Critique The SHED (crit and an extra favour from TP members required)

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Tunbridge

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So this is my first real go at any sort of interior photography, which came about due to something else I could do with the help of TP members on…more on that below.

During the lockdown I built myself a ‘Shed’ at the bottom of my garden. It was in the planning before lockdown but the first lockdown gave me a bit more time than I would normally have had to develop the idea further.

The goal was always that it would be my birthday treat to myself for my 40th birthday, which was back in October. The plan was to have a party in there but obviously that didn’t happen! Regardless I’m really happy with how the project turned out.

Anyway, I also entered it into ‘Games Room of the Year’ competition, which is an annual competition run by Home Leisure Direct. Of course to do this I needed some good photos for my entry…I think I did OK but I’ll leave that for you guys to decided and comment on as I’m sure there is loads of room for improvement.

The good news is that I got shortlisted as one of the top 10 entries and my games room is now open to the public vote!

It would be great if some of the TP members could vote for my entry (Stephen Wells on the list) and see if I can win the title of games room of the year!

https://www.homeleisuredirect.com/games-room-vote/

Voting closes 15th November

2020_09_12TheSHED055 by Tunbridge Wells, on Flickr

2020_09_12TheSHED053 by Tunbridge Wells, on Flickr

2020_09_12TheSHED043 by Tunbridge Wells, on Flickr

2020_09_12TheSHED042 by Tunbridge Wells, on Flickr
 
Stroof, That`s a home from home and a very nice one indeedy :)
 
Congratulations that is one hell of a 'Shed' , personally I would have left room for my motorbike. As its a shed competition and not a photography competition IMHO the pictures show it off to great effect.
I will leave it to others to discuss lighting and heights/angles - I am just Jealous to be honest !!

PS Voted for you !
 
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Thanks, I am really pleased with it. Best Birthday present I've ever got myself.

I always play it down and just say its an 8x4 shed. People don't realise I'm talking in meters, not feet and imagine I've just built a stereotypical garden shed to keep my lawn mower in!
 
Very nice - a job well done and certainly something to be proud of. (y)

+1 vote from me. :)
 
jerry12953 said:
Looks like a great shed but I question the interior......bar, darts and pool.......not my cup of tea at all! Not to mention the union jack carpet.:eek:
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Love the carpet myself.

Like the exterior building but I would have used the space differently - read massive home office with editing suite with tri screen rig and giant custom L spaced desk- uber spec PC for editing and separate lap top to troll folk with :D

Right...critique stuff...the angles are all jaunty.


2. Good strong diagonal composition.
3. Leaning down left badly....it reminds of being at sea in a very bump boat.
4. Odd things going on with the verticals...look at the picture frame then the frame edge...not level, but diverging in.
5 and 6...as above
7. Good. Try dusk rather than night so the unlit buillding edges stand out against a dark sky...not a black one.
8. As 4 but not as bad...only the trained eye spots it.
9 and 10...well you know.

I'd advise you get in there with a tripod, ulta wide lens and get the things lined up perpendicular or at strong 45 degree angles....keep the thing level on both vertical and horizontal planes and try again. The pluses are for interior exposures your WB and exposure, focus looks ok...but you really have to take great care with keeping everything level, or correcting it in PS
 
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SFTPhotography said:
Love the carpet myself.

Like the exterior building but I would have used the space differently - read massive home office with editing suite with tri screen rig and giant custom L spaced desk- uber spec PC for editing and separate lap top to troll folk with :D

Right...critique stuff...the angles are all jaunty.


2. Good strong diagonal composition.
3. Leaning down left badly....it reminds of being at sea in a very bump boat.
4. Odd things going on with the verticals...look at the picture frame then the frame edge...not level, but diverging in.
5 and 6...as above
7. Good. Try dusk rather than night so the unlit buillding edges stand out against a dark sky...not a black one.
8. As 4 but not as bad...only the trained eye spots it.
9 and 10...well you know.

I'd advise you get in there with a tripod, ulta wide lens and get the things lined up perpendicular or at strong 45 degree angles....keep the thing level on both vertical and horizontal planes and try again. The pluses are for interior exposures your WB and exposure, focus looks ok...but you really have to take great care with keeping everything level, or correcting it in PS
Click to expand...

Thanks, appreciate the advice. The world of wide angle lenses is very new to me, I'd borrowed this one (its a 12-24 f4 Nikon Dx lens which I'm using on a D750) so I don't think that was helping.
 
Tunbridge said:
Thanks, appreciate the advice. The world of wide angle lenses is very new to me, I'd borrowed this one (its a 12-24 f4 Nikon Dx lens which I'm using on a D750) so I don't think that was helping.
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Not helping at all that lens. The trick really is to keep level - thankfully it's not a high ceiling so achieving a mid level camera height in the space is do-able so you can keep everything level and avoid convergence. Tripod and great care. Precision is the name of the game.

Best lens for interiors is the 14-24 F2.8. 16-35 f4 is a POS which distorts madly.

For an interior shoot - try a grey day - means what is outside would be over exposed - or blend an exposure - one for what is on the other side of the window then one for the interior - pain in the ass but grey day is path of least resistance.
 
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SFTPhotography said:
Not helping at all that lens. The trick really is to keep level - thankfully it's not a high ceiling so achieving a mid level camera height in the space is do-able so you can keep everything level and avoid convergence. Tripod and great care. Precision is the name of the game.

Best lens for interiors is the 14-24 F2.8. 16-35 f4 is a POS which distorts madly.

For an interior shoot - try a grey day - means what is outside would be over exposed - or blend an exposure - one for what is on the other side of the window then one for the interior - pain in the ass but grey day is path of least resistance.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll have to have another crack at it. Don't think I'll be able to justify a new lens though! On the plus side there a plenty of grey days up here in the north east at the moment!
 
Bebop said:
What an amazing shed! I can't see where you've hidden your camera equipment though ;) Love it. Will head off to vote now.
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Thanks. The thing is, when this was first on the drawing board, which is probably a couple of years back now, I did fancy making it a photography studio. The problem is that to avoid the requirement for planning permission you can only build a structure upto 2.5m high. I already struggle with my studio lights in my house where the ceilings are about 2.8m so there was no chance it was going to work out as the ceiling in the shed is way lower than is ideal.
 
Tunbridge said:
I already struggle with my studio lights in my house where the ceilings are about 2.8m so there was no chance it was going to work out as the ceiling in the shed is way lower than is ideal.
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Until now, I've got around this same problem by sitting my models on a low seat/stool (I live in a shed) which obviously makes the lights higher WRT to them. Thankfully, I'll be moving soon into somewhere with higher ceilings, so I'll be able to do more standing shots.
 
Sky said:
Until now, I've got around this same problem by sitting my models on a low seat/stool (I live in a shed)
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Yeah I do that (not live in the shed!) but it does reduce the flexibility and options you have. I couldn't justify a dedicated room with such restrictions...plus I really wanted a pool table and a bar!
 
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