With many people launching interior design careers and even more looking for home designs online, lots of interior photography opportunities will be knocking at your door. I think you best be prepared to take great interior photos lest you miss a great opportunity. Of course, it can be easy to just take shots of a house and some designs. But there is need to make your images stand out from others. Below are some interior photography tips that will help you getting better shots.
Interior Photography Tips #01
Use A Tripod
Taking handheld shots is often faster and flexible compared to using a tripod, however, most houses need long exposures to capture everything in a single shot. This means that you might have to hold your camera for longer which affects the outcome of your shots. A tripod might slow you down but helps in focusing and keeping your camera steady for the shots. This especially applies when working with motion such as shooting the interior o a shopping mall.
Interior Photography Tips #02
Stand In The Corner
I know our first instinct is to stand in the middle of the room and start snapping. This is not necessarily wrong but it is not the best approach. Standing in a corner puts you in a position to have the widest perspective of the interior that is before you. It will allow you to see every inch of the building hence capture the unique details. It is good to try viewing the interior from all the corners available so you can choose the best position. Alternatively, you can press your camera to the wall so that you have the widest perspective available. This may, however, need some level of expert knowledge and loads of practice.
Interior Photography Tips #03
Lighting Is Key!
Lighting is a crucial factor in any kind of photography and interior photography is no exception. Ensure to balance your photography light so that you avoid overly dark shadows as well as too bright highlights. It is advisable that you use the light that is available; natural light from windows, lamps and overhead lighting. It is good to play around with blending the different light options so that you get one that gives you the best shots.
Generally, soft lighting produces the best interior shots and it is, therefore, important to try shooting using natural light. Once again, we take you back to the basics of photography by encouraging you to shoot during the golden hours.
Interior Photography Tips #04
Shoot From Waist Level
Having your shots taken from a standing position brings the impression of you looking down on most interior scenes. This is more especially when taking shots for furniture and décor. It is therefore advisable to ensure the perfect perspective is achieved before you press that shutter button.
Interior Photography Tips #05
Organize The Space Before You Shoot
As an interior photographer, it is advisable to think about the image you want to achieve. You can, therefore, add features to the room to bring out the impression that you have in mind if the scene looks dull in itself. If it is a building’s interior, you could add carefully stacked newspapers and cushions as well to brighten your images. Throw in some wall photos and décor for living room shots. And of course, make sure you avoid including clutter and stray cables in your shot.
Interior Photography Tips #06
Straighten yourself out
Take an extra step to ensure that all the vertical lines in your interior image are going straight up and down. They should not converge at the bottom. Having a spirit level will ensure the lines of such features including doors and windows are parallel to the frame.
Your lens should also be upright otherwise, the lines will tend to be diagonal thus providing a distraction to your viewers. This might also cause unwanted detracting from the impact of the interior that you are capturing. The viewer will hence see the interior as falling away or tipping towards them.
Interior Photography Tips #07
Make Use Of Your Aperture
Pay close attention to the depth of field. If there are any unwanted objects that appear in a shot, ensure to blur them out using the f-stop. In cases where you are doing your shots in a larger space, you might need a smaller aperture which means a bigger f-stop. This ensures that the entirety of your shooting scene is in sharp focus, therefore, giving quality shots.
Interior Photography Tips #08
Use Post-Production
This is yet another important asset of interior photography. It is impossible that you get a perfect shot with poor lighting and the shooting challenges. Take your time to ensure that you get the right composition so as to avoid the excessive need for vertical corrections.
Ensure to keep post-production to a minimum contrast, highlights, and shadows as well as cropping. These are the major post-production tools to use for the best outcome of your shot.
Interior Photography Tips #09
Use Live-View
Get a camera that has the ability to view everything live before you can take a shot. Most cameras that have video mode options are likely to have a Live View option as well. This ensures that you have a glimpse of the shot you are about to take before you press the shutter.
This option is made better with a camera that is endowed with a tilt screen. This gives you the opportunity to change the scene or angle of the camera for a better outcome. Tilt screens also help to keep your perspective in check. Any perspective distortion that occurs when using a tilt lens is easily corrected during post-production.
Interior Photography Tips #10
Shoot One Or Two Point Perspectives
Pay attention to standard views. These are ones that have high chances of giving you a good shot. A one-point perspective is when you shoot such that the plane is parallel to a wall. In two-point perspective, you position yourself such that you shoot into a corner. The corner does not have to be centered in the frame in order to have a perfect shot. However, it is important that you avoid showing three walls on your image.
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