Interior Lights

[Kirk Gittings]

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This quote from your website makes me smile....

Makes sense to me. I think there is a difference between "documenting" and being "in the business".

[JoeKitchen]

HDR if handled judiciously can help, but I feel like the next generation of HDR algorithms will be much more useful for producing truly believable results.

When ever I use HDR for a shot, I always do the merging manually.  I find the programs that preform HDR for you never give great results.  I attached a pic that I took recently in which I used tungsten lighting and HDR due to the ceiling lights in the room which gave off incredible hot spots.  I think that it came out very true to the space.

[JoeKitchen]

I also should mention that I set up and shot the ceiling and then (without moving the camera) set up for the floor and desks.  Then merged the two images in photoshop.

[ASSEMBLY]

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This quote from your website makes me smile....

It's open to interpretation, but I have been photographing my work for the various firms I've worked for for 10+ years and many of those photos have been published.  It was only recently that I went out and starting photographing other designer's work.

[tesfoto]

It's open to interpretation, but I have been photographing my work for the various firms I've worked for for 10+ years and many of those photos have been published.  It was only recently that I went out and starting photographing other designer's work.

It was a friendly smile.

I like your website and spend some interesting time at your Blog.

[ASSEMBLY]

It was a friendly smile.

I like your website and spend some interesting time at your Blog.

Thanks Tes.  Thats the problem with the internet, a friendly smile or an unfriendly smile, they both just show up as a smile

I really wish I had some more time to keep the blog up to date.  Knowing someone (other than me) is reading certainly helps to motivate.

[PatrikR]

I carry the same kit to every interiors job.  The one time that I leave something I never use at home, I'm going to need it!

5x Profoto D1 500 Air  (love these!  use them as hot lights too, beautiful light and really fine control)
6x Dedolight 150's  (the ulitmate inky!  150 watts with a spotted intensity as bright as an Arri 300 + on board dimmer)
3x Mole Inkies  (these will flood broader than the Dedos.  I use them when the light has to be real close)
8x Lowel Omnis  (crappy but effective workhorse 600watts, flood and spot, usually throw them through a silk or ceiling bounce)
4x Smith Victor Flood  (you usually see these on top of wedding videographers cameras, I never use them, but 600 watts each in tiny space good backup light)

15 8' Stands
4 13' Stands
2 12x12 Silks
4 3x6 Diffusion Panels

Chris' Inky Review

I recall this shot at LAX took every light I had... also, I like to carry an incline vial... had my assistant set the tilt on the monitors all to the same angle.  Ok, yeah, I'm a little crazy, besides being a gear junky.



-C

Hey Mr Barret,

Since you're a tech junkie and interior photographer of great skill you should get for yourself this christmas Leica D8. The super cool range finder. It calculates every triginometric angle for you and measures distances to the mm. It comes with a digital camera for precise aiming to 200 metres.

The price was about 650 euros so it's not that bad!

http://www.leica-geosystems.com/en/Laser-D...TO-D8_78069.htm

So that not been completely off topic for interiors I have used mostly Dedo lights, (I have 8 units) and lowel Tota lights as well as modeling lights from my broncolor heads (650W).

Patrik

[PatrikR]

Put the Leica D8 on top of your camera it tells the tilt angle. Amazing device.

[CBarrett]

Thanks Kirk for getting to Sean's question... it was the same answer I would of given.  Just got in from shooting.  5am to 5pm... 5 Pictures.  Did some Lit and unlit exposures just for you guys.  This was some of the most involved lighting we've done in a while.



Even when you have a lot of nice soft daylight coming in, you can pick up accents here and there to refine things.


Sillks to diffuse windows and various hotlights to add richness overall.


Sometimes you just gotta get up on it!


Man, I am beat!  Couple glasses of CB's sangria then bed.

[Kirk Gittings]

Chris,

Great for you to show us how you work. I think I would have approached those spaces very differently, not to say that my results would have been better, but it is very enlightening to see how someone else works. Thanks for that.

