canon Lee

How do you shoot interiors with large bright windows ( real estate photography)?

alandg46 Loc: Boerne, Texas

HDR or flashes

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Lee, are you referring to a situation such as this?
--Bob

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canon Lee

Yes, exactly, and even worse bright light. Do you have any suggestions you use to not get the window blown out and still have a good exposure inside using HDR? I like having outside the window show a good exposure. I use HDR. If those are your shots, they look inviting and warm, my clients would accept shots like that.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

HDR is one approach, modifying the lighting is another. HDR only works when the scene is static. If there is motion, isn't balancing the lighting important?

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

So are you using software filters to get the star effects on the lamp highlights or some other technique such as actual physical filters? Or is it just small aperture f/22 and long (1 second) exposures?

jmizera Loc: Austin Texas

I'd do HDR in every case, unless motion is an issue as Peter said. I also try to shoot in the golden hour if at all possible. The light is not so blue, and the differences are less dramatic.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Two exposures - one for the window and one for the rest of the room. An XRite color checker passport will help with balancing the colors of the light - you can either blend manually or if your skills with Photoshop aren't up that level yet, you can always use ACR or Lightroom HDR merge.

Here is a detailed video on the ColorChecker. Pay particular attention to the dual-illuminant mode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDtebpvATzc

Or you pick a time when the window light is less intense. In the old days we used blackout panels on the windows, but I used a small crew of 4 people to do a high end architectural shoot.

The blackout panels are still used extensively by film companies doing movie shoots.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Lee, I use Expose to the Right techniques. This allows me to expose for the brightest portion of the scene, place it just slightly below blow out level, such as 250 (Zone VIII), the rest of the values are "pulled" up though that exposure. In post, I adjust the highlights and shadows appropriately. That will provide a none blown out highlight(s) and sufficient details in the shadows.
--Bob

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Very small f-stop, for DOF, and long exposure. The client for whom these were done is an Interior Designer. Her specialty is lighting. Thus, the attention getting detail with the lights.
--Bob

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

You may want to take a look at Ron Nachtwey's work. I mentored him for a while in order to help him take his images to the next level. He specifically used some of my suggestions on lighting, staging and control of window light. His work looks very natural, but trust me, there is considerable planning and post processing to get these results. He nearly always opts for focus stacking as opposed to using apertures smaller than F11, and will often do stitched panoramas as opposed to reaching for the ultra-wide lenses. The results he gets speak for themselves.

http://ronnachtwey.com/

canon Lee

Thanks for your input. Here is how I shoot interiors. I use a tripod & release cable and Aperture priority. When the window is part of the shot, I take my first shot without flash, and adjust for a good exposure of the window. The next 4 shots are with TTL flash bounced off the ceiling, each shot 1 stop apart ( using exposure comp adjust). I then use Photoshop CC to merge to HDR. I am interested in other ways of shooting for HDR, and appreciate learning new techniques. The concern is how best to capture the interior as well as the window, without blowing the window out. How do you set up and shoot interiors with windows? Obviously, there isn't a problem if the room doesn't have a window in it, pretty straight forward shooting 4 or 5 shots in 1 stop increments or bracket it. I try as has been suggested to shoot at the golden hour, but that isn't always possible with people getting ready to have dinner and settle in for the night. Positioning in the room helps but ultimately the window has to be dealt with.

canon Lee

Thanks Gene Stunning images. Wish I could have seen some with windows in the shot. Love to know more about your technique to control window light Gene.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Some of his images have window shots. Some were taken at either early morning or late afternoon, others were taken in two takes, one with the window blocked, and one with the only the window's exposure used, then they were masked with the window view composited into the room. Others were done in one shot, with dual illuminant, HDR, pano and focus stacking all employed in the final image. Yes, the post processing is a bear on this, but he is totally meticulous and will even composite an image on a flat screen TV or place a piece of black velour material onto a picture glass, then take a shot of the picture and composite it into the shot. I helped him with light placement, to avoid the "paparazzo" look, where the foreground is brighter than the background because all the lighting is from the camera-side of the room, and lastly, he now uses gels extensively to balance strobe or monolights with ambient room lighting.

I started out doing architectural interiors in the early 70s, where life was simpler, at least for me, since black and white was the defacto standard for architectural and interior design portfolios. Most of my clients did not have the budget to do a full color spread, and only the magazine shooters could get the $!200/day fee, plus equipment rental, seconds, gaffers and grips to produce such a series in color. I was cheaper, but my 4x5 work was sought after for a little while, until I got busy with my computer business, which I started in 1983. Same clients, but having established a record of providing quality results, and a great customer service experience, it was an easy sell.

cthahn

Every shot you take will be different. No one can tell you how to do it. It is something you have to learn and not all in one day. Buy s ome home magazines and look at their pictures., If you can duplicate them, OK. If not you will have to start learning.