Mbr

[Loose Canon]

Master Bed Room!

Ambient, three flash lit entirely, plus two other flash poppers in the extreme far areas composited.

Please feel free to say what it needs and how you would get it there!

[IzzieK]

I am not into real estate but this room is too clean...almost like no one can touch it. If there are only two people living in this house, it is understandable.

[Donald]

I'm not competent to comment in any detail on the lighting set-up. So I'll confine myself to saying that it looks good to me.

In terms of the final image, my point is directly linked to asking what the purpose of the image might be. What I mean is that if this was, for example, an image to be featured in a sales brochure or online resource, I think, as a potential buyer, I'd be put off by the very obvious use of extreme wide angle to over-emphasise the space. I feel that if extreme wide-angles are used then they have to be done cleverly so that it is not so obvious that it is an extreme wide-angle.

If on the other hand it is meant to be a piece of fine art that is about lines, shapes and tones then it comes much closer to working. The composition might need a bit of tweaking in that the bed doesn't really contribute to such a a study of line, shape and tone, but hopefully my point is explained clearly.

[Shadowman]

I like the style, however the crop is a bit too severe.

[mugge]

I agree wholeheartedly with Brian's last paragraph. There are so many lines shapes and tones to play with. I would definitely get rid of the bed as it does not lend anything to the picture, that may not be possible. I do like all the different angles. I am waffling but I think there is a picture here.
Cheers Ole

[Loose Canon]

Thank you for commenting everyone.

The purpose of these shots are for what I had hoped would be better than average commercial interior shots that one might use to show the home if it were for sale. Definitely not intended as a piece of fine art. I’m not quite ready for Architectural Digest yet! End use would probably be brochure/web use.

I will say that I am struggling which is why I am practicing with it and trying to find a workflow that will make sense and produce the results I’m after. I’ve never done this kind of thing, which is the main reason I wanted to do it.

I should have mentioned this was shot at 17mm on a full frame sensor. I (possibly mistakenly) thought the bathroom and sitting room should be shown as part of the MBR suite. Composition of these interiors are a part of the struggle and they are going to have to be shot with some furniture in place because you just don’t always have an empty house to shoot. So to this end I’m trying to shoot from different angles to try to see what is going to make sense.

[chauncey]

I am not into real estate but this room is too clean

You're wrong Izzie, it's not clean...it's bloody sterile...like an operating room before the patient arrives.

The closet wall and where it joins the slopped ceiling bothers my eyes...
looks as if it fades back toward the bath area. Is it WA distortion?

[Rob Ekins]

Terry,
I am veiwing this on my phone I will have a good look tomorrow.

Ithink maybe the money shot was from the other side of the bed. Abit of bed abit of ensuite and a bit of whats behind the arch.

Lighting looks good on my device, that is how most end clients will be viewing the image.

[Loose Canon]

It’s probably the angle I shot it on Wm. Maybe I should have shot it on a single point perspective?

Thank you Rob. I was hoping you’d stop by and give it the eyeball.

Turns out I’m setting up that very shot you suggested this AM!

[Rob Ekins]

Thank you Rob. I was hoping you’d stop by and give it the eyeball.

Not a problem, I stumbled upon this thread while surfing the net during a quick break yesterday and could have quite easily missed it, you can PM me or send an email any time you would like feedback on your images so that I don't miss them popping up here. Looking at your images critically and having to write about them is probably of more benefit to me than it is to you.

I briefly covered comp above and look forward to seeing what you get with the re work.

This comp has a some weaknesses. The main one for me is that it is to wide, the UWA distortion is very noticeable in the opening to the other room and the bed, everything in the BG looks out of scale to the foreground, imagine a person standing in the entry to the en-suite in this shot, they would look tiny.

Then there is the comp/perspective you chose which you are addressing, this view doesn't really tell a story it is more archival if I may. Have a quick think about how the Agent/Architect/Builder would want to sell this space and how a potential buyer would want to live in it, what they would get excited about. i.e nice en-suite, some natural light coming in from the side, the space on the other side of the opening. You don't have to show them all in their entirety, they can be implied but the emphasis should be on the en-suite I think.

