An interior design photo-shoot in the Cotswolds

In January this year we were invited to produce interior photography of two houses in the picturesque Cotswolds. The job had been on the back-burner for a few months as minor finishing touches had been delayed.

One of the challenges of a winter interior photography shoot is that the sun is low in the sky, and if you’re blessed with a clear day the difference between the interior and exterior light can be extreme, calling for a bit of trickery so as not to ‘blow-out’ the windows.

How much in one day?

The original brief had been, well, brief. When it was first mentioned it was a few rooms in one house. Then, it turns out not only could our entire house fit in the hallway of what you could only call a mansion, but there was a guest house that needed shooting also (again, larger than ours).

Oh… and there’s another house the client would like to shoot as well… as long as there is time!

We aim to please!

So, having travelled down the night before we got an early start. I'm sure the client honestly thought it would take a couple of hours but suffice to say, having worked at breakneck speed all day, we finally got to the second house after dark (a whole new light balance experience!) and stopped shooting at about 9:00 pm. Having been simply bowled over by the size and opulence of the first house, a weekend retreat, I was astonished by the next – “the big house”. Thankfully this one only required a few details in one room and the hallway – to do the house justice I'd have been there a week!

The client is always right

My client wanted the lighting to be a bit warmer than I would usually shoot, but for a cosy, homely look; I'm sure they are right – I'm more used to an architectural shoot where the temperature of the light is usually neutral. Getting the mix right with the cool winter sun wasn't easy!

No names, no pack-drill

As the old army expression goes, so goes this job. While I have permission to show the photos, client confidentiality forbids I tell you any more, but here is a small selection of the results.