Lighting for Architecture

[Jonathan Bryant]

Say you were trying to make a living room look its best how would you light it? What would be the basic rules and concepts when you are not lighting for people?

[Chris Cooke]

Say you were trying to make a living room look its best how would you light it? What would be the basic rules and concepts when you are not lighting for people?

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It definately depends on the mood that you are trying to achieve. Having said that, the same basic rules aply. Multiple shadows become increasingly obvious. Also depth is very important. Contrast helps with depth but also good set design. You can still backlight tables, tv's, etc. to seperate them from the background. Take real care in where you place your shadows.

[Paul Bruening]

Hey John,

 

That's a pickle. Most DP's shooting on location light the people first and foremost. If space, time and budget allows, they tweak on behalf of the set, second. I recall some good chapters in still photo books that may help. They covered the peculiars of lighting when a room is the subject. You can see these results in magazines like Better Homes and Gardens and Architectural Digest. Still photo books know how to make-do on real locations. For cine work, a built set works just dandy. Being able to shine those lights down from over set walls is about the best way to get a slick look. I've never known that luxury. I end up hanging lights from poles or clamping onto anything I can find.

 

Maybe, that will be of use to you. Good luck.

[Robert Edge]

You might find it helpful to look at the books referred to at this URL: http://www.largeformatphotography.info/boo...chitecture.html, especially Norman McGrath's Photographing Buildings Inside and Out and Julius Shulman's Architecture and its Photography. I have both books, and in some ways I prefer Shulman's, even though it is quite a bit older. He is also strong on the use of continuous lights, which are not used nearly so much as they were when he was writing.

 

You might also find it helpful to look at the work of Hedrich Blessing, a Chicago company that is a major player in the field. See www.hedrichblessing.com and the book Building Images: 70 Years of Photography at Hedrich Blessing: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=books&n=507846

 

If you want a really different look, Vancouver photographer Jeff Wall does interiors that are painstakingly lit. See the Hasselblad Foundation page at http://www.hasselbladfoundation.org/prize_2002_en.html and the books Jeff Wall: Figures and Places, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books and Jeff Wall Photographs: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...=glance&s=books