Architectural Photography

[petersod713]

Hey, everyone,

Does anyone have any tips for shooting architectural interiors? I've been shooting general photography for around 7 years. I'm not worried about composition, but more technical stuff.

I have a Canon 5D with a 17-40mm f/4 L lens. I have a photoflex softbox with a 1000w bulb. I'm shooting my first house on Tuesday and if I do it well, it would mean a lot of future business.

Any quick tips would be great. Some questions I have: How do you properly light interiors? What's the perfect lens for interiors? Tips on white balance?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[gilp]

I'm not sure that a 17mm lens is wide enough to do worthy interiors. While 17mm may seem wide, du to lens distortion, you'd have to trim a good 20% of the image...leaving you with a fairly narrow field of view.

I would recommend you rent (or purchase) a 14mm lens, the canon 14mm L is a stellar piece of glass and will really permitt you some nice creative composition.





Natural light is a must for interiors, and flash usage needs to be almost transparent to truly reveal the vibe, in both these shots, multiple flash on long exposures were used to "key" light important sections.

[prinothcat]

To get wider you may want to look into a Tokina 12-24 F4. They get good write ups, and go for a reasonable price. I would also consider adding a distortion correction step to your post production work flow. Either inthe form of a stand alone step or a photoshop filter.

[petersod713]

Well, I didn't have time to rent a different lens so it looks like I'm going with the 17-40mm. I ordered Photoshop CS3 and had heard that they have a 'distortion' filter that corrects this kind of thing. Can anyone confirm that? please, please, please...

[marxz]

Well, I didn't have time to rent a different lens so it looks like I'm going with the 17-40mm. I ordered Photoshop CS3 and had heard that they have a 'distortion' filter that corrects this kind of thing. Can anyone confirm that? please, please, please...

yes and no... it will save a bit of cropping compared to normal "crop out the distortion" but you will still need to crop some distortion that is induced by teh filter -

sounds counter intuative? well if your lens has some barrel distortion, once it comes through the filters you'll see your picture is warped out of true (the straight edges are no longer straight) and you have to crop around it.

so you lose the distortion but still lose the extreme edges of your frame.

[gilp]

Yep, no software can make up for the mechanics of lens distortion.

[prinothcat]

Yep, no software can make up for the mechanics of lens distortion.

this one sure looks like it does a good job....
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/dxo/optics-pro.htm (with examples)
and a link to the free demo so one can judge for one's self.
http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/free_demo
Disclaimer: I run neither an Apple/Mac product nor a Windoze machine so I can't do the testing and report back....

[marxz]

Yep, no software can make up for the mechanics of lens distortion.

this one sure looks like it does a good job....
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/dxo/optics-pro.htm (with examples)
and a link to the free demo so one can judge for one's self.
http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/free_demo
Disclaimer: I run neither an Apple/Mac product nor a Windoze machine so I can't do the testing and report back....

yes but roll your mouse over the image and see how much of the edge you lose.. seriously that's like going from 14mm to 17mm (ok so from a very barrelled 14mm to mildly barrelled 17mm)....

because of the very nature of distortion you can not "undistort" without losing some information if you want to keep the edges true.


I'm not saying distortion removal software is bad mmmmkay....
I use it my self occasionally - just that it's not a magic bullet and if your going to plan to use it remember that you still have to shoot wider than you plan to use... just that you can use "cheaper" (less linearly correct) lenses to do the job. my ultra wide of choice it the sigma 10-20 no shining star but good value for money - but with lens distortion removal tools it effectively becomes a working 14-24mm

I'm no pro so my opinions are just that of an amateur observer

[jestev]

To get wider you may want to look into a Tokina 12-24 F4. They get good write ups, and go for a reasonable price. I would also consider adding a distortion correction step to your post production work flow. Either inthe form of a stand alone step or a photoshop filter.

The OP is using a 5D. The Tokina 12-24 is only for digital crop sensors.

I'd suggest looking into renting a 14mm L the next time you do an interior.

[gilp]

You don't go to a gunfight with a knife... the right tools for the right job. No software can make up for physical issues....and an "ok" lens will not yield the same result as a "stellar" lens.

Of course there is always the issue of "expectations"... some people have higher expectations than others...

[agroni]

Personalyl i wouldnt go lower than 17mm lens. The lower you go the more barrel distortion you get. And for this i can asure you that is not wanted in architectural photography. Doesnt it look strange when the wall is curved though it has so much loads to carry that it bends?
I think the sense is to capture the elements when talking about interior. I'd better do a stich photo than a distortet photo where the eye has no chance on seeing that way. And offcourse shoot from eye level.

As for lightin, i would avoid using flash. Better use the original lighting of the building. In some cases due to low light you might need to use a tripod

[memejr1949]

If you are using a canon camera, the best architectural lens is the ts-e 24 L

[dharden]

It just so happens I've been doing these very sorts of shoots for the past few weeks (and did some last year!). In fact it's the main reason I haven't updated my gallery for a while! Gear I'm using? Canon 5D with a 17-40L lens!

I'm shooting Pub refit results for an Architect from Manchester (UK). Last year I was using a 20D with Sigma 10-20, which is a better lens than you might expect but does soften a lot at the edges. The 5D gives you more scope (in my experience) to bring the shadows up without noise becoming obvious.

I make use of the distort filter in photoshop CS3 if necessarybut you have to be prepared to scale-up and lose the edges sometimes. The main thing to remember beforehand is to keep the camera level and not pointing up or down if at all possible. Having said that, sometimes the effect can be used to add impact. Also you will need to get it as parallel as you can to facing walls or straight features to keep them looking level, otherwise it's back to the distort filter! How much distortion you can allow will depend on the client's requirements - mine is only after a representation of the work that they did.

In reality the 17-40 isn't really wide enough for smaller rooms. The lens you need, particularly for, say, a room in a house (and the one i'll be getting next) for versatility is the Sigma 12-24 EX. It's rectilinear, not fisheye, suits full frame and is excellent quailty - check warehouse express (Uk site) for a review by pro photographer Andy Rouse (he likes it).

I'd also advise using at least one studio flash on a stand with a translucent brolly attached. I'm currently using a Metz 58AF gun bounced off ceilings / walls / whatever works to diffuse it, but it isn't really powerful enough for the bigger rooms. You use the studio flash through the brolly, angled up at the ceiling (and as close to it as possible) and this should help create "non obvious" lighting. The top pros hide wireless flashguns behind some features to remove shadows, and some even put flashes in adjoing rooms if they can be seen through a doorway!

You NEED flash inside unless there is an abundance of natural light. Every Pub i've shot so far is quite dark inside and the lighting quite localised for atmosphere. The flash evens things out a lot. One thing I do is to put a colour balancing gel filter over the flash to match it to the interior lights. I can dial in the required white balance for the whole scene then! I recently shot my M&D in-law's bathroom and kitchen refits for a local joiner and they're now on a full page ad in a magazine - all shot with flash bounced off the ceiling.

I can probably upload a couple of samples if required. I tend to keep them off my gallery cos it's commercial work but I'm sure they wouldn't mind me uploading the odd one (my bro works for 'em!).

Right, off to clear the memory cards and get ready for tomorrow's (todays I guess!) shoot......

HTH!