If you are thinking of hiring a photographer to take interior photographs you will obviously need to know a lot of things. The top questions are:
• Is their current body of work any good?
• Do they create images that match my brand/design/aesthetic?
• Can I spend a day(s) with this person while they take pictures?
• How much do they cost?
• Does their schedule match with my needs?
Over the next several articles I would like to tackle each of these questions in turn. First I want to talk a little bit about “are these photos any good.” Now obviously I can't tell you whether you should like an image or not, but I thought I would take a moment to explain the different processes photographers use these days and the pitfalls and advantages of each. I could also expand on this and talk about composition and staging but for simplicity, I'm going to stick the subject of how photographers light a space.
The main types of interior photography are:
• Natural light/ Ambient light
Using only available exterior and interior light in the space
• HDR (High Dynamic Range)
HDR uses available light but the photographer will take several pictures and blind them together in Photoshop in order to get more detail in the shadows and highlights.
• Flash or Strobe only
• Flash and Ambient Mix
Let's tackle the good and bad of each.
Although this looks like natural light this image has a kiss of flash to add detail in the shadows.
• Natural Light
Using the available light is great! It allows a viewer to see the intentionality behind window placement and/or lighting fixtures and under ideal circumstances can be the best choice. However, spaces that have less than ideal lighting can look dark and dingy or flat and lifeless depending on the camera placement. Also, when there are several types of light sources, natural and artificial, the color differences can be stark (green florescent light, orange tungsten light, blue exterior light.) Depending on the space and time constraints there are ways around some of these problems: a photographer can block out windows to control direction and intensity, they can switch light bulbs to control color temperature and they can use Photoshop to fix some problems.
• HDR (or High Dynamic Range)
HDR uses a little Photoshop magic to extend a camera's ability to see the shadows and highlights. It would seem to be a great option to solve some of the lighting problems talked about above. Unfortunately, it can look very unnatural and it still doesn't solve the problem of color differences exterior natural light and interior artificial light. There are a lot of photographers that use this technique in a way that looks extremely fake and unrealistic. With HDR, as you bring down the highlights and bring up the shadows the image can become flat and lack shape. In an attempt to correct this some photographers add too much contrast in Photoshop which creates an unnatural look HDR has become known for.
• Flash Only
I reserve this for only the darkest of spaces but most places have some light or fixture I try to incorporate in order to give the lighting a realism and direction. Which leads us to...
• Flash and Ambient Mix
Personally, this is where I hang my hat the most, but like everything, it can go bad. The main reason for using a flash is to add light to the shadows and bring them closer in brightness to the ambient light. Balance is key! If the photographer goes too far the image will be flat with little definition and shape.
Another key to using flash it to try and mimic the direction of available light so that the lighting looks natural. Lastly, if done right a photographer can overpower color cast from artificial light so the image looks clean.
Detail of Texas hotel room. The direction of the light is meant to mimic the window light from the left but flash was used to over power the color cast of the artificial light.
The best method is situational. Like I said I find that I use flash and ambient mix the most but I prefer to used natural light whenever possible. However, in natural light situations, I always cover myself and shoot it as an HDR, but I try to avoid being heavy-handed in Photoshop. I can't think of a situation where I have only used flash for an interior image. There always seems to be at least one light fixture in a frame to add a little ambiance, even the darkest rooms.
Like anyone who is passionate about a subject I could go on and on about this but I hope this gives you a quick overview. If you have any questions or thoughts please leave a comment!