In front of a camera, an empty room first looks plainer than it does in reality. People, sound and movement are missing. What that state does show is the original idea behind the interior: lines, materials, light and the way the furniture is arranged.
The real work happens before the shutter
So the actual work starts before the exposure. Chairs are aligned, tables checked, curtains ordered and small distractions taken out. Then comes the search for a viewpoint that does not just show furniture but explains the routes through the room and how its parts relate.
When a house is allowed to be unoccupied
In a restaurant this moment usually falls shortly before opening. In a hotel it lies before the first guest or between two stays. At an opening such as the Meliá Frankfurt City, the whole house was finished but still unoccupied. There the camera movement took over the part the missing guests would have played.
Many small decisions nobody is meant to notice
A finished interior picture is rarely a spontaneous one. It is the result of many small decisions, all of which should look self-evident in the frame.
More work of this kind is under interior design and at the Amoroso.
