Creative photography

[Rob Watkins]

Hi all,

I've just made the step-up from a point-and-shoot digital camera to a DSLR (Nikon D40).

I'm trying to take some photographs of a bathroom to load onto a website.

Problem is that because the bathrooms are tiled in white, and the sink, bath, toilet etc. are also white my shots are looking very bland and uninspiring.

Now that I have more control over the results using my Nikon I'm sure I could do better.  

Does anyone have any tips?

[admin]

Hi Rob and welcome!

Hmmmm.

This is one of the scenarios where I'd shoot RAW (or RAW+JPEG). It allows you quite a bit of flexibility to alter settings like white balance after you take a photo.

How is the room lighted? If it has windows, you should shoot when ambient light from outside fills the room. Natural light is much more pleasing and "crisp" than artificial light.

If there are no windows, you may want to get "white light" lightbulbs that give the feel of outside light.

In either case, you may should try adjusting the cameras white balance setting to get away from the bland look.

As to the room itself, have you tried including a few accessories in the photo? Many pro photographers do this (It's called staging). For example, near the sink you could have a  colored hand towel; maybe include a picture hanging on the wall; or a floral arrangement on a counter.

Related reading: RAW files
http://www.digicamhelp.com/camera-features/advanced-settings/raw.php

[Rob Watkins]

Thanks admin,

I should have mentioned in the original post that unfortunately I have limited control over the lighting, as the bathrooms have teeny tiny or no windows.  So I'm relying on a mixture of halogen and flourescent bulbs or flash.  The bathrooms are in an apartment in a tiny village  in Switzerland and I'm afraid my French/German doesn't run to "white light bulbs"!!!

Love the idea of staging though...brilliant! I've got some coloured glass soap dishes and bottles that'll look great.  I'd actually removed them from the shot thinking they'd make it look cluttered - what a dummy

I'll also have a play with the white balance settings - I'm sure it's in the manual somewhere  

Thanks very much for the tips.

[bdery]

Hello Rob,

I'm afraid my French/German doesn't run to "white light bulbs"!!!

As it happens, I'm French-Canadian, so I can help you out

A light bulb is an "ampoule" (pronounce "am-pool") and the white light that mimics natural light is called "blanc doux" (or "soft white", if you will, and is pronounced "blan doo").

At least, it is called soft white in Quebec, it might have a different name in Europe.

The advice Gail gave you about staging is exactly what I would have done. You could also try to play with shadows, if possible, or light a candle in the room. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve exactly.

A last thing you could do is to look at some real estate advertizements, or hotel room pictures (those are found on almost every hotel web site). View those pictures for inspiration.

[Rob Watkins]

Fabulous, photography tips and a translation service - thanks bdery.  I'm sure they'll understand that, and if they don't I'll just get all British on them and say it louder... it's what we do  

I'm luvin' this site already, I can see myself coming here often!

[ShutterbugGail]

if they don't I'll just get all British on them and say it louder... it's what we do  

lol!

I'm luvin' this site already, I can see myself coming here often!

So glad you do. We try our best to help. In fact, if you make it back to ask another question, I'll write colour instead of color.