The expectations and demands for high quality architectural
photography has changed throughout the years and the architectural
photographer must adjust his techniques, especially with respect to
interior photography. Architecture is always evolving; to quote the
great architect Louis Sullivan; "form follows function" and as new
building materials, such as energy efficient UV glass, become more
available, they can make more practical, the form and function of the
architecture. Many architects, especially in the scenic Southwest, are
now designing homes with expansive windows to visually bring the outside
views of the landscape into the home, which although is very
photographic, can also be challenging for an architectural photographer.
This is especially true for architectural photography in very scenic
areas where many high-end residences and buildings are being built
amongst the natural environment. An architectural photographer and an
interior photographer will have many situations which will demand, as a
compositional element, the ability to capture both a well lit interior,
along with the beautiful desert exterior view.
The best lighting
technique for solving this problem is for the architectural photographer
to use high-powered strobe lights to balance the exposure of the bright
exterior to the interior; otherwise the outside landscape scene would
be over exposed beyond recognition. The f-stop for the exposure is based
off the strobe output and the shudder speed is determined by the proper
exterior exposure; there is a point where one can keep just the right
amount of ambient light and still maintain the exterior view by subtly
finessing the shudder speed; it is usually more natural looking to keep
as much interior ambient light as possible. It is also important to keep
the exterior view lighter (1/2 - 1 stop over the inferior) so that it
doesn't look unrealistic. If time or budget makes a full lighting set up
impractical, fairly good results can also be achieved by using a few
lower powered lights and more ambient, exposing for the interior and
exterior separately, then masking and combining exposures in Photoshop.
Try setting up only a few lights and light only part of the room, then
move them around to light another part, until you get the lighting
effect you are after - then combine the exposures in Photoshop. In any
case, it is preferable to get the exterior view exposure as close as
possible by balancing with strobe in order to simplify the masking
process.
Another way to balance the interior exposure to the
exterior light, is to photograph at a time of day when the exterior is
relatively dark, or at least within the range of the exposure of the
interior light. Depending on the situation, this may be when most of the
exterior is in deep shadow, on a day that is overcast, or either very
early or late in the day when the light is not too harsh. When
photographing in the Southwest, it may be possible to achieve this
balance in the afternoon during the monsoon season, when typically it
clouds up for a few hours; plan your views accordingly. Many years ago,
an interior photography lighting system, may have been comprised of
continuous light sources; blue 250 -500 watt "daylight" flood lamps
(which were rated at 4200K when new). These were put in lamps, recessed
ceiling fixtures and simple reflectors. This technique produces a soft
interior light that balanced fairly close to the color temperature of
the daylight; however, one would have to utilize the proceeding exposure
technique of shooting under the right conditions or time of day when
the exterior light wasn't to bright if "blowing out" the exterior view
was not acceptable.