Staircase C&C Please

TreeofLifeStairs · Jun 8, 2014

I own a stair company and since I take pictures of the staircases I build, I write off all my gear. I figured I should try and hone my skills of taking pictures of staircases. The lighting in the house was quite good. It's all natural sunlight. I would figure that the biggest concern is composition, but any thoughts, opinions, or ideas would be welcomed.

1)

2)

3)

MikeFlorendo · Jun 8, 2014

For me I like #1. I have always been found of lines that the eye can follow. Good job. #2 looks cut off at the top and I would like to see #3 a bit more to the right. Just my opinion of course.

limr · Jun 8, 2014

First, that's a beautiful staircase!

Second, I agree that the first one is probably the most balanced. The second one is good depending on what you are going for. For a documentary type shot that just shows the stairs from another angle and in the wider context of the room, then it's successful. Perhaps a wider angle would have helped to get more of the top.

The third one is least successful. It feels off balance and the beautiful metal work of the railing gets lost against the dark wood of the steps and the floor below. That curve is going to make tricky angles for a shot from the top of the staircase.

I'd love to see some detail shots, too, especially of the metal work.

TreeofLifeStairs · Jun 9, 2014

limr said:
First, that's a beautiful staircase! Second, I agree that the first one is probably the most balanced. The second one is good depending on what you are going for. For a documentary type shot that just shows the stairs from another angle and in the wider context of the room, then it's successful. Perhaps a wider angle would have helped to get more of the top. The third one is least successful. It feels off balance and the beautiful metal work of the railing gets lost against the dark wood of the steps and the floor below. That curve is going to make tricky angles for a shot from the top of the staircase. I'd love to see some detail shots, too, especially of the metal work.

Thanks for the compliment.

I took a bunch of pictures of it. I'll have to post more later.

JustJazzie · Jun 9, 2014

I agree! BEAUTIFUL STAIRS!

On number one, I would have left out the column I think.

Two is my favorite!

Did you play around with any HDR shots? I've read it can be great for real estate type photos.

TreeofLifeStairs · Jun 9, 2014

JustJazzie said:
I agree! BEAUTIFUL STAIRS! On number one, I would have left out the column I think. Two is my favorite! Did you play around with any HDR shots? I've read it can be great for real estate type photos.

You know, I have not tried with the NEX-7. Have you had much success with HDR with it?

JustJazzie · Jun 9, 2014

TreeofLifeStairs said:
You know, I have not tried with the NEX-7. Have you had much success with HDR with it?

Well.... You could try a quick auto hdr shot and see what happens to see if you like it to know if you want to persue it. I've only had one good hdr shot with it. You can see it in my thread "the view from my deck" (that's purely technique though, Trey Ratcliff used the nex 7 for almost 2 years and made amazing pics with it!)

From my understanding, To get good hdr, you have to "need" hdr. And from what I understand, real estate photos are good candidates because you can make each room stand out, as well as getting the outside view in the windows. I'm not sure that is what you would be going for since you are trying to emphasize the stairs- but it could be fun to play with and see where it leads!