Difficult Light

Whether the room is windowless, or there is very little natural light, it will be up to you in the moment to determine what the best approach will be to capture the space authentically. In some cases, like the following examples, sometimes adding lamp-lighting is necessary, where other times, you may need to lean into a long exposure. Before capturing, you can consider the complexity and how to approach it.

When in a home with stained glass windows, neon signs, or boldly colored walls, it’s important to adjust your technical settings to capture the space in its best light. Be mindful that adding ambient light, such as lamp-lighting, can provide unwanted color casts. In most cases, a longer exposure can provide strong examples, however this can change from room to room.

Sunny days can help light up a room, but when that light is harsh and direct, it’s best to be avoided. For this reason, Its always best to do a walkthrough of the home when you first arrive to get a sense of which rooms to capture in which order, depending on the available light. When the direct light is unavoidable, it’s helpful to capture bracketed photos to expose for the highlights and the shadows, which will be merged before uploading. Providing our team with a high dynamic range can make a big difference in the final outcome. Here’s a few examples where the photographers captured the difficult light well.