shooting an interior with 35mm film

Camerarabbit · Aug 11, 2020

Hello all,
I'm planning on shooting an interior space and was thinking of using Kodak Gold 200--a film that I find has a really nice color palette and a bit more personality and film feeling than Portra or Ektar (and is much cheaper!) The shoot is editorial, and the space is north facing and on the dim side. I was planning on shooting the space with natural light only (this is how I photograph spaces digitally and I love how this makes the whites nice and white), longer exposures, camera on a tripod, and only shooting areas that are on the brighter side. I know KG 200 looks fabulous with a flash (which I will use when photographing the person in her space) but does anyone have experience/ tips for shooting indoor spaces that arent super bright with film? Should I pull the film? Or turn on lamps and abandon my idea of all natural light? I havent had much luck with shooting interiors with film in the past, so would appreciate any tips!

MattKing · Aug 11, 2020

It all depends on the light.
If you are lucky enough to be working in a space where the window/skylight light gives you nice, even, directional but not too harsh light, than you can get great results.
Most times though you need to either supplement or modify (scrims and reflectors) that light in order to get good results.
Is the interior something you wish to document, or are you happy with only portions of it being visible?
If it is the latter, photos that include a subject illuminated by window light can be very pleasing.
It is generally better if the light from outside comes from a more diffused source - open sky, high overcast or something similar. Direct sunlight streaming in is very harsh and hard to work with.
If you are having to supplement the exterior light, you need to be very careful with colour temperature. The supplementary light should either match the colour temperature of the exterior light (preferable) or have a distinctly different colour temperature (dramatic but difficult to do well).
Kodak Gold has more contrast and more saturation than Portra. That may make it more difficult to use if the light is contrasty.

Camerarabbit · Aug 11, 2020

MattKing said:
It all depends on the light.
If you are lucky enough to be working in a space where the window/skylight light gives you nice, even, directional but not too harsh light, than you can get great results.
Most times though you need to either supplement or modify (scrims and reflectors) that light in order to get good results.
Is the interior something you wish to document, or are you happy with only portions of it being visible?
If it is the latter, photos that include a subject illuminated by window light can be very pleasing.
It is generally better if the light from outside comes from a more diffused source - open sky, high overcast or something similar. Direct sunlight streaming in is very harsh and hard to work with.
If you are having to supplement the exterior light, you need to be very careful with colour temperature. The supplementary light should either match the colour temperature of the exterior light (preferable) or have a distinctly different colour temperature (dramatic but difficult to do well).
Kodak Gold has more contrast and more saturation than Portra. That may make it more difficult to use if the light is contrasty.

great suggestions, thank you! I'm more interested in details, but will take my digi cam along for the wider shots that arent very well lit

Helge · Aug 11, 2020

Just use a powerful bounced flash, and you should be more than fine.

Perhaps with a warming filter in front of the flash, but usually flash is pretty close to noonday daylight.

Use a tripod and as long shutterspeeds as possible, to not have the flash dominate.

You could use digital in lieu of the Polaroid of old or flash meter to get an idea of exposure and effect.

Camerarabbit · Aug 11, 2020

Helge said:
Just use a powerful bounced flash, and you should be more than fine.

Perhaps with a warming filter in front of the flash, but usually flash is pretty close to noonday daylight.

Use a tripod and as long shutterspeeds as possible, to not have the flash dominate.

You could use digital in lieu of the Polaroid of old or flash meter to get an idea of exposure and effect.

Great idea to use the digital to test.

foc · Aug 11, 2020

I would suggest fill in flash, bounced if necessary.
From what I have read in your description I would make the natural daylight your key light, fill-in flash your fill-in light and maybe use lamps as your ambient lighting.
Of course, all this is pure guesswork without seeing the location and setup.
Just out of interest, would you consider using Fuji Superia Xtra 400?

Camerarabbit · Aug 11, 2020

foc said:
I would suggest fill in flash, bounced if necessary.
From what I have read in your description I would make the natural daylight your key light, fill-in flash your fill-in light and maybe use lamps as your ambient lighting.
Of course, all this is pure guesswork without seeing the location and setup.
Just out of interest, would you consider using Fuji Superia Xtra 400?

Thanks! Am not as crazy about Fujifilms, too green and blue hued for me. PLus, I'll be on a tripod, so slower the better i think

Helge · Aug 11, 2020

CameronRabbit said:
Great idea to use the digital to test.

Just remember it’s only an idea. Film reacts quite differently than a sensor to flash.
I’d say better in every respect and easier to correct in post.
But you’ll still be able to avoid gross errors in exposure.

beemermark · Aug 11, 2020

Depending on the size of the room and how great the contrast is between the window light and shadows a common method used to be to put the camera on a tripod, hold the shutter open with bulb or time, and then with a flash off camera walk around the room and flash the shadows. If you use slow film and move quickly you won't show up on the film.

Mick Fagan · Aug 11, 2020

My experience with exposing colour negative film to mixed lighting, eventually moved me to use 4 layer colour film. Fuji Reala was the first film with this technology and it did make a huge difference in enabling one to get very good colour balance in the darkroom and subsequently with electronic scanning.

These days both Fuji and Kodak have 4 layer colour negative film, I suggest if you can afford either of them, these may give you the best colour palette for your end result.

With non directional light coming in from windows, this will often be a cold light, coupled with possible Tungsten lighting from the interior, or maybe even fluorescent lighting. This mismatch of colour temperature can often make for very good pictures, but having a film that is able to do more can never be a hindrance.

If in fact you have fluorescent lighting, then the best colour film would certainly be one of the 4 layer emulsions. The original from Fuji was designed for exactly that purpose and it was demonstrably better than the rest under fluorescent lighting at the time of its release.

Mick.

jamesaz · Aug 12, 2020

In the long ago pre-digital days there was a technique called ‘balancing the room’ for doing this. It involved making sure all the light was the same color as what the film was made for. You could use tungsten film and put cto gels over the daylight windows and strobes and light the rest with hot lights. Or use daylight film and blue gel the tungsten sources. Either way, it requires getting all the lighting proportions within the parameters of what the film will accept. For a quick job with no budget for rental gear I’d use my most powerful flashes and bounce them into fomecore or such to simulate a large a large window off scene. And use a flash meter. The goal is to make a photograph that has credible lighting. Im sure you’ll do fine. Good luck.

Helge · Aug 12, 2020

beemermark said:
Depending on the size of the room and how great the contrast is between the window light and shadows a common method used to be to put the camera on a tripod, hold the shutter open with bulb or time, and then with a flash off camera walk around the room and flash the shadows. If you use slow film and move quickly you won't show up on the film.

Obviously that would be at night when it’s really dark? Otherwise you’re going to get a hell of a lot of ambient light. ;-)

jamesaz · Aug 13, 2020

Another thought: There are many LED light sources available today that could be used effectively to fill in shadow areas on your set. With the dimming capability you could possibly rig some up using line voltage and vary the output as necessary. I confess this thought did not occur to me earlier as it has been many years since I shot something like what you describe and much has changed with lighting options. Anyway, as long as all the light is mostly the same color and within 3-4 stops over the whole set, especially with negative film, you should be fine. Don't overthink it. Good luck.

Helge · Aug 13, 2020

LEDs tend to have terrible colours on film.
It’s very rare that they are complete spectrum light.
Colour film is more sensitive to color variance than the human eye, and far more than a Bayer sensor.
Plus you probably have less ability to correct in post with film.

shooting an interior with 35mm film

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