Voted Photographer of the Month!


pfre-POM

I recently won the Real Estate Photographer of the Month – a monthly contest on Flickr where a distinguished panel of judges comprised of some of the best real estate/ interior photographers in the country, some even abroad. A true honor in our industry.

Be sure to read the full post to see a breakdown of how I lit this image!

I love shooting white interiors. They have their challenges, but the end results always look so clean and crisp. This home was unbelievably stellar. There was almost zero drywall in the entire house! All millwork and paneling. The craftsmanship and finish work was some of the best I have ever seen! Photographing it was going to be satisfying, yet challenging. This was the composition I settled on for the kitchen because it really showed off the inlaid butcher block counter with the marble island, and you could see how it was connected to the dining room with all the detail in the arches that separated them. Here’s a breakdown of the lighting:

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All ambient base exposure.

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Two speedlights here. One out camera left, bounced off a closed door that goes into the butler’s pantry. The other out camera right bounced off a wall. Note the reflection in the window, no bueno.

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Added a light in front of the camera bounced off the lower cabinets to light the near side of the island and opened the window to get rid of that reflection.

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Adjusted the light out camera right. It wasn’t doing enough for me and it was throwing to much of a shadow off of the beam on the ceiling.

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Added a light in the dining room via a shoot through umbrella.

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Added a light behind the island, bounced off of it, to light the far lower cabinets. I should of used a reflector, or something white to negate the color cast. Lighting is pretty much done at this point.

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The final shot with basic RAW adjustments made in Lightroom.

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The finished imaged that was delivered to the client after a few small tweaks in Photoshop to tone down some of the hot spots and shadows. Of course there always seems to be little things you wish you caught in the field while making the image, but in the end I still love this shot and so did the client – which is what matters most!


5 responses to “Voted Photographer of the Month!”

  1. Brandon, Congratulations. You got all my voting points. Your technique and attention to detail are great. I’m always interested in how other photographers do their thing, so thanks so much for all the info.

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