Interior photography: how to shoot interiors, tips and tricks

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:40

Interior photography is a separate area of photographic art, the primary task of which is to depict the interior space of premises from the most favorable angle. Often the photographer needs not only to show the room in terms of composition and perspective, but also to pay attention to details: focus on the texture of the walls and furniture, emphasize the lines. This article will give you some tips on how to get started with indoor photography.

Features of interior photography

Every photographic subject has both certain attractive sides and negative ones. Take advantage of interior photography - you have to shoot stationary objects, which means you do not need to be on your guard and catch every moment. Give yourself time to look around the room and find the best angle for the photo. Experiment withunexpected heights and non-obvious shooting positions. Also try all possible light sources - only daylight from the window, only artificial (most often not), a combination of daylight and any of the lamps. For each option, take a few shots and evaluate the result.

The importance of a tripod

Don't forget your tripod. In order to additionally insure yourself against blurry photos, it is best not to neglect the support and fixation for the camera. In addition to a tripod, a camera remote control (wireless is best) can also come in handy - after all, even a light touch on the camera when pressed can provoke unnecessary vibration, which will affect the reduction in sharpness and increase in noise. This is forgivable in sports photography (and only for amateurs), but not for professional interior photography.

Camera settings

For camera settings, experts advise to set a large depth of field (focal length f 6.3 and above) to add volume to the room in the final image. It is also recommended to reduce ISO (light sensitivity) to minimize noise and use slow shutter speeds to literally "paint" with light. Capture larger areas of space than you want to show - while processing interior photos, you can crop unwanted areas, but if necessary, they will give you the opportunity to straighten the photo.

Space organization

Currentlymoment you are "your own director", the main character on the site. Decide or agree with the customer what exactly you want to see in the final photo, and in accordance with this, organize the interior. Trust your photography instincts. See the extra color spot? Remove boldly. On the contrary, you want the photo of the bathroom to look more interesting - add a towel hanging on a hook in a contrasting color. The fact that you need to remove all visual (and real) garbage, as well as inaccurately scattered objects, in theory, does not even need to be reminded. Some experts in interior photography also recommend avoiding overlap - so that some pieces of furniture do not cover others, because this interferes with the purity of the perception of the picture.

And vice versa - if no one has settled in the apartment you want to rent yet, you will need to “revive” it. This will help various small details that are selected depending on what kind of story you want to create. It can be a fruit bowl for the kitchen, toys in the children's room and, in the end, even a cat. Don't be afraid to include people in your shots - unless, of course, this is discussed with the client.

Perfect light

The purpose of interior photography is to show a room in natural light. It is rare when you have to shoot an interior in which there are no windows. It is best to wait until the room is as bright as possible, otherwise the photo may show a lot of dark areas. It is also good to shoot in soft diffused light, which happens in the early morning or at sunset. Forto create the effect of sunlight falling through the window, some photographers even recommend lighting the interior with a spotlight from the street.

If there really are no windows in the room, or you have to shoot at night, then you should use all possible light sources - turn on the “upper” light, all the ceiling lights and light bulbs. Sometimes you have to use a flash, but this should not be noticeable in the photo, otherwise the space will not attract, but reject with artificial light.

Differences in light

The reverse situation also happens - the light from the windows or from another source is too bright, resulting in a photo with sharp changes in lighting. In this case, you will most likely have to take several photos with different exposure options: in one case, you will need to expose the frame for those areas that come out dark, in the other, for those that come out bright, and when processing, combine the photographs taken in " Photoshop." It is also recommended to close the light source for one of the photo options, and ideally, get studio devices for additional lighting that will even out the light throughout the frame. By the way, if you have a lot of additional equipment, it is more convenient to start shooting from the farthest room in order to gradually pull the equipment along with you to the exit.

Angle

Most often you have to shoot a room from the corner, using a wide-angle lens. For interior photography, such a lens is best suited to maximizecover a limited space. Experts recommend using a 16-24mm lens for wide angle shooting, as well as tilt-shift lenses for perspective alignment. True, if you are shooting an interior, for example, in order to sell an apartment, then buyers may be quite surprised by the actual size of the room after viewing such photos.

Try not to "fill up the horizon". Sometimes falling lines give an artistic touch to a photo, but now you have a different task ahead of you. However, if both you and the client seem interested in the idea of taking a photo at an angle of 45 degrees, then go for it.

Interesting advice - shoot from a small height, approximately from the level of the navel - this does not distort the size and proportions of the room and objects in it so much. If you take a photo of the room standing up to your full height, the furniture in the photo may look too small and disproportionate. Shooting from a low point allows the viewer to feel like a part of everything that is happening in the picture. Shooting from a high vantage point can be used as a visual technique in small spaces to intentionally create a spatial distortion effect in the final photo, making the viewer feel like they are watching from above.

Playing with space

In order to visually increase the space, you can arrange a composition in the photo relative to the mirror. Often this is how photos of bathrooms are created. But at the same time, be careful that the flash from the camera does not create glare inreflection - you can use a polarizing filter for this.

Another option to enlarge a small space is to shoot from a doorway. Be prepared for the fact that you have to literally squeeze yourself into the wall in order to capture as much space as possible in your lens. Some photographers go further and simply press the camera close to the wall, take pictures almost at random (of course, having previously calculated the desired angle). There is also the idea of mounting the camera to the ceiling.

One option is to accept that everything will not fit in one frame anyway, and take several wide shots from different angles, and then switch to individual details and use subject and macro photography. Place accents on photos - draw the viewer's attention to unusual details or non-standard angles. If a beautiful view opens from the window, be sure to demonstrate it. This will once again emphasize the advantageous advantages of this room over other options.

Retouching interior photos

Retouching interior photography is no different from processing any other type of photo. Unless you have to pay special attention to the geometry of the image - align the photo so that the vertical lines (walls, cabinets, doorways) are strictly vertical, as they are usually perceived by the human eye. Find out from the client in advance whether there will be inscriptions on the picture - this may make its own adjustments to processing and framing.

Then check the white balance, exposure, balance of light and shadow, contrast - if necessary, all these values can be "pulled up". The same applies to color - if absolutely identical color reproduction is required, then it will be important to adjust the temperature of the lighting and the brightness of the tones. In modern editors, you can also use the noise reduction tool and remove unwanted details by simply cutting them out.

Helpful tips

How to become an interior photographer? As with any profession, getting good at shooting interiors takes months and years of practice. Some photography schools offer courses in interior photography - this will help you quickly master the basic skills and make friends with like-minded people, but will not make you a truly professional photographer.

Most often it is recommended to start with what is at hand - just try to photograph your apartment or friends' houses. Gradually, you will get your hands on this. Do not forget to look through magazines with a selection of beautiful interiors or publications on the Internet. At the same time, do not just contemplate the aesthetics of photography, but ask yourself questions: why do you like this photo, what specifically attracts you in it? How was it made, from what angle, what was the lighting like? In this way, you will determine what is a successful interior photography exactly in your understanding.