apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Flash cameras are for shooting crime scenes, not our homes.

Since many of the tips have been repeated in several places I won't repeat them here but to expand upon them a little.

Not all point and shoot cameras will allow for manual adjustments except for perhaps ISO (equivelant to film speed), the lower the #, the cleaner the shot. For instance, ISO 64 in a range of ISO's topping out at say, 800 ISO will provide you with the best quality image, virtually no noise or digital artifacts of any kind, especially important when you expand the photo to a larger size.

Exposure, many camera have what is refered to as exposure compensation, or EV, which is a form of an adjustable neutral density filter, rather than a true iris. So having even just EV is better than no manual adjustment because with no manual adjustment of exposure, you are at the total mercy of the auto exposure feature of your camera, which leads me to this, when you are using such a camera, what you aim the meter bracket on to focus, often also does your exposure so if you focus on a dark subject in front of a bright window, the window will get over exposed, sometimes so much so that it is blown out and simply becomes a white blur.

If you have access to a camera with the capability of operating an external flash and you have to use a flash, try seeing if you can tilt the flash up and use it in bounce mode. Nikon and their Speedlights are definitely capable of this. It'll even out the lighting where needed but not cause that "typical" flash image but it's best not to.

Small pocket cameras in particular will have small sensors and lenses and thus will also have a smaller iris so they won't open as wide as a typical DSLR will so when using lower ISO speeds, a longer shutter speed (remaining open longer) will be necessary so best to use a tripod of some kind for those types of shots and remember, anything that moves will be blurry.

I also agree with trying different perspectives to gain a shot, shooting straight on can be boring and may not show as much as from an angle.

I also agree that one should try to shoot during the day as that helps to light the room more evenly.

If using a manual camera, such as a Nikon P5000, you may want to err slightly on the underexposed side if shooting in bright rooms lit by the sun streaming in. The picture can be brought up a tad in say Photoshop if you have access to it, that way it's much easier to retain details in bright portions of a scene than the blacks which even when "squashed" will retain their details that can be brought out in Post Processing.

And lastly, remember a wide shot to establish the room, then go in for the close ups of various elements, but do not need to go overboard on the CU's and as said, don't zoom in, get in physically close and keep the lens wide and shoot.

And remember to think out your shot before you take it, and by that I mean, look around and tidy up if need be before you take that first image.

ciddyguy: excellent advice and information.

Thank you Gregory.

Amen.

!!! i wish i had read these posts before submitting my entry. no wonder my entries turned out so out of focus! (photo newbie here)

Where is the couch in the picture from?

i'm loving the couch too... any idea where its from?

try the petrie sofa at crate and barrel, it's similar...

Some other good tips.......
If there is a sconce or a light in the frame, turn it on!!
If there are candles it the frame, light them!!
Use a tripod if at all possible.