Studio photography or lighting in general

[Landshark99]

If anybody needs help or advice on Studio photography or any type of lighting in general, please just post any questions you might have. I have many years of experience and enjoy helping others with tips and advice. My way of giving back to the community. Image from years ago.

• GR
• GR LENS
• 18.3 mm
• ƒ/2.8
• 10/1000 sec
• ISO 1600

 

[Raindog]

Hi Landshark. Your post was great timing! And a very generous offer. I'm looking for advice on lighting interiors. We have a project www.lofftwen.com that is focused on restoring biodiveristy on a hill farm in mid-Wales and I basically took up photography to document the project as it progresses (one of the best decisions I've made). As part of theproject we've restored a 17th century Longhouse which finally opened as a holiday let in May this year (all proceeds go back into the project). It's a breautiful old building, but I'm not happy with the interior shots, and when I'm there next I want to take some we can eventually use to promote Christmas 2023. One of the difficulties is that downstairs there is very little natural light due to the thick walls and small windows. The result from using the existing artificial lights was bad (see https://www.lofftwen.co.uk/stay) but I had to go with what I had, or no photos at all. This time I was thinking of investing in some camera friendly lights but I have no idea where to start, and I don't have a lot of money to invest. Any thoughts or advice would be very welcome. Thanks in advance. Will

 

[Landshark99]

In general lighting interior still lifes with out people are both complicated and simple, there are a number of ways to approach them. You also have to establish what you are looking for in the final image, are you looking for a flattering way to show the space or is the mood the important look you want. The least expensive lighting extra source lights are photo floods, using color temperature correct bulbs to match the existing light in the room, next would be some adj color LED panels or Fluorescent panels. Strobe equipment while offering lost of option is also the most difficult to learn and can be costly.
If all you need is to bring up the overall balance of light in the room you could either bounce a source in to the ceiling or wall behind the camera, if they are white all the better, if not a better option is some form of white bounce like a sheet hung up behind you. If the balance is correct that would bring up your shadow details without over lighting the room. If the lights have dimmers, balance should be easy if not, you can paint with light by turn on and off the lights to individually light parts of the room on a long exposure to achieve that balance. If on the other hand you are looking for of a mood light, putting some form of moderators,barn doors, snoots, flags and or filters on the lights can give you some either subtle or dramatic lighting effects. Just remember that photo floods can get hot, so it might be best to let thme cool down from time to time. Most important is getting your added light sources to color balance with the existing lights, there are bulbs for both existing lights and the added lights that can bring them closer in color temperature.
Please forgive me, looking at the images you have on the site, for me the details ones are stronger, I would suggest cropping some of the overall room images tighter to help with the feel of light. For example the dinning room and fire place shots would look much stronger with less ceiling and side walls, then add some fill light to soften the front of the setting, the living room has a great ceiling but it might have more interest with a tighter shot of the room and a detail of the wood in the ceiling beams. The bedroom shot with the window on the right, cropped tighter and maybe the camera more to the left, letting the window over expose a little to create that mood on the pillows and in the room.
I hope this has been a little bit helpful, if you have any more questions, please ask and let me know if you would rather discuss here or with a pm

 

[Raindog]

This is very helpful, thank you. I should have guesed there wouldn't be an easy answer! If choosing between flattering and mood then flattering would come first, but mood is a close second (tempting people to choose us as their holiday destination).

Do you have any suggestions for good value branded LED panels?

I totally understand your point about tighter shots, and I will certainly keep that in mind. But I think at least some of the images also have show the extent of the spaces they are letting from us and in which they will be spending their holidays.

Thanks again for your detailed response. Much appreciated.

Will

 

[Landshark99]

On which LED panels, I would look for something with as much output as you can afford but critically one that has a continuously adj color temperature, adjustable out put would also be helpful but you can deal with that with exposure and or diffusion filters. As to brands or examples, they are not something I use much, so I would just try a few different ones to find which work best for you.