Twice I have had to photograph spaces that Nick Merrick also shot. Once before him and once after him. It was very educational to have the opportunity to compare final products.

[stewarthemley]

Chris,

Great for you to show us how you work. I think I would have approached those spaces very differently, not to say that my results would have been better, but it is very enlightening to see how someone else works. Thanks for that.

Twice I have had to photograph spaces that Nick Merrick also shot. Once before him and once after him. It was very educational to have the opportunity to compare final products.

Kirk and Chris, you both produce work that I admire greatly and thanks to you both for sharing your views and techniques. Kirk, would you care to give details about how you would have lit (or not) these spaces?

[Craig Lamson]

Thanks Kirk for getting to Sean's question... it was the same answer I would of given.  Just got in from shooting.  5am to 5pm... 5 Pictures.  Did some Lit and unlit exposures just for you guys.  This was some of the most involved lighting we've done in a while.
  Nice stuff.

[CBarrett]

Hi Chris
Hope you don't mind me using your image in this example - but this is to show roughly what I would have been aiming to achieve..

I like to use light to add depth to an image - draw the viewer through it or into it.
Also you will see, I have added a person - to create a focal point or point of interest - which again I feel helps draw the viewer's eye through... as well as add a bit of life.

No rights or wrongs of course - just a different approach and style.

Cheers,
Ashley.

Heh, I almost did that with one of Marc's shots a couple weeks ago to show how I would of lit it, but I was afraid of stepping on his toes.  I'm glad you didn't shy away from that as I think it was a good example.  I like the person, but often leave that up to the client.  I do think that bronze door needs to be lit though, when you "turned it's light off" it became kind of a black hole.

What I would typically do is use my final, lit, exposure and then using curves with gradient masks to produce the effect you have by turning some lights off.

Now that I think about it, I really like the idea of an unlit exposure at the end of the bracket so I could selectively go in and either "turn lights off" or rheostat them down with layer opacity.

Hey!  A new trick!  Of course, the space SHOULD be lit perfectly on scene, not requiring any further manipulation!  But then how many times when retouching, have I gone downstairs, made coffee, gone back up to the computer and looking at the screen wonder, "WTH was I thinking?"

I think this was a great exercise, thanks for the input Ashley.  I'll have to post the retouched version as well.

-Chris

[Kirk Gittings]

Kirk and Chris, you both produce work that I admire greatly and thanks to you both for sharing your views and techniques. Kirk, would you care to give details about how you would have lit (or not) these spaces?

I really hesitate to do this. I hate to do Monday morning quarterbacking on anyone, but especially someone as masterful as CB (whose work I have admired for years. I think he is one of the contemporary American masters of interior lighting.........seriously) and on a space I haven't even seen first hand. AND as I said before, let me make this clear, I'm not saying my approach would produce a better product. This is simply how I would approach these spaces for my aesthetic, for my typical clients who are largely architects and shelter magazines-not interior designers. My approach may not be what his clients are looking for at all. They hired CB for a reason.

I like allot of drama and mixed light sources (mixed light that looks good together like incandescent and daylight-IMO green florescents never look good). I can't tell what I am seeing out the windows (blue sky? is this in a high rise office building overlooking the lake?), but with the first two spaces, I think I would set up for a shot at twilght for the first two=utilizing as much of the existing, designed in, light as possible, letting the outside go very blue on the second which appears to be lit with halogens and on the first which appears to be lit with flourescents let the sky go bluish magenta and correct it to a more pleasing color in post. The third image I would approach very similarly as CB but I tend to bounce allot of my fill off the ceilings when they are white rather than build big diffusers. Beyond that I would have to be there. And now I have to run to lunch with a friend.........

[marc gerritsen]

Heh, I almost did that with one of Marc's shots a couple weeks ago to show how I would of lit it, but I was afraid of stepping on his toes.  

