Showing the connection between adjacent spaces in a complex interior is often one of the more challenging aspects of shooting large commercial spaces that we face as photographers. In the video below, I use several techniques to clearly show how we created a dynamic shot from a glassed in meeting room that looks on to adjoining dining spaces, giving the viewer a clear overall sense of the connectivity created by the design team.

We had several hurdles to complete with as we approached this shot. To the rear of the camera we had floor to ceiling glass, which was letting bright daylight in to our rear creating unattractive light on our subject and very challenging reflections on the glass partition diving the meeting space with the dining. Through the use of the window shades and black cloth, we were able to control the majority of the reflectivity on the glass to the right of the frame, while largely controlling that to the left with a combination of flags and flash in the space beyond. When considering the lighting for the space, I divided it up into three spaces mentally as we prepared to shoot - the meeting room, the dining area to the right and the more intimate dining area with booths to the left. For the meeting room, a quick single flash was able to help define some of the forms and materials. There is a continuous length of windows to our immediate right which provided the majority of directional light for the dining space on that side, with a little help from some strobe to give things a little extra definition. And finally, a few flashes to fill in the darker and more complex space to the left.

Once the shots were complete, it was just a matter of merging these three areas as seamlessly as possible in a way that felt relatively natural and accomplished our goal of showing this dynamic space and how it is all connected. With the design team, we chose not to include any models as it was determined that the space was complex enough on its own and any added life would result in too much visual clutter.