Pixiq

The demand for photographs of interiors is tremendous. Restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions need to advertise. Even local shops and offices need interior photography for brochures and records. In addition, manufacturers of home goods from furniture to kitchen appliances want to advertise their products in their natural setting.

The biggest problem for photographers entering the profession of interior photography is lighting. It’s not so much about the proper lens or the best camera to use, but more about how to control the light throughout the room. Whether it’s the bright streaks of sunlight through the window or dark shadows in corners and under cabinets, the difficulty remains; the range of light must be captured and look natural. After all, clients want the pictures to look as if the eye is seeing it.

Traditional photography setups for interiors include a wide array of lighting equipment and the use of medium format cameras. Not only is the initial investment substantial, it takes years to master the lighting ratios and numerous combinations of lighting setups. It’s no surprise that few photographers have entered the field of interior photography. So herein lies the question: Can HDR photography close the gap by offering images that suit clients’ needs using with relatively little lighting equipment? It certainly can.

The most important thing to focus on for the aspiring architectural interiors HDR photographer is realism. Excessive tone mapping should be avoided, as should flatness in the image. The final tone mapped image may require blending with one or several of the single source images to create a natural feel.

In situations where the interior space has windows to the outside, the dynamic range can be very high. To properly capture the full dynamic range, shoot seven or nine exposures at 1EV spacing, or 5 exposures @2EV spacing. It is also important to check the in-camera histogram to confirm that the highlights aren’t blown and the shadow details are properly exposed.

Many interior settings consist of a dimly lit room with a bright window. This creates a scene of high contrast, and if the window is small relative to the overall composition, the camera can incorrectly meter the window area. There are a few options available. The first option is switch to spot metering and meter for the bright area and then progressively add overexposed images until the full dynamic range is captured. Checking the histogram of the most overexposed image is very helpful with this option. The second option is to take an AEB image set then add some additional underexposed images to ensure proper exposure of the window light. This latter method may require seven exposures at 1EV spacing followed by two additional underexposed images, one at –4EV and one at –5EV.

White balance can be a challenge when photographing interior architecture. Incandescent light is mixed with daylight, and the color temperatures are 3000K and 5200K, respectively. Splitting the difference in color temperature and exposing at 4200K is an option. However, many interiors benefit from the added warmth of the incandescent lighting, thus a setting over 4200K works well. If you are shooting RAW files, getting white balance exactly right during shooting isn’t as much of a priority, as it can be changed in post processing. Those who shoot JPEGs should always preset the white balance very carefully in-camera, though.

HDR photography offers the benefit of bringing the outdoor scene into the room. In the case of the planter box and deck outside the window the image above, this is certainly an advantage. However, creating a sense of light filling the room also has its advantages. For example, the outdoor scene in the dining room below is uninteresting and serves no added benefit by being well-exposed. By increasing the white point to 5% and adding Highlights Smoothing in Photomatix Pro, the distracting details outside disappear and the increased light across the buffet table eliminates the feeling of being in a cave.