Interior photos...what settings do you use?

[ldelacruz]

I need to take some interior photos of an art gallery and showcase the art at the same time. I want to do something like what you would see in a Home and Garden magazine.

I have a Canon 30D and will use Alien Bees for lighting. My question is what settings do you use?

Manual, AV or TV?
Ideal shutter speed?
Ideal Aperature?
ISO?
Metering Mode?
White balance setting?
Lens?
28mm on my 30D was not wide enough for most shots...but I don't want it to look distorted.

below is a couple of examples...it is large objects not wall art...and this is what the gallery is like. Concrete floor with sheetrock walls painted white with track lighting and the lighting is regular lightbulbs so it gives a brown tint to the white...in the photos they want the whites to look pure white.

[laawaaris]

i just shot for the opening for this gallery's exhibit this past saturday ! ... that's the gallery owner in the corner of the 2nd photo isn't it?

i to be a fantastic place to shoot ... use the white walls to your advantage, the light will bounce very nicely off the walls ... and if you do a little creative bouncing you might come up with better results ...

below are a few examples of images i took at this gallery as well ...

my settings hovered around - Shutter=1/90, F-Stop=5.6 and ISO at 400 ... this was a bit underexposed out of the camera so probably a bit more fill light from my flash or more ISO would help ...

i dont know why 28mm did not work for you ... u probably need to be narrower than that, but it depends on exactly what you are shooting and what you want to accomplish ...

when are you going to shoot the gallery pieces?

[laawaaris]

i didnt realize u were going to shoot these pieces professionally and so forth ...

for that you might have to try to play with settings and see what works and what doesn't ...

hopefully others can give good pro advice if they have done this type (art photos) before

[ldelacruz]

Originally Posted by laawaaris

i didnt realize u were going to shoot these pieces professionally and so forth ...

for that you might have to try to play with settings and see what works and what doesn't ...

hopefully others can give good pro advice if they have done this type (art photos) before

What a small world...I am going to go back on Thursday evening if you would like to tag along?

She also wanted shots of the Gallery rooms and 28mm was too long. If I could find a 17-55 or even an 18-55 I think it would help.

[laawaaris]

i'd love to tag along ... i shoot nikon which sucks b/c it looks like you shoot canon ... otherwise i'd let you use my gear

[sbp]

Originally Posted by ldelacruz

What a small world...I am going to go back on Thursday evening if you would like to tag along?

She also wanted shots of the Gallery rooms and 28mm was too long. If I could find a 17-55 or even an 18-55 I think it would help.

I have sigma 10-20. if you want to borrow it let me know.

[XJBaylor]

First, for something like this there are no optimal settings. Each shot may require very unique settings, which will change drastically based on what you are trying to accomplish with each shot.

As for as equipment, I recommend you get (buy/rent/borrow) a wide angle such as the 10-22, 12-24, 10-20, etc. Just shoot a few mm from either end (use 14-22 on a 12-24)
and you will be able to avoid distortion.

The mix of light (ambient and flash) will determine your settings, but I recommend using manual of aperture priority, because that will give you control over that mix of light.

Try to bounce the light as much as possible, and shoot light across exhibits that you want to give depth, try to never have your lights coming from behind you.

Finally, use a good tripod, and think through each shot before you start setting up your equipment. What is the mood? What is your goal? What height should I shoot from? Where should the light come from?

Using a tripod will also allow you to shoot with ambient light, and in most galleries the lighting is tailored to each exhibit.

Best of luck.

Keith

Originally Posted by ldelacruz

I need to take some interior photos of an art gallery and showcase the art at the same time. I want to do something like what you would see in a Home and Garden magazine.

I have a Canon 30D and will use Alien Bees for lighting. My question is what settings do you use?

Manual, AV or TV?
Ideal shutter speed?
Ideal Aperature?
ISO?
Metering Mode?
White balance setting?
Lens?
28mm on my 30D was not wide enough for most shots...but I don't want it to look distorted.

below is a couple of examples...it is large objects not wall art...and this is what the gallery is like. Concrete floor with sheetrock walls painted white with track lighting and the lighting is regular lightbulbs so it gives a brown tint to the white...in the photos they want the whites to look pure white.

[ldelacruz]

Thanks everyone for all the help and advice.

Sachin,
Thanks for the lens offer...it will be a huge help for the interior shots.

[TexasTrails]

I'm just lurking in this particular forum, but I truly love the comradry here. Hope your shoot turns out great Lonnie.

[laawaaris]

hey lonnie, good to meet you yesterday ... you have some seriously good lighting gear

sorry i couldn't stay the entire time, but it was something fun for me to shoot still objects like that ...

i haven't been able to look at the shots yet, but hopefully they turned out the way you and the gallery wanted

[chris nosnah]

thanks for the info