Interior work

[Songman45]

I've been approached to take on a project that's not my every day sort of work. I could use a few suggestions on this:

A lady operates a new furnature business using a house as a showroom. This is a very upscale yet low volume operation. Her prospective clients make appointments to take the house tour and can actually see suites in actual settings. Now she wants to have a web presence, more to promote her business than to sell particular peices as her inventory changes with every turn-over. I think she buys market samples from fairly exclusive mfgs.

Here's the project:

Photograph the various rooms so the images showcase the furnishings and accessories. Pretty straight forward.

I've not seen the place but I'll assume it will have 8" ceilings. I don't believe this to be a placial manor.

What would you be considering for lighting options? I'm thinking of mono light. If the ceilings are white I think I'd bounce off them with a 7" reflector placed in a corner and letting the walls work as they can, depending on the colors. As a second thought I'd use the same corner but shoot bare-bulb with a high light elevation with the flash "aimed" stright up. I'd adjust the shutter speed depending on lamps or windows in the room and unless the room is terribly shallow or I'm shooting from quite a distance shooting in the f8 to f11 range. Am I close?

Steve

[Harry]

8" ceilings?

Your lighting looks like it may be ok. I might suggest that you shoot the rooms with the camera at about waist level for good perspective.

[Songman45]

Originally Posted by Harry

8" ceilings?

Fat Fingers... sorry that should read 8' ceilings

[Songman45]

Thanks Harry. I was just trying a little logic to the lighting. I'd also heard that a camera level of about 4 feet was good so the perspective is more like sitting on the furniture rather than looking down on it.

[Not4wood]

I haven't done it in many years. Maybe, Benji or even Mark McCall from the Wedding Section might be able to help with this.

The Technique is called "Painting With Light".

If I remember correctly, which I really doubt. You use one light like you suggested and make multiple exposures moving the light around the room and making sure about the overlaps.

For example: When I was an assistant a very long time ago. My Mentor and I had to take an image of a brand new Restaurant for the Liquor License photograph. We setup the camera for a good long view. I was under the tables, and moving around the room. At each placement, my Mentor would fire the Flash. We had used Radio Control remotes back in the old days, hehe we were ahead of the norm. This was back in the mid to late '70's. Anyway, he would test fire the flash and watch as it went off. He would tell me how to move it by guiding me from what he saw from each test fire. When he was satisfied with the shot he would then pull the slide and make an exposure. Then I would move again. It was very dark in the Room so we didn't have to worry about any stray light coming in and ruining the shot. It had worked out very well and we were very pleased with the results.

I can't be certain because of the amount of time that has gone by. But he used a Medium Format Camera and kept on using the slide for the film back to protect the film from the stray light tests. I believe it was a Mamiya 645.

[Songman45]

Sounds like a great technique. I'll keep the idea in mind if I have a larger scale room. I'm hoping these rooms are small enough vignettes that I can shower them with enough light from one source to cover a whole scene. If not, the painting might come in real handy.

[Gna]

Originally Posted by Harry

I might suggest that you shoot the rooms with the camera at about waist level for good perspective.

I beg to differ: imo the camer should be at eye level. But absolutely horizontal in any case – preferably use a bubble level – to avoid converging and diverging perpendiculars = wide-angle distortion.
A tripod is of course a given.
In PP you crop the excess ceiling off.

[Ben_V]

Lighting is fairly dependend on the size of the room and the kind the furniture is arranged. You may want to emphasize a certain cosy corner or not... But generally I would use to lights to create a general basic light level, either with a globe (walimex Diffusorkugel mit Universalanschluss) or bare bulb or one of those dome umbrellas (33" White Black Reflector Photo Studio Brolly Box bei eBay.de: Light Controls Modifiers (endet 12.10.09 13:52:58 MESZ)), because the light the whole room evenly. Then I would use one or two direct lights (umbrella and/or snoot) to set some accents, if sensible. You can also emphasize a certain mood by using coloured gels.

The links I choose are only to illustrate what I mean, not specific product recommendations.

Ben

[Brooks]

Originally Posted by Harry

I might suggest that you shoot the rooms with the camera at about waist level for good perspective.

