Interior Lights

[LiamStrain]

I don't understand what you mean by doing the merge manually. It is my understanding that you need software to do the merge.  I am talking about tonemapping with Photomatix, Photoshop, etc.
BTW, I have done HDR and my main reference is Michael Freeman's book, which seems very thorough and makes no mention of merging by hand.

For my use... Rather than tonemapping, I stack the layers, and use layer masks to reveal and blend. Windows for instance, if you have a good exposure for the interior, and then a couple of stops adjusted for better windows, just using a layer mask to swap those is more effective and more natural looking (I feel) than a full tonemap.

Not sure if that's what JoeKitchen meant, but that's my method.

[Craig Lamson]

For my use... Rather than tonemapping, I stack the layers, and use layer masks to reveal and blend. Windows for instance, if you have a good exposure for the interior, and then a couple of stops adjusted for better windows, just using a layer mask to swap those is more effective and more natural looking (I feel) than a full tonemap.

Not sure if that's what JoeKitchen meant, but that's my method.

My method as well.  Never could get a good feel for Photomatrix.

[CBarrett]

I used to always play Stack-n-Mask too, but I'm getting decent stuff out of Photomatix nowadays.  Frequently, though, I'll still layer the result into the base exposure to retain good contrast.  ie.....

[JoeKitchen]

My method as well.  Never could get a good feel for Photomatrix.

That is exactly what I was alluding to.  I also will play with the levels and curves in each layer as well as adjust the percentage that the layer is seen.  I tried Photomerge and others and was always disappointed with the results as compared to this method.  I guess it is like an automatic trans compared to a standard.  Yes the auto work goods, but a stick shift driven by someone who knows what they are doing always seems to run better.  

Also, I really admire how well you light such small interiors, must be a headache sometimes to get everything lit well and not have harsh shadows or hotspots.  

By the way, where can you get suction cup mounts?  What is the company that makes them?

[LiamStrain]

By the way, where can you get suction cup mounts?  What is the company that makes them?

The one I have used is a Manfrotto - but I know both Matthews and Novaflex also make them. Some already set up to take a lightweight pod head or magic arm, others set up for lights - posts.

[pixjohn]

I am not sure if my style is outdated or not, but Its what my clients want. I have wanted to change my style, but the type of projects I have been shooting  just don't work with it.  I have started to use less lighting to work with newer clients budgets.

with out light this room looked boring and dead. 8 - 10 lights and a couple of small mini strobes. 1 hour setup


another image a few years old. 20 - 22 lights plus lots of small mini strobes 3 hours setup




www.JohnGibbel.com

[Kirk Gittings]

Nice work. FWIW, I have long considered the uplights beneath the plants to be outdated. I'm not sure why except that the interior designers I work for quit using those kinds of accents quite a few years ago.

[JoeKitchen]

P.S.  The longest exposed image should be the base layer with no mask applied to it for this method to work. If using more then two layers (which I only do in rare cases since doing so starts to make the image and contrast look surreal), they should be stacked so each layer is progressively a shorter and shorter exposure.  Also, make sure you adjust the exposure using the shutter speed, not the aperture.

[bavanor]

My method as well.  Never could get a good feel for Photomatrix.

Same three.  I do my HDR by hand with Layers.  To me Photomatrix dims the highlights to much and lightens the shadows to much, it just doesn't look right.

Question for CB on your photo you think is a good mix of your old and new style.  The reflection of the window on the wood ceiling, how do you feel about it.  I go back and forth on reflections that cause color balance to shift (in the photo to a blue cool color).  Sometimes I want to remove it completely to represent the materials texture and true balanced color.  But in truth that is how the wood ceiling looks on site.  And I want to show that truth sometimes.  

So my questions to you is would the old you tried to of removed that completely with lighting?  And is the new you trying to keep elements of this sort in your photos?  How about other people here, how you resolve these lighting issues?

Aaron

[Kirk Gittings]

I do a fair amount of work for custom builders to fill in the gaps between real jobs. The budgets are low so I need to work quickly. I have to squeeze a decent set of shots out of a limited time even if the light is not primo. Here is an example of an HDR that to me works (a little surreal I admit). The day was bright overcast. The sun was high and above left. The area under the porch was too dark. If I exposed for the porch the sky blew out. A pain to try and light the porch. Three exposures-2 stop range. Exposure Blend in Photomatix. HDR always needs some aditional adjustments in PS after the blend. HDR is just another tool if used appropriately.
Before and after:
[attachment=18488:Panorama_03.jpg]
[attachment=18491:Panorama.jpg]

[JoeKitchen]

Alright, since we are throwing images out there, here is one that I took recently.  For exteriors, I usually always try and time the image for the correct time of day so that the sun is hitting the side of the building I am shooting.  Doing so usually results in being able to get the image in one shoot I find, but if it is really bright or the face of the building faces north and never gets sun, then I use HDR.  For exteriors though, I only ever use two exposures that are no more then 1.5 stops apart just keep things looking real.  Just so you know, this image also has more editing then just HDR.

