Why Lighting is So Important in Professional Interior Photography

George Eastman, a man who founded the Eastman Kodak Company (yes, that Kodak) in 1892 and spent his life bringing photography into the mainstream, had this to say about light: “Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” And it’s true – the right lighting can turn a good photo into a great one, and bad lighting (or a lack of lighting) can ruin a shot even beyond the powers of photoshop.

L6.jpg

Interior Lighting: A Tale of Two Sources

You’ve been living with interior lighting your entire life, but you may have not thought too hard consciously about how it changes a room and its mood (more concerned with, for example, having enough light to work with). Your professional photographer is going to keep an eye on two things during their walkthrough and manipulate both the scene and their settings to optimize them.

L7.jpg

Interior Natural Lighting

Natural lighting can transform shots, even inside, let alone how they dictate when to shoot building exteriors. It feels natural to the human eye and can highlight the strength of your building’s architecture. And it can even be helped to look “more natural” through the mastery of Lightroom and Photoshop.

Interior Artificial Lighting

Depending on the room being shot, artificial light can be an addition or a necessity. There are three major types of artificial light, all of which have their own influence on the photography, from the warm light of incandescent light bulbs, the green cast of fluorescent lighting, to the bright white light of LEDs.

A Practical Gallery to Interior Lighting

Below is a gallery showing off various photos of interiors, along with any comments about their lighting.

Gregg Shupe has a long history of professional architectural photography for the Boston area and beyond. From shooting residential houses for the market (including difficult kitchens and bathrooms), to the rooms and common areas of resorts and hotels for their online bookings. Ready to find the light? Contact him at Shupe Studios. We provide photography to the homes and businesses of Boston and beyond.