Tips on indoor photography

[NicolaB]

Arghhhh - indoor photography stresses me out

A friend very kindly volunteered to be my guinea pig for my first maternity shoot. It didn't go great.

She is 38/39 weeks pregnant and to fit the shoot in before baby arrived, 10am the other day had to be the time. The sun was bright, the house was dark and 'lived in' (not many of us are minimalists right) and space was limited.

Can any one give me any tips for indoor shoots? Do they have to be golden hours? Do I need lighting for fill flash? Do I need backdrops for newborns in baskets in many situations?

So many questions - please ANY advice would be great.

tia

(Portrait family/maternity/newborn wannabe)

[BigFuzzy]

You need lots of light, period. It matters not if it's natural or artificial (flash), you need lots of it. How you get it is up to you (flash) or nature (lots of light) or the home designers (big windows). I always suggest having flash that way you can create light when the other two options fails you. I think that the perfect situation is good judicious use of flash with nice ambient lighting.

I've found (and I'm sure others will argue against it rightuflly) that as long as the light coming in via natural light isn't harsh or directly on your subject, it doesn't matter what time of the day it is. It can be mid-day which is almost always horrible outdoor but can work indoors if conditions are right (ie large windows that spread the light nicely throughout the room) or nice sheer white curtains that act as diffusers. You can use a sheet in front of the window if the light is a bit too harsh which will then turn it into (somewhat) a large softbox.

In the end, you hope for perfect lighting (or at least adequate) but prepare for the worst (ie bring/learn flash).

[NicolaB]

Thanks Al

Shooting times - great news. That gives me more scope as I don't want to go down the studio route if it can be avoided.

We live quite close to London where many houses and windows are SMALL - arghhhh. The sheet is a good tip to remember - logged thank you.

I need to master exposure and my camera still (and lots more lol) but I will look up flashes etc as I thought I was going to benefit from one.

I am wondering if a light may be more economical than a flash - but then a flash I could use outdoors for fill when I have to shoot at the 'wrong' time. Ughh. More decisions, more money.

[timiroberts]

I agree with BigFuzzy. You'll need a lot of light. With your set up - London & small windows - if you decide not to go with a flash, you'll need to adjust your shutter speed to accommodate for the lower light, which means you'll need a very still subject and probably a tripod.
If the light turns out to be less than fantastic on the day of the shoot, a black sheet tacked to a wall works great as a background and you can shoot for B&W and you can get some great shots out of it still.
A light is more economical than a flash, but to make it worthwhile, it will need to be a very bright light to get good results.

[NicolaB]

Thanks again

A black sheet would come in handy for masking the parents too, so multi purpose - thanks another tip logged ;-).

I have been pleasantly surprised a the price of flashes (for some reason I got it into my head they were £1000+). I will go that route rather than a portable soft box.

[candidrachel]

Hi! Do you use reflectors? Its best to have the person 45 degrees to the window and have a reflector on the opposite side to fill in the shadows.

All the houses I have been in in London have large floor to ceiling windows but become difficult to bounce the light of the ceiling because they are so damn high!

I visited your blog and the photos look great to me. I'd be happy with them.

What's wrong with a "lived in" house anyway? I have one of those. Come to mine and you will see a collection of camera gear propped up agains the walls, motorbike paraphanalia laying around (heck I had a motorbike front wheel on my dining table for nearly 3 months!) Most of my friends love coming round to mine because they can just "chill". My husband never married me for my money or my housekeeping skills lol!

[NicolaB]

LOL - you should see mine it is VERY 'lived in'!

I have a reflector and whilst looking back over my images I did think that would have helped. The problem is inexperience as I can't think of everything until I review - derrrr! You know how it is when you kind of know the theory but can't quite put it all into practice? Also I need to find a technique that works for propping the reflector up as I will be working alone.

Next shoot - 45º will be my aim - nose 45º, right? I do know it - I am just daft and forget everything in a panic!

Thank you for your nice comments and guidance ;-)

[candidrachel]

Why do you panic? I mean if you have friends willing to pose for you then you have all the time in the world to tweak and practice what you have learn or read about or studied. I kind of wish I was in your shoes. I'd make my photos different to the norm and make them unique and signature to me. I can't help feeling than you are trying too hard to copy other professional photographers rather than being different and edgy.

Also, on your blog you mention for newborns a "basket" "headband" "fairywings". How many newborns wear fairy wings and headbands (with a large flower on top)??

BE DIFFERENT TO THE NORM!!

[autofocus]

What camera are you shooting with, and what lenses do you have?

[NicolaB]

5D Mkii
24-70 2.8
85mm 1.8
70-200 2.8

I was using the 24-70 2.8. I wanted to shoot wider than 1.8 to get face & bump without too much boke. Space was too limited for the 1.8. I am seriously thinking of taking a step ladder next time to get further away.