This was such a beautiful home to shoot. In shooting an image like this where you have such a drastic contrast between your highlights and your shadows, you have to plan out what you are trying to accomplish in the finishing product and then think of a game plan that will guide you through your shooting process. In all, this shot took me somewhere in the 1 hour range to finish capturing all the pieces I wanted for the final picture.
What I usually do first is look for a great sky that I will use in post since that is naturally what comes first. I then will wait a little bit longer for the ambient light to be around the level (maybe a tad bit higher) then the interior lights and bracket some shots. This way you have a good base you can composite with the sky shot from earlier. Then, as the ambient light falls, I will walk around the home and trigger my camera with a Cam Ranger and light individual parts of the home to give it the style I want. You have to have some imagination here and stay focused because it is easy to forget what you have and have not already already taken a picture of. When I think I have everything covered, I take a couple bracketed shots exposed for the interior lighting and then you're done! I will be honest, the real work is done in post production. This is were you make your final image shine...
