Shooting interiors of buildings...(recording studio)

[Ub3rdoRK]

I have a gig tomorrow shooting a new recording studio to go into a couple newspapers and I had some questions regarding tips.

So my questions are, Best lens for interior shooting without skewed structure? Im thinking the 50mm or the 17-35. Then also exposure bracketing... almost HDR? im not sure what kind of lighting is in there, im assuming halogens.

well....what kind of info can you provide?

thanks in advance.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Is this a paying gig? If it is, good luck.

It seems you have no idea what you're doing or you are not telling enough. For example, what's the HDR for? Some studios do have windows (Peter Gabriel's place is a nice example of that) that may require an HDR treatment but most studios do not have windows and therefore no need whatsoever for HDR.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

oook thanks, i guess

I dont know if it has windows or not. They reason i asked about HDR depending if there isnt enough available light and I would create it stacking multiple exposures. This is why im asking. Ive never done specifically interior shots before...or atleast for a specific reason.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

HDR has nothing to do with how much available light there is. It has to do with the limitations of the tonal range of cameras, ie if the lightest area and the darkest area of the image are too far apart for your camera to register.

And you should know if the place has windows. At the very least you should have asked what the studio looks like. But even better would have been to go and look at it yourself. It's all part of planning and preparing a shoot.

90% of studios I have been in, I can shoot with a tripod being my only accessory.

Sorry if I am being a bit harsh but you seem to need a wake up call.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

i gotcha ill find out right now.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

ok and the verdict is no windows. Planning yes i know this. I was called about an hour ago asking if i could do this tomorrow. So not much in my favor i would say.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

This is what it looked like in october but they re did the whole thing with new "everything" he said but this photo is just to show the room.

and after seeing this i pretty much answered my own question.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I was called about an hour ago asking if i could do this tomorrow. So not much in my favor i would say.

True, but you are in charge of your schedule, aren't you? I do not work this way. Tomorrow? No way my friend, my dearest friend, I may be able to do it the day after tomorrow, but I will have to charge you rush fees so as to compensate the client I'm moving back... And you charge 400% more, lol.

This is what it looked like in october but they re did the whole thing with new "everything" he said but this photo is just to show the room.

and after seeing this i pretty much answered my own question.

Somebody's living room, lol.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

ah true, good point in timing.

and no its a studio inside of a music store that does shows and lessons etc. its not a huge place, but one of the only local spots in the next 3-4 surrounding cities that have this kind of venue/storefront.

 

[gsgary]

Your going to need wide and fast lenses, i wish i had my 24-70 when i shot a band recording their new album i was at iso3200 all day and it had small windows, this shot i used the light for the monitor

 

[bigtwinky]

Are you just shooting the inside of the studio without people?

If so, then just bring a tripod as the shutter speed won't matter. If you are shooting people working inside the studio, thats a whole different ball game.

50mm on a full frame is standard viewing. Anything wider than this and you can start to see distortion. You can limit distortion if your lens remains straight...the more its pointed up or down, the more you will emphasize the distortion. If you are shooting a crop sensor camera, then you need to factor that in to the lens focal range calculation, all depending on which camera 1.5, 1.6, 2.0,..)

Keep in mind that the intended output is in a newspaper and most probably a small print size. So you can push the ISO a bit higher without an issue (again, camera dependant) as this won't show up too bad on the print

I totally agree with cloud though...if this is a rush job, last minute, charge more. And you dont have the skill or knowledge to pull it off and you are being paid to give a quality product and don't feel 100% comfortable you can do that, then say no.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

Ill post pics soon. They turned out great.

 

[Ub3rdoRK]

When i got there, they told me what they wanted to get done. Basically it was to show off their new "artist lounge" and the (control room) of the studio part....Not the actual studio where they do the performing.

Basically the idea of this whole thing is a "big shot" from my local town (which has no music culture IMO) that went out made a couple gold records with his band that I went to highschool with. Came back to this town to start producing records for the local scene.

I shot with my D700 and 2 SB 900's on remote release with a tripod for the 2nd shot.

To show off the "Artist lounge" they wanted this photo.

To show off the "control room" they wanted this.

Please keep in mind nothing has been edited yet, just slight crop adjustments. Personally i didnt like the control room shot because of the hard lighting with the shadow of his arm but they said it gave a "cool effect" and they were EXTREMELY happy with it.

 

[bigtwinky]

A client's extreme happyness is not in direct relation to the quality of the images

I really dig your first shot, nicely done. Maybe a slightly higher shooting angle to get more of the room in behind as the posted shot looks more like a shot of a guy and not a shot of a lounge. But generally, its a nice shot. Small nitpick on the corner of the window being cutoff on the top left.

So considering your initial question and lack of knowing what to do, I think you did a pretty good job getting some nice results.
The studio shot. Not bad, but I dont like the flash. I dont mind the shadow, I just dont like the intensity of the flash. I would of done the scene a bit differently and maybe had a bit more activity on the table, have the guy take off his jacket so that it looks like he is working.

 

[Tbini87]

Looks good Ub. Nothing really stands out for me as thinking WOW i would have to chill in that artist lounge or anything. It looks super basic from the pic, but if that is what they wanted then cool. Who is the band if you don't mind saying. I am from Escondido and worked in Temecula for a while before heading up north for school.