Article by Chris
Groenhout.
© 2006. Visit Chris' Website for more articles.
(1) External photography (best time of day) -
NB:- THIS WAS WRITTEN
IN AUSTRALIA
East - Morning
West - Afternoon
North - Virtually anytime depending on architecture
South - Best in overcast or dusk/dawn/night (lit) conditions
(2) Internal (time of day) best between 10am and 3pm to
avoid high contrast lighting through windows and maximise
ambient light in rooms
(3) Night - Shoot around and after dusk with tungsten
light as fill using daylight (Provia) and tungsten (64T)
films (tungsten only once ambient level has mostly dropped
off).
Dusk exterior
Using a Minolta IVF to
take an incident reading before shooting a dusk exterior
(4) Camera equipment - medium format for flexibility,
quality and cropability. 6x6 or 6x7 are a good compromise
allowing a wide range of lenses and easy handling.
(5) Lenses - Assuming 6x6 format - 40mm, 50mm and 80mm
though a vast range of shots can be done on an affordable
50mm only if necessary.
(6) Lights - Monobloc flash units (2 minimum) with maximum
available power to provide flexibility. Floor pack units
are good but make hiding leads and floorpack difficult
at times. A long sync lead is an asset. Ideally 800-1500
w/s second units should be used.
(7) Film - I personally use FujiChrome (Provia 100 and
Velvia) for all my work for reasons of reciprocity reliability
(sometimes exposures are 8 seconds or more) of density
and colour, general colour saturation and contrast and
my own familiarity. The latter is particularly important
for any photographer as it reduces the chance of error
in any photographic situation. Velvia is great for externals
or colourful interiors but should be avoided where colour
shifts are anticipated (e.g.. mixed fluro/tungsten/daylight)
or when using low power flash units. Provia 100 is a great
compromise permitting apertures between f16 and f22 with
1000 w/s units and ‘normal’ ambient light levels.
(8) Light shapers - The simplest method is bouncing the
flash off the ceiling. Watch for cream or yellow and avoid
if colour accuracy is important. Avoid bouncing off walls
as reflections can crop up unexpectedly. Watch for nasty
uneven light on the ceiling emanating from the flash often
metres from the source out of frame.
In situations where the ceiling is too high, the wrong
colour or you want more light output or a more direct
light, umbrellas are worth considering - white for soft
light, silver if you want some shadows and high efficiency.
Again be careful to avoid reflections in windows or shiny
surfaces (even TV screens).
The final choice is the use of a softbox - perfect for
lighting a difficult corner like a kitchen with ‘drop
surround’ - it gets the light in and very softly.
And if you get a reflection, it's a nice even square one
which can work to your favour if you're careful.
Lighting techniques
(1) Ambient light only - works in the following situations:-
Shooting into a room with light coming from one or more
windows or lights
Details of furniture
Impossible rooms to light (e.g. some bathrooms with mirrors)
Large spaces with a wide angle view where hiding lights
is difficult
Where the view outside the window is not desirable (e.g.
unfinished yard)
(2) Flash/ambient mix:-
Do an incident reading at high shutter speed (e.g. 1/250),
flash mode to determine flash aperture (e.g. f16)
Do a reflected reading through the windows to outside
(e.g. 1/15 @ f22)
To balance inside and out shoot at a shutter speed which
corresponds with the flash aperture or thereabouts (e.g.
f16 @ 1/30)
Bracket from -1 to +2 stops over six frames (in half stops)
