Interior Photography: Lighting and Other Professional Techniques with Style (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Your success lies in your ability to create a personality, a quality those who look at your photographs crave and one that money can't buy..." (more)
Key Phrases: interior photography, professional stylist, color meter (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Here is a comprehensive overview, written by a practicing master in the field, on shooting interior photography professionally for artistic, technical, and financial success. Solid information is supported by varied interior photography of the quality seen in advertising, coffee table books, and shelter magazines. Clear, instructive lighting setup diagrams are provided for 30 different lighting techniques. This guide focuses on all the techniques needed to achieve success, including lighting, location, props, styling, using both traditional and digital equipment, and adding people, pets, and action to a shot.

About the Author

Eric Roth is an internationally known interiors photographer. He has taken photographs for many well-known shelter magazines, like Home and Metropolitan Home. He lives Topsfield, MA.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Amphoto Books (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817440240
• ISBN-13: 978-0817440244
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #579,844 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, well written book BUT strictly for beginners., February 12, 2005

By	terry uy "fridaycatpaw" (Metro manila, Rizal Philippines) - See all my reviews

Eric Roth is a terrific interior photographer and this book is perfect for the aspiring interior photographer because Eric gives very good advice in approaching a space visually and preparing it, that said from someone who already has his own style i was a little disappointed because i was hoping to get more technical info regarding lighting but this 150+ plus page book only has around 40 pages devoted to lighting and unfortunately these are principles i already know, the rest are devoted to design throries, tips and tricks and the like.If your looking for a more hardcore lighting and technicalbook, this isn't it. If your interested in starting a career in interior photography, this book is an excellent starting point, if your already an experienced shooter of interiors and are looking for more sophisticated technical skill lessons, stay away, get the Steve Bavister book instead, that gives more technical info.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some Nice Shots, A Few Good Bits of Advice..., December 31, 2006

By	CMOS (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

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I was a little disappointed after reading through this book the first time. While the author is an experienced photographer, many of the photographs and rooms he uses as examples, are less than inspiring. No doubt each of us has days when we shoot ordinary looking homes to pay the bills, but that's not really what I paid to learn about in this book.

That's not to say there aren't *some* compelling photographs and useful tips for professionals, but there is more filler than gems. This book doesn't really seem to have an obvious audience. It's not nearly deep enough in a technical sense to get beginners up and running, and it's not advanced enough to be of great help to those who already know photography well, but who want to take things to the next level. One example is that the section with lighting diagrams (which is brief), doesn't even use examples where the diagram matches the neighboring photo. Call me crazy but in order to see the benefit of a specific lighting set up on a specific room, it helps to see the actual photograph of that room afterward, otherwise you're not comparing apples to apples.

Also, it is clear his knowledge of digital technology and Photoshop is lagging behind his knowledge of film photography. Some of the references he makes to "digital quality" are quite simply off the mark in today's context (and the book is only a year old). Unless you're forced into a very dark shooting environment, nicely lit interiors are where professional DSLRs (or digital backs), combined with Photoshop, can yield seemless and beautiful results. I had hoped for some detailed examples and ideas of how to achieve such results, but no such luck.

One final bit that bugged me: the author takes a very commercial approach to shooting interiors, where apparently it's the norm in his world to be able to completely re-arrange furniture in a room, bring in decorations and paintings from the outside, etc etc. In effect, he's describing show-room photography in someone's home, instead of shooting the essence of what the home owner or designer has created. These are two very different things!

See how many luxury realtors or reputable designers are going to let you (or some art director) move their clients' furniture and artwork around all day while you search for "the perfect shot". Not going to happen. In essence, this book should more aptly be entitled "Tips for Shooting Commercial Interiors", where everything is fluid and you can make a room or office into whatever you want it to be. Shots for advertising, essentially.

While it's not a total loss (just seeing some of the photos can give you ideas for your own work, and there is some good advice on using reflectors and such), this book is far from an authoritative reference on the subject of shooting home interiors or interior designers' work. Not unless you know some designers who like to work on-the-fly and photograph it as they go....

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars juicy and informative, January 14, 2005

By	Susan Harter "muralist" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It's rare to find someone who is both great at what they do, and great at writing about it, but Eric Roth is both. I am a professional muralist, and in the past I've been frustrated trying to take good pictures of my interior work. I loved Eric's book because he went beyond the technical details (which were clearly and elegantly explained) to show an artist's approach to taking pictures.

Looking at the book, I realized than many of the interior pictures I've clipped from magazines over the years were in fact done by Eric. His work just sings. The light is amazing, the placements inspired. The info on prepping and styling for shots was invaluable. Any one who has ever drooled over a beautiful magazine spread and wondered "how do they do it?" would love this book.

Reading the book, I was tremendously impressed by his professionalism and dedication. It was clear to me that he had carefully thought through every aspect of the work, and was eager to explain away any difficulties. I've seldom learned so much, so painlessly, reading a how-to. In fact, his style was so pleasant it was a real page-turner.

Though I am a novice at photography, I am sure the aspiring professional would find a ton of useful advice as well. My husband, who does professional photo work and 3-D architectural renderings, was enthralled with it and gleaned many useful tips.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in interiors, or photography in general!