Interior Photography

[The Ghost of FM]

I've been trying to sharpen my skills at doing interior photography to possibly gain some real estate shooting gigs and wanted opinions about this shot, if its acceptable as is or if it needs some improvements.

This was a single exposure with flash, manually exposed as best as I could to get the outside and inside light and detail.



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3799small.jpg



Cheers!

[lddw]

I'm not a pro but I think that it is good for the composition. Maybe one or two flashes bouncing to put egal light in this room ?

[Robert_Lay]

I think you got it right on the lighting and the exposure. However, you did not keep the camera level, and so your verticals are all leaning one way or the other. The camera was pointed down for this shot. Wide angle lenses require care in use to avoid the problem.

[cbelanger]

I'm still new to my dslr so i can't offer any good technical suggestions, other than some additional lighting would probably be good. Maybe have the chandelier on as well.

The overall composition looks good and I'm impressed that the view out the windows came out as clear as it did, but from from a content point of view, I'd work on the staging a bit. (and please feel free to ignore if this was just a shot to test exposure rather than content) The remote control should go away as well as the open cooler in the upper left. Setting the dining table including candles would be nice. Couch pillows should be placed at the corners and the plant to the right of the couch could go as well as the small dark piece at the far right next to the white cabinet. Maybe the plant could move to hide the air conditioner in the upper left and the lamp behind the couch could be moved and set up to be a reading light. Lastly, I'd open up the window blinds and see if you can still get a decent exposure.

[The Ghost of FM]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions so far!

The staging ideas are actually really good, as me being a typical guy, so long as the empty pizza boxes are beer bottles are put away, I thought it was staged! :D But I am going to try those suggestions for sure and post another shot once that's all done. The straightening issue I think can be addressed without trouble. The only thing that will be a problem for me is adding more flashes, as I only have the one and am concerned about trying to mix sunlight, incandescent light and my flash and the white balance issues that will adopt themselves into the shot. I need to get a gel filter for my flash so that I can at least match its white balance with any incandescent lighting. The sun is also going to be streaming through the windows very shortly so may need to wait until tomorrow to try this again.

Thanks again everyone!

Cheers!

[The Ghost of FM]

Thought I'd give those staging ideas a quick try before the sun came plowing through the window to see what it would do for the shot! I also lowered my shooting position and angle to address some of the geometry concerns.


http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3839small.jpg

Better, worse?

Cheers!

[Naturalist]

I think that looks a lot better than the first shot but I would try to add a flash or two more.

[The Ghost of FM]

I think that looks a lot better than the first shot but I would try to add a flash or two more.
Thanks for your feedback!

In a perfect financial world, I'd love to be able to own a couple more flashes and the triggering gear to make them all work together but unfortunately that can't happen for me at the moment. I'll have to make due with my one 580 EXII.

Cheers!

[The Ghost of FM]

And one last variation for now as the sun was almost completely down at this point. Bit of a different crop too.



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3844small.jpg



Cheers!

[cbelanger]

looks good - I like furniture move to open up the dining area a bit. The extra staging items on the end tables is good as well.

As long as you're moving things a round, you could try moving the sofa and end tables to the right to center them on the rug and I wonder if the chair could be eliminated entirely or if the room would look too empty without something in that left foreground. I do prefer the blinds open, but it looks like you had the sun coming right in through them so it makes sense they were closed and the chandelier looks the best here of the three shots.

Nice work!

[The Ghost of FM]

looks good - I like furniture move to open up the dining area a bit. The extra staging items on the end tables is good as well.

As long as you're moving things a round, you could try moving the sofa and end tables to the right to center them on the rug and I wonder if the chair could be eliminated entirely or if the room would look too empty without something in that left foreground. I do prefer the blinds open, but it looks like you had the sun coming right in through them so it makes sense they were closed and the chandelier looks the best here of the three shots.

Nice work!
Thanks again for all you feedback and staging ideas! I really appreciate the help!

I did one more rendition, in color and b&w of your latest suggestions and I'm not sure if now the room looks a bit empty though it does convey a greater sense of space...so I could see why a lot of decorating/real estate pictures strive for this approach. I do believe, from what I've read of other threads here about doing this type of work, the photographer doesn't have to be the furniture mover/set designer. That is usually the job of the real estate agent and the owners, who are more motivated to do this then the photographer might be. It is a good thing to have this skill though because I'm sure it could help build one's rep with the clients.

Anyway, here's the redo of the shot...



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3893small.jpg



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3893bwsmall.jpg



Cheers!

[cbelanger]

I agree, I can't quite decide if the more open shot is better or too empty either. The lighting seems warmest in the previous photo with the blinds closed. You might check out Photomatic Pro - it allows you to do HDR or exposure blending to get well exposed interior and exterior window views in the same shot. At least it's supposed to, I haven't had a good chance to work with it yet.

