Tips for Interior/Exterior Architectural Shoot?

Anyone have some good general beginner-level tips for interior and exterior architectural shoots?

I may have an opportunity to try and get my foot in the door with an architectural firm shooting their completed buildings, with the obvious intent of showcasing the architecture.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.

You need an ultra-wide angle lens to capture more area. However, tilting the camera up or down will cause converging lines. If it's for an architectural firm, surely they will invest in Tilt/Shift lens to make realistic photos.

How important does the tilt/shift tend to be for interior shots. That's mostly a concern for exterior perspectives, isn't it? The interior shoot will be coming up very soon, but the exterior shots will be postponed until spring...

I would think that in most interior settings an ultra-wide lens like the Canon 10-22 or Sigma 10-20 will do the job for you. That, and a spirit/bubble level to get the camera level. If you do need to tilt your camera up to capture ceiling detail in a very large space, you can correct the misaligned verticals in post. This is not an ideal solution, but it will work in a pinch.

I think the more important issue at hand is what are you going to do for lighting of your indoor shots? Are you going to shoot available light with bracketed exposures, or will you be going with off camera flash? The lighting will make or break your shot IMHO.

I agree an UWA will handle the interiors, as long as you keep it level. I also agree that lighting is critical. Bounce flash is one possibility to even out the lighting. You must avoid the flash hitting mirrors or shiny surfaces directly. Light coming in through windows can blow your shot (and your mind). Hanging something outside the windows to reduce and soften the light is one approach. Cheesecloth or similar material may be enough. Again, an architectural firm should be willing to buy stuff that will be needed over and over.

Thanks so much for the insights, guys. I was figuring on using available light, as I assumed the architects would already have their lights highlighting what they deemed important (i.e. lighting up other surfaces might ruin what they were trying to express). I can see using some reflected, diffused light to increase the ambient, but not to specifically highlight particular details.

The firm is not interested in purchasing equipment, I am sure. This is more of an opportunity for me than for them. I believe they will be hiring a professional as well - I'm just getting a chance to shoot and see how I do. If I do well, who knows...

Oh, and I don't have an UWA. The widest I've got is the 17-55 2.8. Figured I'd use that on a tripod (with my 30D). Any recommendations on ISO and/or shutter speed? Does the normal 1/(2xfocal length) apply? Or should I be able to get usable photos with extended exposures at low ISO using the tripod and a remote?

I just found this and I too am potentially going to photograph my first commercial building images. Just today, I thought of bouncing the light for the interior images. It's nice to see I'm on the right track. This post has been helpful. Thanks.

Worked my way through several shoots with a 7D and the 17-55 2.8 on a tripod, but recently went to a 24mm TSE. LOVE it for both exterior and interior shots. SOOO much easier to stitch together shots.

I also use my relatively new ultra-wide-angle lens (Rokinon 8mm) for a few throw-in shots on each shoot. Mostly for a more "fun" vision of large spaces. Those shots tend to be liked, but I don't think they get used professionally.

I've almost never used additional lighting, as it is very impractical for larger spaces. I've found it much better to shoot bracketed exposures and blend images (I use Photomatix Pro). I prefer to blend toward reality (shadows ALMOST blocked up; highlights ALMOST blown), and play with the mid-tones to keep a realistic feel while still providing proper exposure in the vast majority of each image.

For sweeping shots of tall or wide areas, I end up with 9 shots per final image (3 exposure brackets times 3 shifted positions on the TSE). Very happy with the results in most cases.

The left image below is an UWA throw-in (3 images blended for exposure). The right image below is from the 24mm TSE (9 images: 3 vertical-shifted positions, 3 blended exposures at each position).

Note there is a considerable amount of local adjustments in each shot (prior to blending in Photomatix) and again to the final image (mostly for blending temp/tint adjustments so the exterior and interior lighting don't contrast too much). It's been somewhat of a process trying to find the style I like, but I'm getting pretty close now. The process would be quite a bit simpler, I think, with a camera capable of greater dynamic range than the 7D, but that's a limitation I have to work around for now.