Leeds Interior Design Photography of a re-modelled family home
Interiors Photography of a Luxury Leeds Home
Back in the spring I photographed this beautiful family house for a long-standing interior design client – click here. The gorgeous property had been completely transformed thanks to the brilliant team of architects, contractors and designers who worked on renovating it.
The house was completely transformed from a dark, awkwardly laid out property with low ceilings to a luxurious, characterful home with beautiful spaces and interiors that made the most of its fantastic plot and setting on the outskirts of Leeds, less than an hour’s drive from my base in York.
Pre-Shoot Research
Before the shoot I‘d done my usual pre-shoot research and had dug up the existing and new plans drawn up by the architects, as well as the Rightmove listing from when the property was purchased. I was also able to have a good look at the property on the map to check how it was orientated and how the sun (if any) would fall throughout the day. I find this research helps a shoot day go much smoother and makes sure that I have any identified any potential issues in advance. Preparation for this interior design shoot also made me appreciate the scale of transformation the house had undergone. The more I know, the more effectively I can do my job!
Lighting interiors and photographing North facing rooms
The property lies on an East-West axis and form the plans I could see that most of the rooms had a North facing aspect, looking over the garden and rural views beyond. As it was still early spring that meant that natural light in these rooms would be challenging. I’m always talking about how important light is when photographing interiors. It really can make such a massive difference.
Natural Light or Artificial?
There are some who argue that nothing beats natural light and I don’t disagree to an extent. However, one particular room in a house might get spectacular natural light only at 6am in the middle of summer on a cloudless morning. For the room right next to that on the other side of the house it might be 2.30 on a sunny mid-winter day. As an interiors photographer I’ve got to get great photographs of many different areas of a property over the course of one day. That means that no matter how good the natural light is, there’s likely to be some rooms that do not have great light. Sometimes there are clients and reasons for who artificial lighting with flash is not appropriate and there are other things I can do to make sure the photographs still look good such as blending exposures. There are no wrong ways to make editorial quality photographs of luxury interiors in the end it’s the result that matters. The bigger your toolbox, the more likely you are to be able to get beautiful images.
Styling Interiors for Photography
Styling is crucial when photographing for interior designers and plays such an important role in setting the mood and giving spaces a final lift that elevates them above the ordinary. It needs to feel natural and effortless. It shouldn’t be the star of the show either. There are almost always adjustments required for each composition and a great eye for detail is crucial. Again the client and use of the photographs steer the styling for a given photoshoot. Interior magazines tend to demand the most involved styling, along with holiday home and airbnb’s where you are trying to create an atmosphere. Photographs for architects tend to require a simpler cleaner look.
Photographing the Property
This Leeds home had been opened up to create a spectacular double height kitchen / dining space, overcoming the challenges faced when trying to create large rooms in a building with low ceilings. It was really important that I showed this space as it was one of the key changes to the property. The incredible swimming pool was also high on the shot list as it was in a newly created wing of the property, designed to blend with the architecture of the existing interiors while offering a contemporary luxurious swimming pool. I think it might be one of the nicest pools I’ve ever photographed.
Upstairs the bedrooms were equally as luxurious. The main bedroom had a dressing room built behind a stud wall which allowed the spectacular vaulted ceiling to be revealed. Bathrooms were sweet and inviting, if somewhat challenging to photograph!
Below is a small gallery with selected shots from this day’s interior photography shoot in Leeds. Let me know if you’d like to work together.
