Designing a room to be aesthetically beautiful when you’re physically in it versus styling a room to ensure a beautiful image is captured in a photo shoot are completely different. That’s why many interior designers will hire a stylist along with a photographer to shoot a project. Styling photoshoots are one of our favourite things to do! Decor and furniture placement can make a huge difference in pulling together the look of a home and is absolutely necessary if you want to achieve an editorial style image.
Here are a few tricks we’ve learned over time that we feel have really elevated our photos:
1. Leverage as much natural light as possible
The first thing we do in a photo shoot is turn off all the lights in the house and open all the curtain windows to get as much natural light as possible. Make sure it’s not super sunny or your photos may look overexposed. Although it may seem counterintuitive, overcast is easiest to work with when it comes to editing images.2. Have extra decor and greenery available during your shoot
When you take a photo, the camera will eat up blank white walls or negative space. Often you will need to utilize extra props like floor plants or wall art to fill a space and balance a frame. Play with the placement of these props and check your shots as you go because some things are difficult to edit after the fact.
3. Don’t over-use the wide-angle lens
Something real estate photographers love is the wide-angle lens. Yes, it can make a room look bigger, but it can also make a room look cold, unfinished, and at times distorted. Our advice is to use with caution. If you absolutely must use the wide-angle lens, check your shots as you go to ensure the shots are not distorted and the camera is not soaking up empty space and making the room feel empty and uninviting. Utilize those extra props to balance the frame to ensure you’ve captured a more “completed” room.4. Straight lines and symmetry
Angles may be good for selfies, but when it comes to interiors, straight on shots that follow clean lines and balance symmetry make for beautiful images. To achieve this, you will need your tripod or a steady hand and some good editing skills. When using a tripod, have the camera sit straight and untilted. You can use rugs, counters, cabinets and furniture as a reference or the grid on your camera to ensure your shot is straight.5. Pay attention to details
This sounds obvious but it is absolutely critical because if you miss that small detail, I promise it will be the thing that drives you absolutely crazy every time you see the photo after the fact. Although many things may be “editable” (like electrical sockets), many are not. Behind the scenes, a lot goes into getting “the shot”.
Some personal examples include:
- laying behind a couch to hold a curtain edge straight
- taping an unlatched kitchen cabinet door shut with double sided tape
- laying behind a bed and holding up a plant to incorporate “greenery” into a photo