Interior photography can be one of the trickiest forms of photography, whether you are talking about digital photography or film photography. The key to getting good interior photography shots is to understand what exactly you are trying to do. For those who are taking pictures for showing a home, the rules will be slightly different than for those who are taking pictures of people indoors. The following photography tips should help those who are having trouble or who are just beginning to learn photography.
Despite these differences, there is one thing that will be the same -- the white balance considerations. Interior photography is a different situation simply because most film, and even most digital cameras, are set by default to take pictures outdoors. Thus, when a photographer wants to take pictures indoors, some adjustments will be needed to get the best photos. This will include putting lens filters, such as a Tiffen FL-D filter. Digital cameras can often set the white balance through a process on the menu screen. Many have a one-touch feature which will automatically adjust white balance for different types of lighting, such as outdoors, incandescent and fluorescent.
Another factor, in addition to the color considerations, will be the lighting itself. Interior photography comes with its own special challenges regarding lighting. For those who are looking at taking pictures of architecture or different rooms, not people, the best advice is to forget the flash. Flashes do not distribute light equally. Therefore, to get the most natural reproduction, no flash should be used. Longer exposures will be necessary, which will require the use of a tripod.
If using interior photography to take pictures of rooms themselves, there are a number of other tips as that come in handy as well. A wide angle lens will make a room look larger, as will less clutter. Further, those taking pictures of rooms for use in a magazine or real estate usually want the viewers to imagine themselves in that room. Therefore, they often prefer the room to be empty. Other people in the photo will automatically draw the eye to those people.
Taking photos of people can be an entirely different situation. With digital photography especially, it is important to get as close to the subject as possible if the room is darker. This is because digital cameras often do not take very good pictures in low light situations from a great distance, even with a flash.