Okay here's part one of the shoot I did a couple of weeks ago. I was finally able to scan some of them. Fresh off the flatbed, no postwork. I want to get rid of some things here, erase the A/C and a bit of the dining table cloth that slipped into the frame. As I've no time to reshoot or anything, I don't know how else I can improve this. Comments and suggestions highly appreciated.

Different angle. I worked with available lighting (which sucks btw. The contractors built this house without thinking about the lighting system and shyte like that.). I think I need help regarding simple lighting techniques for interiors.

Last one. For now anyways. Notice we added Japanese bamboo stalks behind the couch. There's more where these came from, but I'm too tired to post 'em all in one sitting. Almost 6am here and I haven't any sleep for more than 24 hours now. Time for some shut eye.

I think the best help you can find is from yourself. Most everything I've done and am doing I learned on my own, occasionally with some very basic help from a teacher (simple studio lighting ideas and whatnot, how to open a file in photoshop, shyte comme ca). Best idea is to look around thwe house, and see what you can use as reflecters, light dampeners, muters, perhaps ways to create makeshift (not so powerful) spotlights, etc. Available light is great in these shots, specificaly the first and last ones. The only thing I'd say for the last print to touch up is maybe darkening the background behind the couch a bit to separate it from the wall, but otherwise this stuff kicks! ry

Great shots, star! I think #2 can go straight into a good mag....nice angle....and love it the way you cropped out most stuff. Nice stuff...keep 'em coming! =)

I love the last one....my bedroom is of this kind of decor....I have this ancient mirror about eight feet, this shot is particularly warm and inviting, very intimate, wants to make me go sit....

Stars I agree with everyone else the second is the best. Although the sky view one is not bad. Try adding maybe a fer or some such behind the sofa, it will add a little more color to the wall area AND not be too obtrusive. I think. Best od all there are logs of candles and a mirror which means that they consider the Feng Shui. What's that pipe thing in the first pic? Bsteph

Attached Link: http://www.db-online.com/travel/asia/asjapan.htm

Hmm... Not sure how to help you. John and I went for a trip 8 weeks to Asia, - and stopped by in Tokyo for a while. There are some pictures on our travel pages that might give you some ideas. But please bear with me, the pictures are of no high quality. Also. *lol* if you click on the links in the travel site, - you'll find that there are a lot that don't work, - since this is a work in progress, - and I never seem to be able to catch up! Britt PS... the singapore links work... but Singapore is VERY western. Not much "asian" to find there.

I realized I didn't explain a lot of things here. I was asked to shoot these for my interior designer friend's portfolio. I was not really bent on doing this because I didn't think I can do justice to his work. He insisted anyway, so there. Alpha-- to answer your not-so-dumb question-- the realtors built the houses for show purposes only. The houses were ill-planned as these were built without consulting the designer. (Windows here and there, in some no windows at all, the electrical system isn't great, etc.) We tried shooting during the day, but the daylight was much too bright that it drowned the interiors in darkness, even with the lights on (I'll post samples in a while). Flash was ruled out as an option because it just makes everything visible and plain-looking, plus it gives off that ugly glare on shiny surfaces, glass and mirrors. My friend also specified that he wanted to showcase the lamps and candles for the mood, ergo the late afternoon/night shots. The available lighting was still not enough to make everything visible on film so I looked around the place and found (please don't laugh) two 60 watt incandescent spot lamps to use for additional lighting. On top of that, a tripod, the ever-reliable Nikon manual SLR, several bulb exposures, and lots of gut feel. (Notice in the third shot, I placed one of the lamps behind the couch. If there was an electrical source available from the ceiling, we would have placed a bulb in the huge black Japanese lantern.) I kind of like the shots myself, but I know there's lots of room for improvement here (if I only knew what I was doing LOL). I wanted that homey, relaxed feel, but with slightly less yellow. The longer my exposures were, the more yellow I get. Sometimes it's not so bad, and in others it looks great, but there are times when the long exposures already drastically alter the "real" colors. The thing is, I don't know jack schitt about reflectors, soft boxes, set-ups and what not (my photography prof will kill me...), and I don't have the equipment. Now if somebody can provide tips for "makeshift" light set-ups and the effects they produce (in layman's terms please LOL), I would really appreciate it. Thanks for the comments, everyone! (* Btw, Bsteph, what pipe thing? If you're referring to the pair of long things in between the divan and the chair, those are wicker candle holders that were kind of bent due to temperature changes.

Sorry STARS. I have a real problem my moniter at home is a little to far adjusted to one shade of color and the moniter at work is adjusted too far in the other direction. I now realize that whay I thought was a pipe is actually the black ceining lamp. Thanks for the reminder. i rember you telling us about this photo shoot. I do have a version of the software by Kodak which has a filter for removing some of the typical flourscent light yellow tint. If you like I can attempt to send it to you. I think it would adjust the colors to the correct range. OK. so you are trying to show off your friends interior design. Can you show more of the scope of the room in the same photo? I think that would look better than having as small a focus. You hay have to resort to the hated panorama. I THINK you probably want to take as many of the pictures as you can from say 4.5 feet ( or 1.33 Meters ) from the floor and in landscape this may give you more a feel of the expanse of the room and the decor. good luck. I'll work on the zipping the file and figuring out how to send it to you. Bsteph

I'd like to experiment more on angles and height, but I don't have the luxury of space here. The houses are small (and damn expensive too), and I'm having a hard time with getting good angles. Actually even my designer friend is having a hard time with the place; the architecture is a bit odd in places, no feng shui, and some of the rooms give off this claustrophobic feel.