Advice on Lighting sofas and throws

Hi all,

I've been asked to take some photos for a new company who are selling high quality throws - blankets for sofas. They want to do this in some houses around the area to show the products in different situations.

I have a Canon 7d with L glass, and a 580ex Speedlite. I also have two 300w studio strobes with another 600w unit coming in the next couple of weeks. I have basic modifiers - umbrella, softboxes.

Does anybody have an advice that they can give me. I've taken photos of people and landscapes, but never interiors shots like this with a subject this size.

Any links or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Russell
http://www.standring.eu

One possible lighting style is to use the (availible) daylight, coming in from windows or doors, as the key light and use a flash w/honeycomb to replicate the sun.

The 'sun' may hit the throw just partially as accent light, or create a pool to accentuate an area. Powerwise it should balance well with the availible light - it's up to you whether it's just a tad brighter or more dominant. (remember that you can adjust the ambient by the shutter speed and the flash by aperture..)
One or two flashes bounced to walls or ceiling may provide fill light. Voilà
(in case you own a notebook you might shoot tethered!!)
--
cheers, Peter
Germany

My daughter is an interior designer so last week I gave her this link from an architectural/interior photographer. It seems he does a lot of work for the real estate community. This guy has a link back to DPR so he may be a member. See if you can glean anything from his blog-site. He also has 10 tips of which I only see 5.

http://www.harrybisel.com/

http://www.harrybisel.com/category/real-estate-photography/tips-and-techniques/

The photo will vary according to your situation, but the basic idea is that you want one somewhat "hard" light to rake across the fabric to show texture, and a second "soft" (ie--flood) light to fill and show the pattern and color.

Good luck!

Thank you all for the advice. I'll practice at home and let you know how I get on.

Cheers, Russell