Is It Important to Hire a Specialized Interiors Photographer?

by Christian Scully

The concept of services like Instagram is nothing new. The value and production of photography changed in 1900, when Kodak introduced the Brownie camera, saying “You push the button, we do the rest.” The reduced cost and increased simplicity of creating an image enabled millions of amateurs and hobbyists to click away and deliver the quickly-named “snapshot” to the modern world. Polaroid, “one-time-use”, instant, digital cameras, “point-and-shoot”, cellphone cameras and now even Google Glass… the technology changes and might improve, but the concept is hammered deeper and deeper into the minds of photo-viewers all over the world: anyone can take a picture, everyone is a photographer. This faulty idea misleads many businesses into believing that they can and should take their own photographs, but it also blurs another line. 

If everyone is a photographer, than a PROFESSIONAL photographer must certainly be able to shoot anything.

Well, unfortunately, that is not always the case.

While there are talented photographers in the industry that could easily tackle most subjects because of their complete understanding of the camera, light and composition, the fact remains that there are too many genres of photography for one to devote enough time and become an expert in all. As with any skill, a photographer must practice and improve over the course of many years. I will not be spending every day for the next ten years photographing surfing, weddings, food, babies, celebrities, wild animals, AND interior design. I don’t have the time, money or even the desire to do that, and thus I won’t be deemed in expert in all of those fields. I won’t know how to time the wave in order to capture the best shot of the surfer in the tube. I won’t know how to connect with Jack Nicholson and capture the best photo for an editorial piece. Don’t ask me how to get a baby to relax and curl into some cute jelly-bean pose. And that turkey on the cover of the November issue? Mine might look very different. 

You get the point. Just as a disclaimer, this is not to say a photographer can't have more than one specialty. They absolutely can. But each specialty does require different knowledge and experience specific to each photography subject.

With interior design photography, so many factors come into play that are different than in a portrait studio. We are working with space, with furniture, with windows, with light fixtures, with color, lines, textures, and telling a story through a photograph that accurately depicts the quality delivered by the designer. Through years of experience, lessons are learned, styles are created and skills are honed.

Yes, a trained photographer will hopefully take a higher quality image than your handy iPhone. But, if your goal is to create the best possible photos of your best work, to impress and earn the best potential clients, then your best answer is a specialized photographer, with passion, experience and skills specific to your needs. 


Below are some images we captured for Selma Hammer, a talented interior designer in Rochester, NY. Contact Design Imaging Studios with any questions, or to chat about how we can help showcase your design projects. And please join us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Tumblr to stay tuned!

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Design and Styling by Selma Hammer

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