Most people believe that interior design photography is just capturing a few images with your camera. I’m sure if you’ve tried this you have also realized that it is not that simple (or you wouldn’t be reading this). Interior design photography actually has a lot of rules that need to be followed in order to capture eye-catching images that lure people into the space and evoke a feeling. 

Photographers spend years training and understanding these rules to create beautiful, magazine-worthy images for interior designers. However, if you cannot afford $100+ to capture your space, then you should at least capture a few images on your own to document your hard work. 

Here are 8 tips for creating stunning photographs of your space. 

1. For the highest quality images that can be submitted to magazines, it’s incredibly important to have a high-end camera.  A cell phone simply won’t do for magazine submissions. Invest in a camera to document your work. Cameras can cost $500-$4000. 
2. Use a wide angle lens (24-32mm) to capture the wide images of the space and a regular portrait lens (50mm) to capture the close ups of your designs and to minimize distortion.
3. Use a wide f-stop, F2, and focus on the correct place in the image that will draw people into the design. Using a wider f-stop will create more depth in your images. If you would like everything to be in focus in wider images, use an f-stop between F7-F11.
4. Find the best light and turn off the interior lights. Using natural light and filling in the shadows with a subtle use of flash will provide the most natural feeling possible for your images. If you would like the image to have a dark and romantic feeling then expose only for the light and let the shadows fall into darkness. You can also learn how to bracket and layer images in photoshop to have detail in every part of the image.
5. Watch your vertical lines. All vertical lines need to be perfectly straight.
6. Do not be afraid to use props and style the home as if someone actually lives there…and be sure to get rid of any clutter in the space. This will help people understand that they too can have a custom design like this, because they will be able to picture themselves living in that space. 
7. Focus on the details. You’ve put a lot of effort into choosing each fabric, texture, and furniture piece in the home. Be sure to capture these on camera.
8. Don’t forget to capture the details that tell the story of the design and show the personality of the homeowner. These are especially important for magazines.

You can find me on social media @torisikkemaphotography @interiorsbytori or email me at tori@tsikkemaphotos.com

https://torisikkemaphotos.com/contact