Photography Resources for Photographing Interiors

Are you a blogger, interior designer, real estate agent, homeowner, or small business owner looking to take beautiful interior photos? These photography resources will help you take the best home photos you can.

As I said on my blogging resources page, blogging (at least in the general categories that I assume you are interested in if you are coming to Maison de Pax for suggestions!), is at least 50% photography. Maybe more. I get questions all the time about my camera equipment and photography strategies, so I wanted to put them all together for you.

Lightroom Presets for interiors and lifestyle:

I love a good time saver… and Lightroom presets (both for Lightroom desktop AND the free Lightroom Mobile App) are definitely one of my favorite resources. Use them to transform your images into amazing with just one click!

FREE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:

If you’re looking for more free photography resources, I wrote a little photography series a few years back…

and I continue to receive messages almost weekly from new readers who have found it and loved it.  It’s totally FREE, and it walks you through my equipment and processes at the time. To be honest, I’ve since upgraded my equipment (see below for details) and tweaked things a bit (I now do almost all my editing in Lightroom, for example, rather than a combo of Lightroom and Photoshop which I did at the time of writing that series), but most of my basic processes are the same. Feel free to start with this series for photography help!

Photographing Interiors Course:

I also have created a full photography course: 10 hours of instructional video content, a 100+ page workbook, and specific challenges to help you build and master your skills. The course focuses specifically on photographing interiors, but it also includes special bonus units of photographing outside scenes, holiday lights, flatlays, and more. You can read more about it and/or purchase the course here.

Photography Equipment for Interiors:

This post contains affiliate links. Click here for my full disclosure policy

The Best Camera Body for photographing interiors:

I have recently ventured into mirrorless cameras with the Canon R6
More expensive and does NOT cooperate with EF lenses unless you purchase an adapter…
But the low-light options and other digital features are truly impressive.

For years I used the Canon 6D (the newer model is 6D Mark iv)
Best bang for your buck: a reasonably priced full frame camera.

Canon Rebel
Best low-budget option: entry-level, cropped sensor camera. I do not recommend the kit lens, though.

Best Lenses for photographing interiors:

For DSLR Canon Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8
For DSLR Nikon Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8
A high-quality (yet affordable) versatile zoom lens with minimal bending. Works with full-frame or crop-sensor cameras, but only works with mirrorless cameras with an adapter.

I also have the Canon 50mm f/1.8
A bit more bokeh potential Canon 50mm f/1.4
An excellent true-to-reality lens with gorgeous low aperture and almost no bending. Not great for full-room shots, though, as it is too zoomed in for most spaces. Works with full-frame or crop-sensor cameras, but only works with mirrorless cameras with an adapter.

For DSLR Canon Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5
For DSLR Nikon Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5
Wide-angle lens for crop-sensor cameras. I personally prefer a less wide-angle, more editorial style to my photographs, but if you have small spaces or really prefer the wider angles, this is an excellent lens for the price.

Canon RF 16mm f/2.8
A good wide-angle lens for mirrorless cameras (note: RF lens mount only).

Notes on “Beginner” camera equipment for photographing interiors:

If you are just starting out and are looking for a more affordable set of camera equipment, then the budget options listed above are what I would recommend. They are pretty much the ones I used for years… I won’t lie. I saw a huge improvement in my photography when I upgraded, but given that many of the photos you’ve seen on my site were taken with this equipment, I’d like to think that it served me pretty well. Again, go read my photography series if you’d like to get a better idea of what you can accomplish with this equipment.

One little note: another budget option is obviously to get the camera that comes as a “kit” with lenses… but I can’t say I recommend it. If it’s all you can afford, definitely start there, but truly spending a bit more on quality lenses can make a world of difference in your image quality. Also, don’t be afraid to look for used or refurbished camera bodies. They have a risk, obviously, but I’ve had plenty of friends who have had great success that way!

Another note: a Rebel is actually a cropped sensor camera, which just means that your view is automatically zoomed in (see below for more explanation). As a result, especially if the spaces you are photographing tend to be small, you may find it difficult to get a full-room shot using a Rebel. In that case, I have had success with this wide-angle lens. I should point out, though, that this lens is not one that will work if/when you decide to upgrade to a full-frame camera body.

My favorite equipment for photographing interiors:

The biggest jump you can make (both cost-wise and photo quality-wise, in my opinion) is to get a “full frame” camera. That just means that when you look through the camera window, the room is in the same proportions as what you see with the naked eye. This allows you to shoot full room or close up shots with less lens distortion. The Rebel, a DSLR beginner camera (or the Nikon equivalent), actually zooms the shot in 1.5x… it makes it tough to get true, square images of a room.

Going mirrorless is also a good option right now, as that seems to be the direction the industry is going. It is a greater cost investment, but it also means that your lenses will work going forward (rather than having to adapt later if you upgrade your camera body).

Another note on tripods: ultimately, what you need is something that will safely hold your camera still so that you can take an image with a longer shutter speed and not have any camera shake. TRUST ME, I think this is the number 1 tip I can give you for quality images. Does this super inexpensive tripod accomplish that? Yes. Start here if funds are low. However, the more expensive tripod has several aspects that make it worth it to me at this point in my photography: it is sturdier (which is great when my kids run through the room where I am photographing), it goes quite a bit higher (which is awesome for some odd angles), the pistol grip makes adjustments a snap, and it has an arm that goes horizontal for those fun flat-lay images.

Accessories for Photographing Interiors:

• Remote – remember my #1 tip about using a tripod? You’ll want a remote to go with that. You can simply use the timer, but who has an extra 10 seconds to wait for every single shot? Not me. 😉
• Reflector/filter – perfect for adding a little light to a dark corner or softening the light coming through a window.
• Umbrella lights – brighten a dark space with soft, natural looking light
• Canon Speedlight – a pricier accessory investment, but this off-camera flash has helped tremendously with photographing bathrooms and closets with very little to no natural light.
• Transmitter – some cameras will not communicate automatically with the speedlight above; if so, you’ll need this transmitter.
• Close-up filters – I also have enjoyed using these little lens filters for close up shots – seriously, less than $15 is hard to beat!
• External hard drives – photography means you need LOTS of storage! I use these external hard drives to keep my laptop from getting too full.

And just for fun, my camera bag sometimes makes it into my shots (because I think it’s pretty 😉 ). It’s a bit of a splurge for a bag, but it was a gift and I love it.

Editing Software for Interior Photography:

Adobe Creative Cloud
The Adobe Creative Cloud is like pure gold. I had an old version of Photoshop on my computer from my teaching days, but when that computer bit the dust, I quickly signed up for the creative cloud. For ~$10/month, you can use the latest versions of Photoshop AND Lightroom. I do pretty much all of my image editing in Lightroom, but I love to use Photoshop for graphic and text overlays. Don’t forget, if you use Lightroom, you can use my free presets for bright, crisp interiors!

Let me know if you have any questions! To see my other blogging resources, visit here. And be sure to pin this for future reference as I am always adding and improving on this list!