Shooting Indoors in Mixed Light

A lot of people are doing their best to save energy and cut down their electric bills.  In the process there have been some repercussions in indoor photography that complicate taking well balanced photos.  Many homes and rooms in those homes have multiple types of light.  It isn’t uncommon to have lamps in a room with incandescent light bulbs, some overhead lighting using Halogen lights on a track, some spot lights and floods recessed in the ceiling in which there can be energy efficient florescent bulbs, incandescent bulbs and halogen bulbs all mixed together.  Throw in a situation where you have florescent tube recessed in the ceiling or over a work area and you have quite the eclectic lighting situation.  What the heck throw in a brightly lite window and you have up to 5 difference sources and types of light.  Is it any wonder a camera with White Balance Auto is left with flipping a coin.

Strobes

The expensive and huge learning curve approach is to flood the room with a burst of light from multiple off camera flashes located to provide the best light and least amount of cast shadows.  But that is a lot of gear to drag around, I know I’ve done it. It also requires a lot of practice and every room of every house is different.

Natural Light

Stick the camera on a tripod and go for the time of day when you can try and expose long enough to bring out the inside without blowing out the outside. Usually just around dusk or early morning. Sometimes it requires shooting different parts of the house at different times of the day. More on this on “What Time of Day to Shoot That House”

Indoor Lighting

Even if you go for the natural light approach, you have to balance the outdoor natural light with the indoor light.  Here is where it can get tricky.  Very tricky, even if you are in control of the white balance which one do you chose.  Here’s a quick and rather inexpensive work around.

Daylight Balanced Bulbs

I carry with me a couple of packs of those small florescent bulbs and floods which are daylight balanced.  This means the light they put out is the same as natural sun light.  I bring along my light bulb suction cup extension pole and before I shot a room I replace the lamp incandescent bulbs and the overhead floods with my daylight balanced bulbs.  I usually also have a flash on the camera or standalone depending on the shot but have them set to very low output to create a soft fill effect with a diffuser on the flash to spread the light.

Now I have a pretty good shot at getting balanced light.  Once the room is shot I put the bulbs back and move on to the next room.

NOTE:  I only have to do this in about 1 in 10 rooms.  Some homes I never need the bulbs.  Others I’m using them in almost every room.  It depends on the light.

But what if I want that Warm Yellow Incandescent Light

Two options here:

1. If you are shooting RAW you can change the white balance in post.  Since the lighting in the shot is balance you can make it all balanced for incandescent and give the shot that warm yellow glow.
2. Instead of daylight balanced bulbs replace the energy efficient spots and floods with plain old incandescents for your shot.  If the home has those cork screw energy saver lights in their lamps put your own bulbs in for the shot.