct sunlight. By shooting north light, you are removing all of the direct light of the sun from illuminating the subject ... and even as the sun travels east to west, the north light has less dramatic change throughout the course of the day ... think again @ painter working for hours with constant changing lighting angles, or relatively consistent lighting angles.
North light has distinct attributes to it that are different from the other directions (perpetual absence of direct light). Whether or not it is \"better\" simply depends on whether or not those attributes are what you want. As a painter, the attributes of north light\'s illumination, consistency and contrast (viewing & illumination) levels were well regarded, likely yielding its fame as \"best\". As a photographer, it is a perpetual \'umbrella\' ... larger than you\'ll find in any photography store ... and likewise is well suited to provide even/diffuse/lower contrast lighting whenever that is desired.
Apr 02, 2012 at 09:17 AM
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