Not a Photographer? Tips on How to Take Nice Interior Photos

Knowing how to photograph an interior is important in a variety of areas, including real estate, and interior design photography. To capture beautiful interior photos, you don't need to be a professional photographer; all you need is great angles, uniform lighting, and creativity. Below are some photograph pointers to consider before taking photos of indoor spaces, such as rooms and individual pieces of furniture.

1. Find Your Focus

Without a focal point, the viewer can get lost in a photograph. Therefore, it is important that you figure out what is the main subject of your photograph. It can be a fireplace, a couch, or the way the room is set up. Once you find it, try to isolate it by clearing out unneeded clutter and accessories. Playing around with colors is also a good idea to draw attention towards your focal point. If you want to take a nice shot of your white couch, add bright pattern pillows on it instead of cream-colored pillows.

2. Use Natural Light

Turning off the lights in a room before shooting may seem illogical, but artificial indoor lighting is the least appealing form of light in an image. It can mess with your white balance, produce distracting shadows, and make the space appear dark and uninviting. So, instead of artificial light, Focus on getting as much natural light into the area as possible. Open the doors, draw back the curtains, and open the blinds. In fact, sunrise and sunset give more dramatic lighting to your photographs than any other time of day. However, if you need to use a flash, direct it up toward the ceiling to reduce the shadows.

3. Create Space

The lack of space is one of the most difficult aspects of indoor photography. So, if you find yourself in a small room, consider shooting from an adjacent corridor or room with a different perspective. Additionally, if the furniture is getting in the way of a wonderful photo, don't be scared to relocate it. When these factors are taken into account, interior photography takes on a whole new level of sophistication and attractiveness. You can even leave a portion of the room out of a shot to make the image more striking.

4. Stage Your Space

Staging improves the appearance of your property by making it look brighter and larger. With staging, you can concentrate on enhancing the flow and décor of each space. Position high-end furnishings, home decor, and accessories in key locations to draw attention to the area's best qualities. Staged furniture will allow viewers to truly envision themselves living in the area - grabbing a seat at the dining table for lunch or laying on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. To make a better composition for a better image, clear out everything that isn't supposed to be used as decoration, such as wires, cables, and mail.

5. Declutter the Room

When photographing interiors, spend some time styling the space first and think less is more! If you're photographing a home office, for example, remove cords, telephones, cables, and hardware and add accent elements, such as a tiny arrangement of flowers or a picture frame on the desk. If you’re photographing a kitchen, replace electrical gadgets with large bowls of fresh fruits. If you’re photographing a bedroom, make sure the bed is well-made, the pillows are fluffed and neatly aligned in the bedroom, and the linens are cleaned and ironed. These are a few simple ways to ensure that your photographs are top-notch.

6. Use a Wide Angle Lens

In interior photography, a wide-angle lens is a requirement. However, the wider the lens, the more barrel distortion there will be, which you don't want. It just doesn't seem right to be crammed into one corner of the room while trying to get the other three corners in. So don’t shoot wider than 22-24 mm. You don't have to display everything, as our eyes and brain can fill in the gaps.

7. Take Some Close-up Shots

Close-up shots help capture the overall mood of the place. Therefore, zoom in and focus on the small details and accessories, such as the vignettes created on coffee tables, bedside tables, dressers, and bar carts. Take a peek at magazines and at how the pros take photos. The more photographs you look at, the more you'll be able to figure out what appeals to you. For instance, you might notice that a close-up of a plant appears so much nicer with a blurry background.

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