apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

yar, i have a suggestion...

if your camera has the option for manual settings, see if there's a self-timer. for low-light/camera-shake issues, and if you have no tri-pod, set your camera on something solid (table top, counter, etc), compose the shot, put the self-timer on and let 'er rip. the photo's clarity will be quality. even in lowlowlight. most importantly, avoid the flash!

also, if you have a digi w/ good auto-focus, and don't want to get on your knees or stand on a chair, just hold the camera up high or down low and point'n'shoot. this works especially well in small bathrooms or kitchens. it also affords a wider angle for the shot.

I concur with the use of the self-timer. Since I started using that my photos have been so much better. I also got the gorillapod for Christmas and love how portable it is. I love mine!

http://www.joby.com/

Avoid using the flash at all costs!

Also if you have a digital camera and can snap as many photos as you want, try moving just a few steps in either direction after each shot or get on your knees, etc. You sometimes might be noticing a great shot and it is just a foot away. Just keep on snapping and take as many photos as you can and I'm sure there will be at least one shot that is awesome.

whoa...gorillapod....that's awesome! i despise lugging my tripod around!

I also have the gorillapod! It's awesome and convenient. I would have neevr owned a tripod otherwise.

I will have to check out the gorillapod. Photography is a very new hobby of mine and I've been thinking about picking up a tripod but, knowing me, I wouldn't want to lug it around.

This makes me think about how photographs can be so unfaithful to the real feeling of being in a room (positively or negatively).

I think part of the problem is that we perceive a picture differently than we perceive a place when we are actually there.

I'd also suggest making sure to include "establishing shots" so we can get a feel for the room, in addition to details.

And, to avoid past mistakes of contest entrants:

Put the toilet seat down.
Remove "lotions" from bedside tables.

:)

And to be a real crowd pleaser, include a cat in as many shots as possible. But be prepared to answer "Where is the littel box?"

Whoops. "Litter."

Basics but still:
wipe all dust, experiment with laying out the pillows in an attractive manner. Journals stage with set up dinner tables, and whole fruit on the table (don't put up cut fruit - it darkens quickly and will just look murky). Of course your home is decorated, but adding details like candles (lit), sparkling glasses on the coffee table - IMHO good ideas.

Give the viewers something to orient behind - i.e., keep some element of a new angle same as the old one - i.e. a lamp.

Remember to keep floors level. You can fix this in a photo editing program by tilting and cropping the photograph, but it is easier to do before you get to that stage.

Honestly, the best thing anyone could do is find someone with a wide angle DSLR. Then you can control the light temperature better (i.e. to make the colors in the room seem more like they are in reality, and not yellow casted as incandescents tend to do). You can also fix this with levels/color balance in Photoshop, but that's somewhat tricky and could reduce the quality of your photograph.

For the average digital camera nowadays, you can control the ISO, and exposure (i.e. 1/3, -1/3). For darker interiors (i.e. with less windows), stabilize your camera on some surface, set the ISO to the smallest number possible, and set the exposure to 1/3. In my experience that creates a fairly even light interior, with the lights being slightly blown out.

And if you're in Toronto, I can shoot with my wide angle and Nikon D70 :-) For you readers - free! Hehe. Plug: see photographs at my website (url in profile).

And, zoom out and do not zoom in!

you can use a whole lot less technology when using the great autostitch program. it'll show a lot more of a room as a whole when glueing a couple of images taken from the same perspective together. play with it to find the right amount that needs to be taken.

free version at:

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html

example picture (based on 6 images):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83337046@N00/278498358/

use (free too, yes we're cheap) *google picasa* to play with the brightness and to adjust some of the daylight blueishness out.

:-) aad

Holy, Olya! I wish I lived in Toronto. You do beautiful work!

OMG, Olya ! I just put your website in my Bookmarks and will present your work to every client I have. In the meantime, don't you want to come to NYC for a visit?Um? I'd love to have you shoot my apt. and some of my client's apts.

thanks :-)

oh, wow! thank you anne!!

i wish i could! i haven't been in nyc since i was 13... before i had a camera.

i really appreciate your kind words. :)

does anyone know of a program on the web to make a blueprint? my apt. is so old there are no floorplans.

Follow the rule of thirds is my tip: divide your shot into an imaginary block of nine squares, three by three.

Place focal points of the photograph where the centre square's corners intersect with the other ones (look here for a better explanation than mine: http://digital-photography-school.com/rule-of-thirds) .

Or, line up interesting subjects along the lines - this helps the photos of your apartment stay balanced.