I would imagine the responsibility for staging depends on the agent and homeowner (and how much they are willing to pay their photographer perhaps) My business is actually designing homes - the last large one i worked on is for sale and the photographer hired for the realtor did a lot of this sort of minor staging - we moved pillows, shifted furniture, brought accessories from other rooms, etc. to get each shot. You can see the final results here - http://www.luxist.com/2007/04/29/belle-epoque-estate-of-the-day/ - if you're interested. In any case, having that skill and attention to detail would no doubt set you apart from those who don't.

Good luck!

[The Ghost of FM]

I agree, I can't quite decide if the more open shot is better or too empty either. The lighting seems warmest in the previous photo with the blinds closed. You might check out Photomatic Pro - it allows you to do HDR or exposure blending to get well exposed interior and exterior window views in the same shot. At least it's supposed to, I haven't had a good chance to work with it yet.

I would imagine the responsibility for staging depends on the agent and homeowner (and how much they are willing to pay their photographer perhaps) My business is actually designing homes - the last large one i worked on is for sale and the photographer hired for the realtor did a lot of this sort of minor staging - we moved pillows, shifted furniture, brought accessories from other rooms, etc. to get each shot. You can see the final results here - http://www.luxist.com/2007/04/29/belle-epoque-estate-of-the-day/ - if you're interested. In any case, having that skill and attention to detail would no doubt set you apart from those who don't.

Good luck!
Thanks!

Wow! That home is gorgeous! Makes my little apartment seem like...a little apartment! :D

About the software you mentioned, I do have that program and try to use it only when 100% necessary, as in many cases, proper exposure and lighting can do much of what an HDR shot tries to do with several...which might be fine for larger estate projects where there is a bigger budget and time allowance to do all the extra shooting and processing.

I also prefer the picture in post #9 and the lighting I was able to achieve in that one. But, the bottom line here for me is that I've gained some great tips and info in this thread and very happy you showed up and decided to help me out.

Thank you!

Cheers!

[PhotosGuy]

And one last variation for now as the sun was almost completely down at this point. The light in this version looks much more interesting to me than the following one, which is pretty dull & uninteresting. Keep in mind that our eyes are drawn to the brighter parts of the shot, and those bright areas tend to make the dark areas look even darker. Take a look at POST #30 near the bottom: The gray bar at the center is the same density all the way across.
A few Car Lighting Tips (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)

[The Ghost of FM]

The light in this version looks much more interesting to me than the following one, which is pretty dull & uninteresting. Keep in mind that our eyes are drawn to the brighter parts of the shot, and those bright areas tend to make the dark areas look even darker. Take a look at POST #30 near the bottom: The gray bar at the center is the same density all the way across.
A few Car Lighting Tips (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)
Yup, the shot in post #9 is my favorite of this lighting/composition experiment so far too. Your exposure tips definitely played a large part in me getting a better handle on decently exposing a shot! and I have been working in the full manual mode throughout this thread! I obviously haven't mastered this whole concept yet but I am making progress and that's very encouraging for me!

I tried some full evening shots last night and got a couple of interesting lighting balances which I know are still not perfect as there are some hot and low spots that I didn't properly address. I think I need to add so some small foot lights to really complete the look I am trying to achieve. Photo shopping in the corrections doesn't seem to work as naturally as actually lighting properly in the first place.

Below, an example of my less then perfect night time attempts...I think I need a foot light on the bottom right to light the table and couch and perhaps one more to light the dark side of the recliner chair.



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3910small.jpg



Cheers!

[The Ghost of FM]

One last set of shots in this experiment...this time I finally broke down and decided to do an HDR attempt as there was just too much of a difference in the lighting from outside to inside. According to my light meter on my camera, somewhere around 8 stops which is too much to capture even with my 1DsMkII camera.

Anyway, three reditions done of the same shot; b&w, lite color and full color.



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3954HDRbwsmall.jpg



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3954HDRcopysmall.jpg



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h250/thefontmeister/VV4G3954HDRcolorsmall.jpg




I pledge to torture you no further with pictures of my living room! :D

Cheers!

[cocheese20]

I think the first shot is the best! The colors look off in most of them, and the light/dark areas looks off too. I would suggest using more flashes, or taking multiple exposures and blending them? I don't know if the HDR one works for me, if thats what it is. I think it would be easier to expose one for the outside window, one for the inside, and combine them in photoshop. I would layer the one exposed for the window on top of the base shot and using a layer mask paint in the outside light.... I don't know if what I just said makes any sense?

[The Ghost of FM]

I think the first shot is the best! The colors look off in most of them, and the light/dark areas looks off too. I would suggest using more flashes, or taking multiple exposures and blending them? I don't know if the HDR one works for me, if thats what it is. I think it would be easier to expose one for the outside window, one for the inside, and combine them in photoshop. I would layer the one exposed for the window on top of the base shot and using a layer mask paint in the outside light.... I don't know if what I just said makes any sense?
The masking technique is about the only thing I haven't tried yet but that might actually be the best approach as I know what you mean about the color weirdness showing up in the majority of the shots thus far.

I was kind of partial to the last set I posted, which were 4 shot HDR's. They still came out too dark for actual real estate type shooting but might work more as artsy style pictures.

Thanks for your feedback! I may just give the masking a try!

Cheers!