Hi everyone,

I was wondering if you all could give me some tips on how to take interior photos for an interior designer. From looking at some photos of interiors online, it appears that most photos have all lights turned on, are eye level or higher tilted down slightly, are pretty wide, and windows are uncovered.

I have a 30d and/or 40d that I will be using, along with a 17-40 f4 and a cheap 50 1.8, I can also use a 70-200 f4 but don't anticipate needing it.

Can anyone offer me some suggestions or ideas on how to get the most out of interior photos? I am planning on using a tripod, but do I need a flash, not sure if I will be able to have one? Should I stay at a high f stop say f11 or a low one? How high should I go with the ISO? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Matt

No pun intended, but 1 advise: walk away!
It seems to me you're in way over your head.

Well Milamug, I'm not getting paid for this, and the only reason I am asking on here is to see what more I can pick up from you all. I take outdoor photos of wildlife and I don't have experience with indoor techniques for this particular subject. So I am wondering what most people typically might do in this case.

I am planning on using the 17-40 on a tripod with a cable release most of the time, with wide shots first and medium to close up shots as I go, I was thinking start with f11 and work my way down to f4 for specific emphasis of furniture and accessories. I don't want to go above ISO 250 really, but not sure what everyone else thinks?

I know how to take photos, but I am just trying to pick up a few last minute tips or techniques before the day is finally here.

To get the best with what you have, use the 40D, shoot RAW,fix ISO at 100 unless you're running around taking closeups by hand. Bracket much wider than than the camera preset to get a hint of detail in the brightest areas like lampshades, wall's behind light sources, curtains and such, and plan to luminance blend those in photoshop. Shoot tethered to a laptop using DPP or my preferred DSLR Remote PRO to change shutter speed (only) without disturbing the camera (cover the eyepiece to rule out a source of contrast loss). Lightbulbs are cheap, if feasible plan to bring your own to create a desired luminance level, which can saves hours of post processing. Shoot a Macbeth Color Checker, or at least a grey card properly lit for white balancing in post. Rent a 15mm fisheye and correct distortion/convergence in post. Lastly, if you're a coffee drinker, reduce your intake by half that day. You'll see. Have fun.

Thank you very much Daniel for the information. Didn't think of covering the eyepiece, but was thinking of shooting tethered to a laptop. You've been helpful.

UPDATE: Had a successful shoot. Everyone is happy with the photos. It appears the designer's company wants some of the photos. The only thing is I was doing this for free, for the designer's portfolio, not for the company. So now, my question is how much should I charge for 2hrs of work and around 100 photos, or how much should I charge the company for each photo they want? Any ideas? I was thinking I would normally charge somewhere between $250-$400 dollars for a shoot like this (since I am a beginner in interiors but not a beginner in photography in general). This is all understood between the designer and I, just not the company. The company appears to be expecting the photos, but I have no intention of giving them to the company for nothing... I've done too much of this work for experience/ I give, and get not much in return....

Thanks for reading and for any help you may have

SLgdfella wrote:
UPDATE: Had a successful shoot. Everyone is happy with the photos. It appears the designer's company wants some of the photos. The only thing is I was doing this for free, for the designer's portfolio, not for the company. So now, my question is how much should I charge for 2hrs of work and around 100 photos, or how much should I charge the company for each photo they want? Any ideas? I was thinking I would normally charge somewhere between $250-$400 dollars for a shoot like this (since I am a beginner in interiors but not a beginner in photography in general). This is all understood between the designer and I, just not the company. The company appears to be expecting the photos, but I have no intention of giving them to the company for nothing... I've done too much of this work for experience/ I give, and get not much in return....

Thanks for reading and for any help you may have

Charge them however much you think your time is worth. Only you can be a judge of how valuable your time is. The only trouble that you could run into is whether or not you left them with the misconception before the shoot that it would be less. Either way charge what you believe you're worth and if they disagree they can find a different photographer the next time.

jscoby05 thanks for the reply.

What actually happened is not that I left them with any misconception, but that these photos were for my friend's portfolio not for the company so if the company wants some of the images, say 5-7 photos they have to pay me for them. Now can anyone give me an idea with the information provided on this topic from me so far what price range I should be looking at on a per image basis... say $35 or whatever (this is where I'm unsure) for each processed photo that I give them.

I won't ask you all for what you charge, cause I probably will get numbers across the board, but maybe you can see my situation and throw out a number, given what I said about charging around $300 for the 2 hr shoot in the first place. What do you all think is fair/reasonable in this instance?

Thanks everyone and sorry for being such a novice in this area

It gets more complicated, your figure should take into account the end use the images. Where will they go from there? Marketing materials like brochures and other printed matter, web site publication, etc... Exactly what rights are you granting with upon receipt of their payment? This should be spelled out in your invoice at the very least. "legal forms for photographer's" is a good source to turn to now. Be absolutely certain you're selling them only to that party, and that they are not for resale or distribution to contractors and the like, a very real and serious virus. This to me is more important than the price you set. You're in the right ballpark. Good luck.