Having said all of that, I once had a potential new client comment I was not shooting wide enough @16mm FF..... go figure

As I said the lighting looks good and I can see what you were trying to achieve, there are some flash induced shadows and the hotspot on the BIR doors is a bit distracting, maybe a touch more ambient would help the frame, I am guessing there is a window behind you in this one. You have done well lighting all of the zones in the scene... no black holes anywhere.


Looking forward to the re-work, hit me with any questions you might have.

.

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Terry,

Ooops, I missed this thread yesterday somehow. (even though I think you linked to it)

Here come a few thoughts on viewing this, with your intended usage taken in to account.

a) It is too clean/sterile; I think it would benefit from having something organic in (every such) shot, say a bunch of fresh flowers in a vase, or a potted plant.
b) I am impressed how you manage to achieve such even lighting, I don't know what Rob sees, but he is (of course) more attuned to this than I. We all learn when Rob posts (even Rob, and I know what he means).
c) I'd like to see it bigger
d) The wall join on right of shot does look a bit odd, but probably unavoidable, given the angles involved
e) I couldn't guess, from the visual clues available here, which of the open doorways leads to which other rooms (you mention bathroom and sitting room), but I guess if viewed with shots of those rooms, it would allow a mental image of the house to be built in the prospective client's mind. So I'm not faulting your logic, just saying that as a stand-alone image, I couldn't tell much in this shot, whereas with one you posted a few weeks back, the use of the other rooms seemed more obvious, perhaps because we could see more furniture in them.

This (below) started as c) above, but became so rambling, I thought I'd extract it from the more helpful (I hope) comments above.
I was struck by how comments here (and in 'FR') have some saying "too wide", while others; "too tight" - it is subjective and these comments prove it.

I think we also touched previously (months ago) on how the size of reproduction affects our viewing perceptions, particularly of wide angle shots; if this shot were displayed larger, say twice the current 700px × 467px, it would be presented much better on large screens and allow a more immersive viewing experience. Rob may have an opinion on the efficacy of small-mid size (printed/displayed) wide angle shots in selling. I am beginning to think they don't work so well, always leaving the viewer wanting more - which perhaps encourages a potential client to view the property, hmmmm - I think I just contradicted myself within a single sentence. Anyway, perhaps I'm confusing with the artistic presentation, where such a small size image definitely frustrates the viewer, as I feel, trying to get close enough to my screen to get the immersive experience, while still being able to focus with my nose an 2-3 inches from the screen!

HTH, Dave

[Loose Canon]

Rob, Dave?

Thank you for commenting. Very helpful stuff and I really appreciate you taking time out to do so.

I actually have a lot of questions but am unsure how I would get them out at this time. But I’m close and a lot of them have to do with your comments. Probably just need to shoot some more until things start to iron out a bit (if they ever do that is)!

One thing I have been compelled to comment on at this time is the “clean/sterile” comments that I’m getting a lot of.

This is the MBR of our house and my Lovely and Charming Bride has ordered me to issue the following statement(s):

“Really? So did you tell those guys about the closet doors always being left open, the closet lights on, and the pile of clothes that are in there that you refuse to pick up but rather just move around the room so its out of sight of your compositions? And did you tell them I helped you make up the bed?”

And:

“What about that pile of stuff on the ensuite (bathroom) vanity that you are just moving back and forth to keep them out of the mirrors?”

Needless to say she wasn’t buying the theory that I was sharpening the eye by creating problems to solve that I might have to look at down the road!

Apparently, the only problem that needs to be solved is me!

(Sigh)

As always, I used the only two words I need for a successful marriage:

“Yes Dear!”

So to this end I will be obligated to include the floor fans, clothes piles, open closet doors, dog gates, dog crates, guitars, toothpaste tubes, brushes, razors, and various and sundry accouterments in all further compositions!

[IzzieK]

Well....make an excuse for CiC -- it is called "environment shot".

[Loose Canon]

Exactly what I was thinking Izzie!

I'll just make an "artistic decision" to leave the "environment" piled up as found for the "environment shot"!

Save me a lot of time hiding stuff!