Indoor Shooting...

[mas]

I need a bit of help, I am a photographer for an estate agency.

I use a 400D with a siggy 10-20mm lens. External flash and bounce it off the ceiling/walls.

When its sunny, im struggling with getting well exposed images as the sun glares in through the windows.... I try to get as much light internally as possible with lights/lamps etc...

Is there anything I can do to reduce the glare? I use the lowest F point as I can, high (ish) iso (400 sometimes 800) and a quick shutter but the glare sometimes ruins most shots. Obviously where possible I will shoot not looking directly at windows but in some rooms there is no other option.

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

Sam

 

[Revels]

Can you not get some of those, get ready for a technical term.. light bouncer things

Stick them by windows that are behind you so the flash bounces back? or stick them outside so you dont get the glare coming in. Obviously that wont work for the 1st floor! lol..

 

[Clart]

surely some filter will help reduce glare?

 

[Andy.]

Any example photos? Would be good to see what is going on.

 

[GaryS]

Have a read of some of the stuff on Strobist about balancing ambient/flash light, dialing in some exposure compensation should help matters.

Can you use the external flash remotely, that might help too, direct it at a different angle to what you are shooting.

Or failing that carry a curtain around with you to block the sunlight and alter the shot angle so you can't see it in the shot.

 

[mas]

I will gets some example shots up for you guys to see...

Here is my idea of a nicely exposed image, shooting away from windows is not too bad, even on a sunny day.... like below;

Here is a (not too bad) but an example of the windows blowing out;

Not the best examples in the world, but the only ones I have on my home computer

Hope they help give you an idea of what my problem is!!

 

[Andy.]

Short of sorting out some extra internal lighting/ flash(es) I dont see how you could expose the room correctly without blowing out the windows TBH.

The only other option would be to bracket the exposures and do some PP in photoshop but that could be a fair amount of work depending on the windows etc.

 

[unofficialPete]

glare? flare? or just blown out?

Without blending multiple exposures you just need to try and find a balance. Using a higher ISO or a larger aperture is just going to make the windows blow out even more.

You need to use a higher f/number/lower ISO to expose for outside and increase the power of the flash to expose for inside until you find a nice balance. Getting the flash off camera might help. As long as you don't blow anything out you can try and correct some aspects in PS after.

 

[Leeds_VTO]

you cant not have blown out windows if you set the exposure up for the room, without using a hdr style technique

 

[mas]

Give me the HDR style technique then!! Its not a huge problem I guess.... Its just a niggle which when I see it, really annoys me!!

 

[unofficialPete]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=hdr&btnG=Google+Search&meta=lr=

You'll want to use as many exposures as possible though, about 5, as you'll want to minimise any evidence that it is HDR.

 

[GaryS]

Give me the HDR style technique then!! Its not a huge problem I guess.... Its just a niggle which when I see it, really annoys me!!

It's easier to use the balancing ambient light/flash method as already suggested twice than to faff around with multiple exposures and HDR. HDR gives you fake looking images anyway in the majority of cases.

 

[Revels]

Im not a fan of HDR. In some scenarios its okay but for houses id say it was a no-no.

It will just look 'fake' and thats not what you want to be doing. Its bad enough using a wide-angle lens to make the rooms look bigger

 

[mas]

Revels... in the current housing market, the only way to get viewings is all about being deceptively spacious!!

Thanks for the tips guys, the HDR looks like a fiddle... I will try harder with balancing the light and possibly using a second remote flash to lighten the darker areas.

 

[mas]

had a few tweeks today on some of the houses and the results are better.... the best way to combat the problem seems to be getting an angle not directly aimed at the windows... i also looked on the net and there is a type of transparent film/material which bounces light back out of the windows but doesnt look like there is anything there from the inside