Houses, Gardens, Décor: Tips and Photographers Who Do It

[dinora_de_rivera]

<p>I'm interested in doing the kind of photography you find in gardening, architecture and décor, and lifestyle magazines, such as Germany's <em>Wohnen und Garten</em>, <em>Landhaus</em>, France's <em>Art & Décoration</em>, Italy's <em>Grazia Casa</em>, <em>Casa Facile</em>, <em>Marie </em><em>Claire Maison, Ville e Giardini, </em>USA's <em>Town & Country</em>, <em>Elle Decor</em>, <em>Architectural Digest</em>, UK's <em>Elle Decoration, Islands</em>, <em>Traveller</em>, but also in magazines such as <em>Vanity Fair</em> and <em>Tatler </em>and <em>Géo</em> in France.</p>

<p>Is this all lifestyle photography? That is the name of the subdiscipline?</p>

<p>Or is it all different: architectural interiors photography, gardening photography, landscape photography (<em>Islands</em>)?</p>

<p>Are there any famous photographers in these fields whose portfolios I could see online?</p>

<p>And some tips on how to do this kind of photography.</p>

<p> </p>

[dan_south]

<p>The name doesn't matter. Architectural interiors or gardening both sound good. If the images include people and if the point is to highlight people enjoying themselves in such places, then it might be considered lifestyle photography.<br>

If you want to see examples, look at the magazines that you mentioned.</p>

<p>I don't do this type of work, but here are my suggestions anyway:</p>

<p>- Always use a tripod and a cable release. You'll want maximum stability for sharpness. You'll want the ability to refine compositions little by little as you work. You'll want to use low ISO settings even when lighting is limited, and that equates to slow to very slow shutter speeds (too slow for handheld shooting).</p>

<p>- Learn how to set custom white balance to ensure that colors are reproduced faithfully. You can use an inexpensive gray card or a device like the Expodisc. It's not difficult if you put in some practice.</p>

<p>- Learn about light. Understand why, for instance, blending indoor lamps (orange color cast) with daylight (blue color case) might cause problems.</p>

<p>- As with any type of photography, a solid understanding of exposure, focus, and depth of field is critical.</p>

<p>Advanced topics - keep these in mind for later when you're familiar with the basics.</p>

<p>- Learn how to use off-camera flash to fill shadow areas without calling attention to themselves.</p>

<p>- Learn how to process realistic-looking HDR.</p>

<p>Practice. Practice a lot. Take photos of your bedroom, kitchen, and living room. How do they compare with the photos in the magazines? What can you do to improve them? Work hard and keep trying, and you'll find many of the answers as you go along. When you need help, I'm sure that there are some training videos for architectural photography online somewhere. But you'll learn the most by taking test shots and figuring out how to make them better with each attempt.</p>

 

[johnny_wu1]

<p>I'll add that most traditional architecture photographs feature straight vertical lines for walls/columns and other vertical structures, hence the preference for shift lenses to maintain control over perspective when framing a shot.</p>

<p>Mike Kelley's work is an excellent example of the use of off-camera flash and Photoshop masks to light an architectural scene.</p>

<p>The most challenging aspect of Interior Architecture, in my opinion, is white balance and exposure control of an interior scene with windows. HDR or flash is almost required in these scenes.</p>

<p>Also, don't forget to tidy up the scene before taking the shot. It can be distracting to see chairs ajar, pillows tossed about, or even couches, rugs, and tables placed in bad positions.</p>

[alberico_boice]

<p>Nice post....<br>

I also like photography of natural things.</p>