Most product photography shows a Tiffany lamp lit, because that is when it looks best. But a lamp is off far more than it is on, sitting on a table in daylight, and some designs that glow beautifully at night look muddy or dark during the day. Others do the reverse. We photograph every fitting both ways so you can judge for yourself. Drag the handle on each image.
Why the glass changes so much
Stained glass is transmissive: its colour is the light that passes through it. Unlit, you see the surface of the glass with the room's light bouncing off it, so opalescent (milky) glass looks pale and cathedral (transparent) glass looks dark. Lit from inside, the relationship flips: transparent glass blazes and opalescent glass glows softly. A design that mixes the two, which most good Tiffany designs do, will shift its balance completely.
Dragonfly designs
The dragonfly border is transparent glass, so it is the part that changes most. Unlit, the wings read as dark outlines; lit, they become the brightest part of the shade.
Sapphire is the deepest of the group unlit and the most dramatic lit; a good choice if the lamp is mainly an evening lamp. Sunset and Blue and Yellow hold their colour in daylight because the amber and yellow panels are opalescent. Teal and Green reads as a soft sage during the day and becomes a vivid sea-green at night. Scarlet is the boldest unlit and softens to a warm rose when lit.
Floral designs
Floral shades use more opalescent glass, so they change less. What you see in the day is close to what you get at night, only warmer.
Garden Floral is the most colourful design we make and the most consistent between off and on. Amber Floral Scroll is the quietest: cream and honey in daylight, a warm gold lantern at night, and the one most people choose for a room that is otherwise neutral.
Geometric designs
Mission-style geometric shades use flat panels of a single glass type, so they behave predictably. Cream panels glow; amber panels deepen.
What this means when choosing
- The lamp will be on most evenings and you want a feature: choose a transparent-heavy design such as Sapphire, Teal and Green or Scarlet Dragonfly.
- The lamp sits somewhere you look at all day: choose an opalescent-heavy design such as Amber Floral Scroll, Garden Floral or the Mission geometrics.
- You want the best of both: Sunset Dragonfly and Blue and Yellow Dragonfly hold up in both states.
The bulb matters as much as the glass. Every lit photograph on this page uses a 2700 K clear filament bulb. A cool white or frosted bulb will not give these results; see the bulb guide.
