Interior Photography Shoot for Ben Charles Kitchen Design
I’ve done most of my work as a creative interior design photographer in London. For this interior photography project, I traveled to Canterbury in Kent to work with Ben Charles Kitchen Designs. From a living viewpoint, it’s great to live in a home with a great kitchen.
From an investment perspective, a fantastic kitchen adds value to your property whether you are selling or renting. When it came to the actual photography I had to take a number of factors into account. An interior photographer needs to combine styling, lighting, camera angles, and composition. I needed to include particular details that required highlighting. These had been custom designed to fit the space. Finally, there is of course the editing.
Preparation & Planning as an Interior design Photographer
The first task before I could start on interior photography was to declutter the room. Sometimes it’s possible to shoot directly after the designer has finished their work or if a property is a new build. Often there is already someone living and using the space. Either way, we had to create the desired style for the shoot and in this case, we decluttered.
I was told that 90% of being a creative interior design photographer is moving furniture. I reckon that’s fairly accurate. It’s important to remove anything from the space that you don’t want to include in the final images. That can be anything from wall paintings, crockery, or utensils. It’s also good to add items to create the desired style for the client. In this project, we took away some old pans that were positioned on high shelves as ornaments. We also removed some utensils from the worktops. We also added a bottle of wine and a glass and put out a knife block. I always remind myself of the purpose of interior photography as I work. To show off the client’s creation the best I can.
The Actual Photoshoot
Once we were fairly content with removing and adding items from the space the next task is to select which images to take. When I’m shooting as a freelance property photographer then it’s usually just 2 or 3 wide-angle shots of a room but in this case, we also want to add some other more detailed images of some features. There are usually 2 options when shooting as a creative interior photographer. I either use the HDR feature in my camera or I take different exposures and then merge them together afterward in post-production. On this occasion, for the photography, I mostly used the in-camera HDR. I did merge some images afterward in Lightroom too.
Camera settings for the photography are F8-F16 with ISO of 100 or 200.
What aspects of a kitchen design does a creative interiors photographer need to include?
My primary focus is always to serve the client’s needs. It can be nice to include a few technical gimmicks to an interior photography shoot. My thought process is simple. I want to capture the best interior images of their best work. Hopefully, they will get more work doing what they love most. In return, I’ll get more work as an interior design photographer doing the photography that I love. It doesn’t always work out that way but it’s not a bad attitude to work to as a guide.
On this commission, I paid a little closer attention to the bespoke handles and the bespoke cabinets too. I also took images of the flooring which is often overlooked. It’s great to show off the particular features and details the client has included in their design. I ask in advance for a list of all those features that the client wants to be captured. As I go along then I tick them off.
After the shoot and post production
It’s important to replace items post-shoot. I take a few Phone snaps of the room right at the start. If I’m not sure where something goes then I refer to the phone snaps. No client wants to employ someone who has come in, moved everything around, and then disappeared. It might look better to me in my capacity as an interior photographer but that might not be how the resident feels.
I’ve mentioned that I shot most of these images in HDR in camera mode but I still needed to edit them. There are always a few little things such as smudge marks, reflections, specks of dust or minor imperfections that become more obvious on a monitor afterward. Ensure that the client is content and job done.
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