Matt-

This sounds complicated to me. Is the designer friend a contract or full time employee of the Company? If the designer did this work as part of her employement, then, it would seem reasonable for the Company to use the pictures at no charge. If the Company is not affiliated with the designer, then you can probably charge a simple price structure of $50-100 per hi res digital file for 5 years of commercial use.

Regular Commercial license pricing is based on usage-media, quantity, territory, size, etc. and can be complicated. Getty and Alamy have price calculators for licensing that will help you better understand standard commercial licensing. Without more detail on usage, it is not possible to give price recomendations on value. My recomendation here is to keep things more simple and build goodwill with a potential good customer, even if it means a little less $$ up front. As you build more experience and establish your pricing and business processes-you will be able to charge more industry standard rates.

-Scott

Daniel and Scott. Thank you for your responses. I will need to have a license agreement with the company if they intend to use some of the photos and I'll look at the link provided. And I'll familiarize myself with the price calculators.

The issue is a little more complex than I actually described. A few months ago I was approached by the company and asked to think about a price for doing interior photos. They approached me on behalf of my friend who works there. We were going to schedule a date and then nothing... I never heard anything back (maybe the economy who knows).

Then all of a sudden just before the day of the shoot, my friend is told that her boss will be there. I think nothing of it (dumb) and go ahead and shoot on the basis that these photos will be for my friend only. If the company wants to pay me then I'll agree to something with them.

Basically, as nice as the company is, they seem to be using my relationship (as a photographer) with the friend against my friend, putting us all in a kind of awkward position. Hope this makes things a little more clear.

Scott, I definitely want to build goodwill with the company. It's just that I have a habit of always placing goodwill first and I end up getting used quite a bit, so I am determined to get some money for the work I do, whether it's a small amount or what not.

one of the best pricing tools available is fotoquote:
http://www.cradocfotosoftware.com/fotoQuote-Pro/
regards

Coming up with a figure you can live with is easier sometimes if you put it in the perspective of: can/would I charge this amount on the next shoot? Once it's set, in general terms, it's pretty much set permanently for that client.

Matt-

One of the troubles of working with friends is that business relationships can become very complicated. Their employers, partners, and sponsors will often believe that they are entitled to the same consideration and benefits. You really cant negociate here without putting your friend in a bad position with her employer. My suggestion to you is to chalk this one up to experience, use these pictures in your portfolio to solicit work from other clients, and then come back to negociate fair rates on the next project.

Good Luck-

sspellman wrote:
Matt-

One of the troubles of working with friends is that business relationships can become very complicated. Their employers, partners, and sponsors will often believe that they are entitled to the same consideration and benefits. You really cant negociate here without putting your friend in a bad position with her employer. My suggestion to you is to chalk this one up to experience, use these pictures in your portfolio to solicit work from other clients, and then come back to negociate fair rates on the next project.

Good Luck-



+1

This all needed to be established before your camera ever came out for the shoot.

SLgdfella wrote:
Daniel and Scott. Thank you for your responses. I will need to have a license agreement with the company if they intend to use some of the photos and I'll look at the link provided. And I'll familiarize myself with the price calculators.

The issue is a little more complex than I actually described. A few months ago I was approached by the company and asked to think about a price for doing interior photos. They approached me on behalf of my friend who works there. We were going to schedule a date and then nothing... I never heard anything back (maybe the economy who knows).

Then all of a sudden just before the day of the shoot, my friend is told that her boss will be there. I think nothing of it (dumb) and go ahead and shoot on the basis that these photos will be for my friend only. If the company wants to pay me then I'll agree to something with them.

Basically, as nice as the company is, they seem to be using my relationship (as a photographer) with the friend against my friend, putting us all in a kind of awkward position. Hope this makes things a little more clear.

Scott, I definitely want to build goodwill with the company. It's just that I have a habit of always placing goodwill first and I end up getting used quite a bit, so I am determined to get some money for the work I do, whether it's a small amount or what not.

i'm not so sure from what you have outlined that it is the company that has put you in difficult position, or your friend--and unintentionally so. from what you have described, your friend works for the company, and i am assuming the shoot took place at the company's facility. when your friend arranged for the shoot, the big question is how it was presented to the company: was it:
"my friend is going to photograph some of the work i have done here for use by me in my portfolio."
or
" i have arrange for my friend to come in and photograph some of our work here -period"

i'm not suggesting that you should not get paid or try to get compensated for use, but only that the situation seems a little more complex than you have outlined.... and that missing information, regarding what was said when the permission was obtained for you to go in and shoot, may shed some light on the company expectation.

here is a link to an interesting blog entry on working for free which was written today(12/5) by vincent laforet:
http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/

bka20d, thank you for sending me that link. Vincent Laforet makes very good points on the matter.

sspellman and photomarvin, that does sound like a good idea; it surely is a difficult situation, but thank you all for the help.