-Chris

LOL
that is really funny as I did the same with one of your shots.
and then also did not dare to post it.

all we can do is learn
no sensitive toes here

ok here we go
what I did and reasons why
darkened the left side of the photo; to "close" it off a bit and direct the attention to the more interesting design sections of the stairs and chairs.
lightening of the chairs; for me they are one of the main design ingredients.
also lightening a bit the blue wall and green glass and the dark ceiling over the blue chairs
I also stretched the photo slightly on the left side towards the top, as to me the whole photo seemed on a "slippery slope" towards the left bottom

please show me yours!

cheers
m

PS
before everyone one starts to download photos from my website and starts to post "re-retouched" versions of them here, please don't
only photos that I post here are up for retouch discussion

 



 

[CBarrett]

Dammit, Marc!  Now I have to go retouch that shot!

Well, I did always want to go back and remove those air diffusers anyway.

I wouldn't touch composition, though.  I put that triangular ceiling element perfectly in the corner and like how it plays off of the corner of the rug.

I really enjoy this.  Coming out of Hedrich Blessing, I'm quite accustomed to taking some hard criticism.  When I was new on camera and would make some silly obvious mistake, Nick would say to me "Why did you decide to do that?" inferring that every square centimeter of the composition had come under my scrutinization and that I was accountable for every element.

He was of course right to point that out.  From then on, after I shot each final polaroid, I would walk off set to somewhere quiet and examine every millimeter of the composition (frequently making some minor adjustment afterward and reshooting).  Perfection was to be expected.

[marc gerritsen]

Dammit, Marc!  Now I have to go retouch that shot!

Well, I did always want to go back and remove those air diffusers anyway.

I wouldn't touch composition, though.  I put that triangular ceiling element perfectly in the corner and like how it plays off of the corner of the rug.

I really enjoy this.  Coming out of Hedrich Blessing, I'm quite accustomed to taking some hard criticism.  When I was new on camera and would make some silly obvious mistake, Nick would say to me "Why did you decide to do that?" inferring that every square centimeter of the composition had come under my scrutinization and that I was accountable for every element.

He was of course right to point that out.  From then on, after I shot each final polaroid, I would walk off set to somewhere quiet and examine every millimeter of the composition (frequently making some minor adjustment afterward and reshooting).  Perfection was to be expected.

i am re-editing my website and looked at photos from even 2 years ago and when re-examening them thought sometimes "I would never do that again like that"
I think we all have blind spots and I hope others can help me shed light on mine!
cheers
m

[stewarthemley]

Thanks for your response, Kirk. It's so interesting to see different interpretations of the same scene. As has been said, so much depends on the purpose of the image/client's wishes, etc, that there's not often, if ever, a "correct" way. Thanks again, Kirk, Chris, Marc et al.

[PetterStahre]

Just wanted to chime in and thank all you posters for a very entertaining and equally educational thread. Thanks a lot for your time and effort.
(Personally I work mainly with food and people photography but I always enjoy expertise and insightful thoughts.) Cheers to you! // Petter

[CBarrett]

Marc G.  Ver 2.0


I evened out the wood and brightened it a little and both layers of wood in the reflection.  Cropped some off the right side (found door pulls distracting)
Lit chairs.
Added light to ceiling recess.
Removed downlight near top edge.
Darkened corners ala lens vignette.
Lastly, I would of turned all the lights off and exposed the windows to get a reflection free view to drop in.  My changes don't make or break the shot, and it was good to start with... just how I would of spent an extra hour tuning it.

Kirk's remarks on mine were interesting.. I've actually been moving away from the more dramatic lighting.  Having to incorporate the architect's use of daylight into much of my work has caused my lighting to evolve in the last few years.  I think the moody stuff is beautiful, but it just feels dated to me now.  I felt so strongly about the look that I threw out the first 10 years of my portfolio.

I'm working on a look that still has sexiness but feels more organic, more sensitive to the design.  

Old Barrett  

New Barrett  

and just for yucks, a more recent shot that I'm really happy with the lighting on thats maybe halfway in between the two looks..


Of course, I'm still learning, still evolving, still having fun...

-cb