Interior Architectural Photography Lighting Tips

Taking photos in natural; particularly on days when the sun is shining brightly can be very easy – you can get clear, sharp, naturally well lit images. However it can be a whole other ball game to shoot indoors. While the human eye adjusts quickly to the change of interiors that are far less brightly lit, the camera lens doesn’t have that ability. So lighting up an interior space for the purpose of taking photos can be far trickier because less than ideally lit interiors will yield poor quality images.

When to use a flash and when not to

In general of course, use a flash when interiors are poorly lit. Off camera flashes can work really well – and you can get some good results using small, portable flashes. One can also use larger strobe light units that help to light up larger spaces more effectively. However setup of these larger units can be cumbersome so you need to assess whether this is really required. It can be a good idea to start shooting without any light sources and then use a flash and add more light sources as required to see what gives the best results.

interior-architecture-photography

If the interior of a room has good natural light, considering not using any flash at all; using only the available light. Use longer exposure times in such cases to see whether you are able to get the sort of results you like.

Arrange your setting

As a human model will dress up and put on makeup and coif their hair, you need to arrange the interiors of a room to make it look good. Tidy up, rearrange, de-clutter the room by putting things in their place and aligning things. Fewer objects in a picture look good and they also are less distracting. You may even want to rearrange the furniture a bit; and add or remove some decorative items or create stark color contrasts. So set the stage for taking those photos; create some drama.

Use innovative angles

You can create some different types of images; images of vastly different perspective simply by using different camera angles – take photos of corners, take pictures from an elevation or from a position low on the floor. Use a wide angle lens to create yet more interesting perspectives.

 Create focus points

Interiors can be made to look very interesting when you use focus lighting. This will add great drama and help your picture tell a story. Light only a part of the frame while the rest in left dark.