How to capture opulent interiors

Use available light to capture character

Luxury hotels tend to use ambient rather than bright, direct lighting, so work with the available light to bring out the real character of the space, especially when it falls across rich textures and architectural details. Even in low light, careful exposure and photographing in RAW will help you convey the atmosphere of the place. In Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium’s restaurant, Taiko, the light was already starting to fade before dinner service, so I reduced the shutter speed and kept the ISO as low as possible, using the table to stabilise the camera. I wanted to pick up the different ambient light sources, as well as the natural light coming in from the window on the right, and give the image a first-person perspective. I boosted the exposure by +2.0, lifted the shadows and increased the temperature for a warmer feel.

Later, in the bar, I wanted to show off the high ceilings and walls. With most of the light coming from behind the bar, it was a good opportunity to capture silhouettes, and I only reduced the highlights very slightly. In my opinion, sometimes less light is better.

Top tip: Get as much right in-camera as possible, then use the edit to refine what is already there, balancing colour temperature, reducing bright highlights or bringing back shadow detail so the final image feels natural rather than retouched.

Give details a sense of place

When you focus on details, it’s worth thinking about what sits around them too, as a little context can make the image feel more atmospheric and tell a stronger story about the space. In the hotel lobby, an installation of violins by interior designer Piero Lissoni hangs from the ceiling like a chandelier – a nod to the district’s cultural roots. It was a dark part of the space, so I pushed the ISO and used a faster shutter speed to account for the slight breeze moving the violins. I wanted to catch the highlights on them while still keeping a sense of place, so I made sure the hotel branding stayed visible and let the violins fall deliberately out of focus using a wide aperture, but not so much that they became unrecognisable.

For this project, I was keen to get a mix of wide, mid and detail pictures, so when I later spotted the mosaic floor tiling near the entrance, it immediately felt like a detail-worthy capture. With bright light coming in from the right and movement from the nearby doors, I used a faster shutter speed to keep everything crisp. The best detail-focused images should do more than just look nice – they should help convey the refinement and character of the interior.

Top tip: Make sure every detail in the frame earns its place, because if something is not adding beauty, context or mood, it’s usually better to remove it or recompose.

Frame architecture to guide the eye

Luxury hotels often have elegant curves, clean lines and architectural features that can be used to frame an image, which strengthens the composition and guides the viewer’s eye. A living room on its own might not say a huge amount for example, but when you frame it through a doorway, or use furniture or surrounding features to shape the scene, it adds depth, context and a stronger sense of place. Here, I photographed the living area from the bathroom, which gave me a more interesting perspective. There was plenty of natural light coming in from the windows on the left, so I used that to my advantage, and made sure the lamps were switched on to add a little warmth and ambience. I wanted enough depth of field to hold the scene together, so the different elements within the frame all worked as one.

Top tip: The NIKKOR Z 70-180mm f/2.8 was especially useful here, as it let me pick out features in the suite from much further back, without losing that sense of intimacy in the frame.

Create atmosphere with light and shadow 

At Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium, there are several vintage clocks dotted around the property, and I wanted to find an interesting way to showcase them. Using the arches of a stairwell, I was able not only to frame this clock, but also to create a natural contrast between dark and bright spaces. To do that, I reduced the shutter speed rather than pushing the ISO even further and dialled in +1.0 exposure compensation to brighten the scene and bring out more detail in the darker areas, while keeping the natural glow of the space intact.

Later, I was really taken by the light coming through a stained-glass window in one of the stairwells. With very little other ambient light in the space, I wanted to use it to play with the contrast between light and dark while also showing the curvature of the architecture. To do this, I opened the lens up and increased the exposure by +1.7 to lift the shadows. It shows that it’s always worth working with the available light, because even when using ISO 6400, the Z8 didn’t miss a beat.

Top tip: Working in RAW gives you far more flexibility, as there is often plenty of detail stored in the shadows that can be recovered in post. So, remember that a space that feels too dark at first may still have real potential.

Explore lesser-known angles to avoid the ordinary

It’s tempting to just capture a straight on, eye-level view from the doorway. It’s usually the first thing everyone captures. Take that frame if you need it but then move on to look for something less expected. For example, wandering around the hotel I found a dark stairwell with a beautifully ornate wrought iron stairway. I used available light and dropped the shutter speed. If I were to take this image again, I might even wait for a blurred foot to move into frame.

Using a zoom lens gives you greater flexibility for composing this kind of image, and with the NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S I was able to capture so many interesting compositions from unusual angles in and around the hotel, such as the shadow of a window frame falling perfectly against the bottom of a hand-painted tiled wall. In fact, I found the lens performs well in virtually any situation, not to mention it’s lightning fast.

Top tip: Use your camera’s vari-angle screen to perfect compositions taken at high and low angles.

Matt’s five top tips for opulent interiors:

1. Firstly, explore the space and try to find areas that speak to you. If you are drawn to an area, chances are it could make for an interesting image.
2. A general room of thumb for focal lengths is to use around 17mm for a full room view, 50mm for a vignette and 100mm for details. These will give you a good variation.
3. One of the biggest mistakes people make when photographing interiors is trying to squeeze everything into one wide image. Moving in closer often makes the image feel far more considered.
4. Be as invisible as possible, because it’s vital you avoid disrupting any guests and their experience, so work with the aim of blending into the background, being so subtle guests don’t even know you’re there.
5. For practice, start off photographing spaces you know, such as friends’ homes, local bars and restaurants or a church, to build up a bit of a portfolio while learning how to find important details and how to work with the available light.