What is the importance of lighting when photographing a property.

Lighting plays an essential part in any type of photography as highlights and shadows are what photography is all about. What lighting you use all depends on the style of photograph you want to capture.

The most pleasing lighting accentuates the part of the property you want to highlight. It brings out the architectural details, the textures and the design of the building and interiors making it more attractive to the eye.

The lighting can create different moods in different rooms. With mood lighting the bedrooms can be warm and cosy, in contrast the kitchen may be bright and inviting. It all depends on how you light the rooms and the look that you want to achieve for your clients.

Effective lighting draws attention to the focal points of a room therefore telling a story of what the room or property is all about.

Natural light

Using natural light, especially when cloudy, gives a softness to the shadows and a beautiful feeling to the property.

The ideal time for shooting a property is during the golden hour therefore giving a welcoming warmth to the property.

Where you shoot from is often dictated to you by the layout of the property in addition to the space around it. If you can, position yourself to get natural light into the space avoiding harsh shadows.

If the sunlight is too strong, although this doesn’t happen too often in Britain, you can use a diffuser, curtains or blinds to soften the light coming in. There are occasions where this isn’t possible in this case multiple exposures may be needed to be taken to be mixed in post production afterwards.

Artificial light

Although in an ideal world, natural light would be used to give the softness and natural results however this isn’t always possible. Artificial light can be blended with natural light filling in the shadows to produce a natural looking scene. To make the lighting look natural it’s best to use diffusers on the flash to create the soft shadows that look natural.

The lighting fixtures like table lamps, floor lamps and overhead lights in the room play an important part in the ambience of the room. They should be switched on to make the most of their warmth and to add depth and dimension to the space.

Something to be aware of is that different light sources produce different colour temperatures. You may need to alter these colour temperatures in post production to make sure they produce a coherent and natural looking image.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of lighting is essential for producing captivating images that showcases the beauty and potential of a property inside and out. It takes a lot of practice and skill to be able to produce natural looking images that show off the property in its best light. Often a combination of natural and artificial light produces the best images.