Hey guys,
Been trying to brainstorm this one myself but after a week and no answer I thought I'd throw it out there!
Recently a client has come to me with quite a big job, and must of it is fine, however there is one thing i can't seem to work around.
They want venue shots of a big restaurant that sits at the top of a mountain with views across a lake and other mountains. They want the inside exposed for the experience and people but also to showcase the view. My dilemma is that the windows are tinted, they reflected the inside lots and they don't want that post process look of cutting another exposure into the windows. I've attached to give you guys an idea of the sort of thing I'm looking at.
Any thoughts?
This is a difficult scene... and your client's expectations need to be managed.
1.a. Reflections of seated diners are natural... reflections make the views look more real.
b. That said, have you tried using a circular polarizer? That might cut out a good chunk of the interior window reflections.
2. I'd need to see some location photos (ideally a few panos) and a map... time of day and sun position is really going to affect the execution of this shot.
3. Are you using supplementary light (strobes, flashes, continuous light sources, etc)?
4. Do you have to take this photo during actual dinner service or will this be a closed set with models (ie. not real customers)?
I'm currently writing up what might affect the scene to them actually.
1.B. I haven't but this might be the way to go.
2. The sun rises and shines straight in, then works it's way behind the place, so early morning is when it gets direct sunlight, the rest of the time the sun sits behind but lights up the scene and mountains.
3. I wasn't going to, and if I do I only have one flash, which will work fine for a close up but not for a full wide open shot.
4. It'll be taken with models.
(replying out of order, short answers first)
4. Good. That solves/avoids a lot.
1.b. Try a few different CPs... I have several (from over the years) and I've found that some work better than others in certain situations and it's not obvious why (to me, anyway). Also, these reflections really aren't that bad.
3. Because you're working with human talent (I can't wait for the day we have android models who can hold the same position for hours), you really can't "flash paint" the scene like you could for a realty shot. So, I'd shoot it in stages...
a) lock off camera and focus.
b) Shoot your dinner scene with talent.
c) remove talent, being careful to reset all chairs/objects, shoot empty dinner scene (this is a backup step, if the background scene light is changing rapidly, skip this step)
d) turn off lights and remove/cover any objects that reflect in the windows. Take a few different "backup" exposures (adjusting only shutter speed) of the exterior (but do NOT change focus!)... even some overexposed.
Now, you don't have to mask/cut out your windows or your talent (you have backup exposures if you DO need to go that route), instead, just paint in the "c" and/or "d" exposures over the reflections in "b".
Counting on doing this with one strobe is a really iffy approach. Not saying it can't be done, but you could put yourself in a really tough spot. Ideally I would go into a shoot like this with a few strobes and a small variety of modifiers. If you want to keep the darker mood, then you'd want something with a tighter throw like a gridded softbox, but with a brighter environment, an umbrella could work just fine.
See if you can get in to pre-light the scene. Shooting the scene in stages is a good idea, but there are a number of variables that must be considered to do it correctly, so I would strongly recommend trying to emulate these circumstances in some kind of practice shoot to see what you're up against. You really don't want to go into this shoot trying to execute it this way with no prior experience.
Assuming you want all the people in focus, you'll need to stop down to at least f/8 AND use a faster shutter speed, so you have to approach this much differently than one would a standard interior.