Question please help - Interior Lighting

[steveng6920]

I am going to be shooting the interior of a salon where my wife works this Monday and I've never done interiors before so I'm not sure what to use for lighting. Do I use just my speedlight or strobes? What give the best results?

[rab3rd]

If there is no movement, you could just use a tripod and long shutter speed. That's my preference when shooting interiors. In answer to your question which will be better has many factors that would determine the answer. How big is the room, what modifiers do you have for each, how much ambient light is available...

[steveng6920]

Well that's going to be the tricky part...some parts have great ambiant lighting and others parts are small dark rooms. Its a two story salon and spa and he wants photos throughout the entire place. The downstairs reception area is huge and has lots of great natural light but then the massage rooms are small and dark. Thank you for your help!

[groovyone]

Moved to lighting where you may get more input.

[rab3rd]

I would say that the size of the dark rooms will dictate which lights you use. take a flash and a strobe with some modifiers and do multi shoots with each light type and then you can learn from it. :-)

[steveng6920]

That is a good idea I will do just that! That way I know for sure I can get some good shots if I go fully prepared! Thank You!

[crbeveri]

although not gear, when you take the shots make sure your images depict the feel of the room. IE: The reception area should have a welcoming feel where as the massage rooms should give a tranquil zen kind of feel (warm yet dim imo). I would think about that along with what Rob has said when deciding on what lights and accessories to bring.

[texxter]

I agree with the idea that the images should reflect the mood of the space, but in an enhanced manner. I am not a photographer of spaces, but I have found that sometimes ambient light plus light HDR works really well - for example check this image here, or here, with ambient and HDR. However, if the ambient light is not there, you may be better off just creating light with flash(es) and how exactly this is done will depend on the size of the room, mood and other considerations. Lighting interiors can be tricky, so try to keep it simple by bouncing light and filling the space, if that's the mood required, or using spots if you want to put emphasis on specific areas. Share your results!

[steveng6920]

Oh wow Paco those are amazing spaces and I looove the lighting! I agree with Chris as well about the mood of the space because the spa part has a very relaxing feel to it its dark and quiet so I think using subtle lighting to keep it with the dark, relaxing feel would be best for that part. I'm glad I asked because usually when I go into a situation I haven't been in I start to panic and just start firing away making sure everything is lit really brightly. Then when I go to review the pics I'm like why did I do that??? I hate that panic mode... =/

[texxter]

Originally Posted by steveng6920

Oh wow Paco those are amazing spaces and I looove the lighting! I agree with Chris as well about the mood of the space because the spa part has a very relaxing feel to it its dark and quiet so I think using subtle lighting to keep it with the dark, relaxing feel would be best for that part. I'm glad I asked because usually when I go into a situation I haven't been in I start to panic and just start firing away making sure everything is lit really brightly. Then when I go to review the pics I'm like why did I do that??? I hate that panic mode... =/

Steven, thanks. On the first shot the dynamic range was huge, as the light by the window was 5 or 6 f-stops brighter than the light hitting the fridge on the back wall. With ambient light only the kitchen area would have been pretty dark to keep the window from being overexposed. I did 5 or exposures, 1 f-stop apart and then let HDR do the magic without letting the postprocessing get too visible. You can do this technique where you have lots of light filling a large space - the dynamic range will be large.

In the massage rooms I would just use flash. For example bounce a weak speedlight off the ceiling or a white reflector and then put a grid on the ceiling pointing down, with a warm gel pointing straight down where the massage table and towels are. That one way to think about, where does the light need to go? And how much fill do I need to make sure there is enough illumination to be able to see the darker parts, but it's not a room filled with light. It may take a bit of planning ahead - if I were you, I'd go back to the place and plan each image carefully, so that you do the thinking ahead of time - take some light measurements and some snapshots, and at home sketch your lighting approach for each room. This is more important than whether you use a strobe or a speedlight. That would be a detail once you know what needs to be done.

Good luck!

[prncfarquad]

When I take images of our apartments we manage I use a speedlight and always bounce off of the wall or ceiling. This gives me a nice soft light without the hard shadows. Most of my rooms have large windows and if I don't want them completely blown out then I have to under expose for them and use flash to light the room. Also depending on your lights white balance can be a bear! shoot in RAW if you have variations in lights (incandescent vs flour vs sodium, etc.)

[steveng6920]

Thank you guys so much! You have all been very helpful and given me a whole lot to think about, lol! Paco I wish you lived in Houston cause I am so technically challenged...even reading it I'm like wait wait and have to really think about it, ahaha I'm such a visual person. I have to see people do something then I'm like ah gotcha ;)

[rab3rd]

Help, thats what Pixtus is all about... So many members, so many ideas and experience...

[hdctx]

Fir the dark interior rooms, you might take a lamp with a shade and one of those big daylight fluorescents to go with your flash. That and something to bounce the flash.