Since most of the time in a room is spent sitting on furniture the ideal camera height for a natural perspective is close to the head height of a person when they are seated. Four ft. high or waist high might be a bit low but anything much higher, such as eye height when standing, is too high and will make the furniture look unnaturally small.

Certainly you do want the camera level on all axis so use a small 6" carpenters level. I wouldn't necessarily trust the levels built into tripod heads.

If you have to look up slightly to capture a ceiling feature, allow yourself more room with a looser crop so you can straighten the verticals later in PhotoShop. If you have a shift-tilt PC lens you could use that but sometimes shifting the lens on a digital camera causes a color shift from one edge of the sensor to the other.

Another technique is to show only 2 walls ie: shoot into a corner. If you show three walls you can create a box car effect where the space looks cramped. Showing only 2 walls allows the viewer to imagine the room is more spacious than it is while also allowing you some room to place your lighting without it being in the crop.

As far as lighting, you want to try to make the distant rear of the room brighter than the forground. I'd start by establishing an f-stop for the depth of field needed, then a shutter speed which properly records any accent lighting visible in the shot such as table or floor lamps, sconces, ceiling lights etc.

Then I'd start adding diffused light to fill any shadows. Finally a directional light, also diffused ie: no bare bulb lights, from one side. If you are on the first floor a gridded reflector light placed outside a window raking across the rear wall can be very effective in creating a natural light look and giving a three dimensional feel to the room.

If there are no convenient windows for this light near the back of the room then a gridded spot from the side, just outside the crop (in the space you're not showing by only shooting 2 walls) will work as well.

Here's a sample of a "deluxe" hospital room. This room was on the second floor of the hospital so there was no option to light from outside the window. Fortunately the sun was coming through the windows which added some "effect" lighting through the blinds. The f-stop was chosen for depth of field and the shutter speed recorded the ambient light from the fixtures in the ceiling and on the rear wall and in this case the monitor screen visible on the articulated arm by the bed. .

The space was lit with 3-800ws packs and 3 heads. A gridded 11" reflector from camera right was used to light the far corner of the room. A small 2'x3' softbox also from camera right was aimed back toward the front of the room to light the hospital bed and left wall. A medium 3'x4' softbox from camera left lit the front arrangement of table and chairs.

It's a simple setup with a single exposure for this shot. You might not need as many as three lights for yours but I would avoid any on-camera or bare-bulb light for this type of work.

Hope this helps.

Exposure was f16 at 1 second ISO 100 with a 20mm lens on a full-frame DSLR

[Songman45]

Originally Posted by Gna

I beg to differ: imo the camer should be at eye level. But absolutely horizontal in any case – preferably use a bubble level – to avoid converging and diverging perpendiculars = wide-angle distortion.
A tripod is of course a given.
In PP you crop the excess ceiling off.

Thank you for the advice about camera level and the reminder of distortion and lines of convergence. I would like an explanation why your opinion varies from the conventional thought regarding camera elevation. Pointing a camera downward on any subject makes it appear smaller and less significant. I'm 6'02" so if I shoot from my eye level its not going to give the same perspective as the average heigth man or woman. Lowering the camera to the eye level of a person sitting on a peice of furniture seems right, eye level of a person standing and towering over the furniture seems wrong.

Originally Posted by Ben_V

Lighting is fairly dependend on the size of the room and the kind the furniture is arranged. You may want to emphasize a certain cosy corner or not... But generally I would use to lights to create a general basic light level, either with a globe (walimex Diffusorkugel mit Universalanschluss) or bare bulb or one of those dome umbrellas (33" White Black Reflector Photo Studio Brolly Box bei eBay.de: Light Controls Modifiers (endet 12.10.09 13:52:58 MESZ)), because the light the whole room evenly. Then I would use one or two direct lights (umbrella and/or snoot) to set some accents, if sensible. You can also emphasize a certain mood by using coloured gels.

The links I choose are only to illustrate what I mean, not specific product recommendations.

Ben

Thanks for the links and the insight. I don't know that I will be getting quite so creative with the accent or mood lighting on this project. You do give me a lot to consider for future attempts at similar things.

Originally Posted by Brooks

Since most of the time in a room is spent sitting on furniture the ideal camera height for a natural perspective is close to the head height of a person when they are seated. Four ft. high or waist high might be a bit low but anything much higher, such as eye height when standing, is too high and will make the furniture look unnaturally small.

