Interior photography is about more than just documenting a room — it’s about capturing the essence of how people live. This beautiful sage green kitchen, designed and fitted by Elysee Kitchens in Sunninghill, perfectly illustrates this. More than gorgeous cabinetry and wood countertops, it’s a space that reflects the homeowners’ love of their garden, complete with chickens and bees. (They even gifted me some delicious honey!)
The challenge? Photographing a high-contrast space where indoor warmth meets brilliant natural light flooding through the bi-fold doors I wanted to balance both to reveal the kitchen’s full character and depth. I chose to use some HDR photography for some of the images in this kitchen in Finchampstead, Berkshire.
HDR Photography for Kitchen Interiors
HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography involves taking multiple exposures of the same scene and combining them to capture detail in both the brightest highlights and the darkest shadows – essential when photographing kitchens with large windows or garden views.
When to Use HDR for Interior Kitchen Photography:
- Large windows or bi-fold doors overlooking gardens
- Bright skylights creating high-contrast lighting situations
- Dark wood cabinetry paired with bright countertops
- Showcasing both interior details and exterior views simultaneously
- Reflective surfaces like stainless steel appliances that catch window light
When to Avoid HDR in Kitchen Photography:
- Evening shots with controlled artificial lighting
- Moody, dramatic aesthetics with intentional shadows
- Food photography on kitchen counters that can look artificial
- Quick lifestyle shots requiring authentic, candid moments
Natural-Looking HDR: My Approach
The key to successful interior photography is ensuring your HDR images look natural rather than over-processed. Here’s my approach for this Elysee Kitchens project:
Bracketing Settings for Interior Kitchen Photography:
- The key to successful interior photography is ensuring HDR images look natural rather than over-processed. For this Elysee Kitchens project, I used:
- Bracketing settings: -2, 0, +2 stops (or -1.5, 0, +1.5 for subtle variation), RAW format, sturdy tripod, and low ISO (100-400) for optimal quality.
- For this shoot, I used a tripod from Park Cameras, who are always helpful in ensuring I have the right equipment – absolutely essential for sharp, aligned HDR images.
Processing with subtlety: I preserved the beautiful natural light whilst revealing those gorgeous sage green tones and walnut countertops that could disappear in shadow. This meant keeping highlights bright but not blown out, preserving natural shadow depth for dimension, and maintaining accurate colour rendition. The trick? Local adjustments rather than heavy-handed global sliders.
The challenge for this shoot was to capture the indoor warmth and the garden views
This kitchen presented a beautiful challenge – stunning bi-fold doors opened onto an autumn garden loved by the owners. The purple flowers, golden leaves, and established trees all told the story of why this kitchen mattered.
Traditional single-exposure photography forces an impossible choice: properly expose the interior and lose the garden to blown-out windows, or expose for the garden and render the interior too dark to appreciate those sage cabinets.
With HDR bracketing I have blended the interior and the garden connection, I have kept the garden details using the darkest exposure, the middle exposure has balance the overall room and the brightest exposure has revealed the detail in the corners and under the work surfaces..
Timing and Technique:
I scheduled this shoot for late morning when natural light was bright but not harsh, the autumn sun created warm glow through the skylight, and garden details were evenly lit.
Managing reflections: I positioned carefully to avoid appearing in reflective surfaces, used angles that minimized lens flare, and used selective reflections that added depth.
Camera Angles That Tell the Story
Great kitchen photography isn’t just about pretty pictures – it’s about showing how the space works.
Wide shots from the main living area captured the impressive built-in entertainment wall with cabinetry, how the island creates a natural gathering point, and the flow from cooking to dining to relaxation.
Detail shots highlight the cabinets & hardware, the extended island seating, and the secret door to the utility room showing a brilliant storage solution.
Functional angles showcase sight lines from cooking to dining, how natural light reaches different areas of the kitchen, and access to the garden for fresh herbs (or honey from the bees!).
Vertical compositions to include the gorgeous skylight showing the volume and airiness of the space while illustrating the connection between the kitchen and garden.
The Garden Connection
What made this project special wasn’t just the Elysee Kitchens design – it was how perfectly it connected to the homeowners’ lifestyle. Their garden, complete with chickens and bees, wasn’t just a view; it was an active part of their lives.
I captured this by framing shots through the bi-fold doors, timing the shoot when autumn light made the garden glow, and showcasing how the island positioning allows the cook to enjoy the view. This is where HDR truly shines: showing both the cozy, functional kitchen interior AND the beautiful outdoor space that inspired its design.
For kitchen designers and fitters like Elysee Kitchens, professional photography is essential for showing clients and social media
- Showcases their style and attention to detail
- Helps potential clients visualize possibilities
- Elevates your brand above competitors using phone snapshots
- Provides portfolio content for websites and marketing materials
- Demonstrates the quality of your work across different styles
Great photos tell great stories – and every kitchen design tells a story about how families live, gather, cook, and connect.
Ready to Capture Your Interior Design Project?
If you’re an interior designer or business looking for professional interior photography services in Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire or London, I’d love to help tell your story through imagery.
For more recent interior projects, see my Architectural & Interior Photography showcase.
Contact Debbie Hare Photography:
- Telephone: 07976 397638
- Email: Hello@debbieharephotography.co.uk
- Book a Session
- Please see recent work here: https://www.instagram.com/debbieharephotography/
Create beautiful images that showcase your kitchen design or your renovation.