Indoor architectural photography

[sestevens]

I do a lot of outdoor photography and indoor photography, but have

never been reliant on a flash, instead opting for natural light. I'm

going to be taking indoor photographs of some architectural pieces

where there will be artificial lighting. I utilize a Canon 10D so I

can use the Hotshoe flash. What is a recommended flash for indoor

photography or should I use some sort of slave instead? I'm

completely ignorant about indoor shooting so any help, or even

pointing me in a direction I can find out more would be much

appreciated.

[ellis_vener_photography]

try using just the existing light first, maybe at different times of day. professional

architectural

photographers use supplemental lighting, either hot lights or flash, to reinforce the

existing lighting or solve contrast problems, or to make a client's product stand out more.

And don't forget your tripod!.

[gary_ferguson1]

Sterling, I've been doing a lot of indoor architectural photography recently as part of a heritage recording project here in the UK. I've really been struck by just how useless on-camera flash is for the task.

 

It's not usually the power of the flash that's the issue, even in quitelarge rooms, it's the location, light spread and balancing with natural light.

 

The general approach that I'm tending to favour is to use natural light as the primary light source and then compensate for the most serious shortcomings with the smallest possible amount of flash.

 

Usually I try and locate the flash half way between the camera and the windows so as not to fight too much with the natural light direction. I find brollies spill too much light so tend to use a medium softbox, or bounce the flash off a white wall or ceiling. Bouncing also helps solve another flash problem which is that near features are more strongly illuminated than the far corners of the room.

[jeffrey_abelson]

Do most architectural photographers shoot with tungsten balanced film? Or do they use daylight balanced film?

Or do they carry both?

 

thanks!

[joshwand]

<p>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/082304016X/">Photographing Buildings Inside and Out</a> by <a href="http://www.normanmcgrath.com/">Norman McGrath</a>

 

<p>ISBN: 082304016X