I totally agree and see the point. My eyes are about waist level when I'm seated and my inseam length is 36" so, three feet rather than 4 might be closer.

Certainly you do want the camera level on all axis so use a small 6" carpenters level. I wouldn't necessarily trust the levels built into tripod heads.

I agree here too. I think I'll get a level that fits in the hot shoe. I have a ball head so the level built into the tripod is useless.

If you have to look up slightly to capture a ceiling feature, allow yourself more room with a looser crop so you can straighten the verticals later in PhotoShop. If you have a shift-tilt PC lens you could use that but sometimes shifting the lens on a digital camera causes a color shift from one edge of the sensor to the other.

I don't have a tilt-shit lens. Thanks for the suggestion about leaving cropping room. I have run off the canvas in other projects when trying to correct perspective in PS. I did not know about the color shift issue with PC lenses. Thanks for that.

Another technique is to show only 2 walls ie: shoot into a corner. If you show three walls you can create a box car effect where the space looks cramped. Showing only 2 walls allows the viewer to imagine the room is more spacious than it is while also allowing you some room to place your lighting without it being in the crop.

I like the suggestion of showing two walls. I would most likely have shot into a corner if possible. The vanishing point, or diminishing lines would seem more forgiving where distortion is concerned.

As far as lighting, you want to try to make the distant rear of the room brighter than the forground. I'd start by establishing an f-stop for the depth of field needed, then a shutter speed which properly records any accent lighting visible in the shot such as table or floor lamps, sconces, ceiling lights etc.

I suspect that these rooms are going to be shallow. But these are good ideas to have for other projects, such as events in a grand hall.

Then I'd start adding diffused light to fill any shadows. Finally a directional light, also diffused ie: no bare bulb lights, from one side. If you are on the first floor a gridded reflector light placed outside a window raking across the rear wall can be very effective in creating a natural light look and giving a three dimensional feel to the room.

I don't have a clue how many windows nor what direction they are positioned. I don't know either if the flash is going to serve as fill or main. I'm expecting that I'll be required to shoot at the worst time of day, mid-day, when I won't be on-site during her prime appointment time. Light through the windows is most likely going to be more than abundant.

If there are no convenient windows for this light near the back of the room then a gridded spot from the side, just outside the crop (in the space you're not showing by only shooting 2 walls) will work as well.

Here's a sample of a "deluxe" hospital room. This room was on the second floor of the hospital so there was no option to light from outside the window. Fortunately the sun was coming through the windows which added some "effect" lighting through the blinds. The f-stop was chosen for depth of field and the shutter speed recorded the ambient light from the fixtures in the ceiling and on the rear wall and in this case the monitor screen visible on the articulated arm by the bed. .

The space was lit with 3-800ws packs and 3 heads. A gridded 11" reflector from camera right was used to light the far corner of the room. A small 2'x3' softbox also from camera right was aimed back toward the front of the room to light the hospital bed and left wall. A medium 3'x4' softbox from camera left lit the front arrangement of table and chairs.

It's a simple setup with a single exposure for this shot. You might not need as many as three lights for yours but I would avoid any on-camera or bare-bulb light for this type of work.

Hope this helps.

Exposure was f16 at 1 second ISO 100 with a 20mm lens on a full-frame DSLR

Thank you Brooks for the great wirte-up. By-the-way that sample is really well executed and I appreciate the set-up details.

I've seen two suggestions here that conflict with other suggestions, that's not unusual. The eye-level elevation is one and I'm comfortable in developing my own opinion about that. Brooks says "no bare bulb" Ben and other's I've talked to ouside this forum suggest using barebulbs to light interiors. I want to know what the logic is that drives each of the opinions. Basically, bare bulb advocates say that the 360 degree spread of the light provides a central "bright" glow [see also simulates the sun] but doesn't direct the light into one direction to create more definate directional shadows [see also natrually reflected daylight]. The light is supposed to bounce off the walls and ceiling and duffuse. Placing it high in a corner at the junction of walls and ceiling creates a huge "umbrella". So, what's the driving logic in not using barebulbs? This has me totally confused.

Thanks to all who replied.

Regards,
Steve