By the way, nice job Kirk.  I would have made the sky a little less contrasty, but that is just me.

[pixjohn]

I use less up lights now then in the past, sometimes a dark plant needs a little light, and the uplight is a simple way to fill a dark plant.

Nice work. FWIW, I have long considered the uplights beneath the plants to be outdated. I'm not sure why except that the interior designers I work for quit using those kinds of accents quite a few years ago.

[JoeKitchen]

delete

Okay, feel like an idiot.

[arashm]

Craig:

The best trick to get around shooting cramped boat interiors is to shoot in really Big boats
Kidding aside, I do have to say shooting yacht interiors is absolutely challenging to say the least, thing you never think about, I've had to track down the laundry machine to see that it's causing the mild vibration under the tripod and stuff like that.
I also Stack n Mask manually, to me nothing beats a glass of wine and a Wacom tablet.
the images attached are 5-6 files masked, both for different WB and density as well as outside exposure.
BTW I find for this kind of photography, it's very convenient to have a tripod with the tilting center column, I use the gitzo GT2540EX.

[Craig Lamson]

The one I have used is a Manfrotto - but I know both Matthews and Novaflex also make them. Some already set up to take a lightweight pod head or magic arm, others set up for lights - posts.

I use Bogens, use them with both lights and cameras.   I'm a sucker for grip equipment and alwsys find a place to use the weird stuff.

[Kirk Gittings]

You did not have to do anything just because I said something Kirk, and after seeing new image, in the first one you posted you can see more detail under the roof. The original is a better trade off. Its just that it sort of looks like there is a thunderstorm approaching?

Not sure what you mean. I just added the "before" for reference as an afterthought (and I did realize that on the "after" I had not converted it to sRGB and changed that). Client comments-the contractor loved the HDR because you could see all the rich detail under the roof. He thought it "really came alive". To satisfy him any other way would mean I would have had to light it. Later it ran full page in an article in a  homebuilder magazine. The editor thought it was a bit "surreal" and didn't like it that much but ran it. Personally I like the HDR (I grant you a bit tooooomuch maybe). The straight image just sits there, muddy and lifeless.

[arashm]

The other attachment that did not attach to my previous post...

[Craig Lamson]

Craig:

The best trick to get around shooting cramped boat interiors is to shoot in really Big boats
Kidding aside, I do have to say shooting yacht interiors is absolutely challenging to say the least, thing you never think about, I've had to track down the laundry machine to see that[attachment=18493:DFHT_0036_LR.jpg] it's causing the mild vibration under the tripod and stuff like that.
I also Stack n Mask manually, to me nothing beats a glass of wine and a Wacom tablet.
the images attached are 5-6 files masked, both for different WB and density as well as outside exposure.
BTW I find for this kind of photography, it's very convenient to have a tripod with the tilting center column, I use the gitzo GT2540EX.

Oh yes thats a GREAT solution! I must get me some of those to shoot!  With the 40' and smaller I can shoot indoors, in a warehouse ect.  Then vibration is not a problem.  I use a 30' tethering cable and 30' shutter release cord and work from the ground.  Quite often I'll go inside and move props (usually a tihgt fit past the camera) while the AD and stylist watch and trigger the camera from outside.  My avatar photo is the result of one such time.  I just stuck my head in front of the 12 mm while the AD triggered the camera and waited for the roar of laughter when the image popped up!

I have a number of 'pods, but my favorite for this stuff is an old Bogen, small and light and I can fit the camera pressed against a wall or tihgt in a corner.  Most of the time its impossible to look through the viewfinder.

[Craig Lamson]

Not sure what you mean. I just added the "before" for reference as an afterthought (and I did realize that on the "after" I had not converted it to sRGB and changed that). Client comments-the contractor loved the HDR because you could see all the rich detail under the roof. He thought it "really came alive". Later it ran full page in an article in a  homebuilder magazine. The editor thought it was a bit "surreal" and didn't like it that much but ran it. Personally I like the HDR (I grant you a bit tooooomuch maybe). The straight image just sits there, muddy and lifeless.

Are you using exposure blending or tone mapping?

[Kirk Gittings]

Are you using exposure blending or tone mapping?

Exposure blend plus some additional post mainly to perk up the midtones which tend to get a little flat and lifeless.

I like Tony Kuyper's Luminoscity Masks for this.