With the increasing popularity of interior design comes interior design photography into play.
No longer we are trying to capture from side to side, our goal is to bring a lifestyle experience and call to action of the viewer to purchase the services of our clients.
This is the time to step up our game and to better represent our designer’s clients in the best way to claim their spot in the competition.
So, if you are a designer or a professional let’s jump into a few tips on what you can do today to improve your creatives.
Table of Contents
Choosing the right Interior Photo Angle
The angle should reflect the space as a whole, with all design elements and space orientation.
Choose an angle that is a little bit lower than your eye level to achieve a “viewer point of view” and keep the perspective.
If you look on the example you can imagen going higher or lower can impact the proportions of the images. If we were going higher we would lose the side couch, going lower would make the couch a point of focus which is a distraction and obviously we don’t want that.
Keep the lens and camera straight forward and parallel to the ground to avoid any distortions.
Handling Interior Light in Photos
Turn on all the lights in the space, open the shades and use the sunlight for more glamour and a bright look.
If the sun is too bright or the views are not appealing, use the curtains or just change the angle.
If the sun is in sight or it’s too bright you can capture with the sun to your side, zoom slightly to avoid showing the windows, or change the angle.
It’s always best to have a directional light coming from the sides and not from the back or front as may look “flat”.
TIP: if you can control the light with a dimmer I would suggest lowering the light power to a minimum, using several light sources with “light temperature” like tungsten, led, and florescent” will impact the colors within the image, minimizing their intensity would make sure you will see the light bulb working but the colors of the image won’t be impacted.
How do you handle blown-out windows in photos?
Windows and views are the most complexes to capture, we will need to divide if we want to see the view out of the window or to “blow” it out (having the windows bright that you can’t see through them).
If we want to avoid the views, we can close the curtains or change an angle to avoid the windows, other methods are to close the shades 3/4 this will reduce the light and block the view.
If we want to see the view outside of the windows we have to first understand, why the windows are usually “blown out”.
The exterior light of the sun is much brighter than the interior light, and sometimes it can be up to 10x times brighter.
So in order to capture the exterior as well as the interior we need to bring the interior light to the same level as the exterior light.
One simple way is to capture HDR 3-7 images one of the exterior one mid and one of the interiors exposed correctly and then combine them in post-production.
The second way and the most esthetic way is to use the studio, speed lights, or led lights to enhance the interior.
Another way is when the sun is starting to set down or rise up, then the interior and exterior light are almost the same for a short period of time.
In the upper image (on top) we used a big source of light with an umbrella (70″) to create a direction of light, imitating the light coming from the windows.
Capturing Interior closeup shoots
Personally, I am “against” capturing details shoots, I believe it direct your client to focus on the “accessories” and not the entire experience leading them to ask where I can buy this item and not why I need an interior designer.
If you do decide to capture those closeups and details shoot, try to find a corner or a spot with multiple elements crossing themselves. Like a sofa fabric with a throw blanket and maybe a corner of a coffee table.
A closeup shoot doesn’t have to be a zoomed of an item, think lifestyle
Images are meant to share a story and we need to incorporate the bigger picture even in close-up shots.
Should I use Rendering or Real Images in my Portfolio?
Using images and rendering can be done once your photographs are the same or better than your renderings.
It’s the most important thing you can do, making sure you don’t market yourself with high-end renderings and mediocre visuals, as ultimately it will tell your client you can’t deliver what you have visioned.
Don’t forget you don’t have the option to communicate to the client more than visuals through your portfolio, social media, advertising, and marketing, as what they see is what they assume.
We always recommend using real visuals where possible.
Tips for Interior Design Photos with Smartphone
Your phone can do a lot but it sometimes needs some help.
- Avoid capturing directly into the sun and windows
- Make sure you are parallel to the floor and at the average height of eye level.
- Enable the grid function on your phone for better guidelines and straighter images.
- Try to avoid shooting wide. zoom slightly for a better look, but don’t zoom too much as digital zoom in the phones will reduce your quality.
- Zooming slightly will help also in reducing reflections in shiny materials
- You can upload it today to Instagram and with another push of a button, you can send it to your Facebook as well so enjoy both worlds in one click.
- Using a smartphone in Interior Design images does not mean you can’t use artificial light to embellish your visual. Simply buy a strong led “wash light” preferability daylight color and place it to the side of your frame.
