Elevate Your Interior Photography: mastering photo merging and presets
As a stylist or interior designer exploring photography, you may have already learned the basics of framing and lighting. But to create images that stand out, it's time to get-to-know some post-production techniques like photo merging and the use of presets for editing. These tools can help you achieve an editorial style and maintain consistency across your portfolio. Here’s how to integrate these techniques into your workflow.
Understanding Photo Merging
Photo merging, sometimes referred to as focus stacking or HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography, involves combining multiple images to create a single, enhanced photo. This technique is particularly useful in interior photography, where you may want to capture both the fine details of a close-up object and the vastness of an entire room in one shot. Alternatively, you may want to create an image with multiple areas out of focus to create a more editorial-style photo, as I have done here.
Photo Merging in Lightroom
Here’s an example of how to merge images in Lightroom. The images above were taken at f2.0, ISO 200 and shutter speed 1/30. For each shot, I chose a different focal point, creating some areas in focus, and some out of focus. Once the images were imported into Lightroom Desktop, I selected all three, right clicked on one of them and in the drop down menu, selected Photo Merge/HDR Merge. I chose the option ‘Auto Align’ and deselected ‘Apply Auto Settings’. Lightroom then merged the photos into one (below). You can see the colours are quite intense, and this is where the next step comes in.
Using Presets to Streamline Editing
The next step in post-production is editing to elevate your images. Presets are a powerful tool in this process. They are pre-saved combinations of edits—like adjustments to exposure, contrast, colour balance, and sharpness—that can be applied to your photos with a single click. By creating or using pre-made presets, you can ensure that all your photos share the same colour tone, brightness, and overall style. This is especially important if you’re curating an Instagram feed or a portfolio where visual cohesion is key. When using presets, it’s a good idea to play around and try-out a few. In the final, merged image, I tried three presets from my Elevated Industrial Pack, and settled on Urban Texture. I increased the intensity of the preset to 130 using the slider, and it was done.
This process was quick and streamlined, and I’ll definitely be using it again. Like all interior photography skills, experimentation is key. Play with your photographs using all the tools at your disposal and with practise, you’ll be creating elevated images that showcase your work and help you build a thriving business.
