Simplistic questions from a camera novice

G

Gabe68

New member
To begin, in no way am I a professional. I own a bed and breakfast and I would like to shoot some interior footage to use for virtual tours on our website ie, click on a map to see a room. I have two 1000w lights, a couple of soft lights and a 300w backlight. All of this being said, I am a complete novice.

Based on what I have read about lighting, I did a simple set up and then experimented with scene settings for a midsized living room with one window. I was somewhat happy with the results. My problem and this might seem funny or too simplistic for many on this forum, my image always seems to be slanted in the viewfinder no matter how much I adjust the tripod. It isn't the most expensive tripod in the world, but at the very least I should get a level background. The above problem was shooting a fire place and noticing that the mantle did not seem level, not in an extreme way, but enough for me to notice. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated as I am new to all of this, also any suggestions on lighting a room with the equipment I mentioned for a nice colorful feel that would persuade people to visit our bed and breakfast would also be appreciated.

Gabe
 
is the mantel actually level? you may want to check that first.

second, zoom in so the edge is at the bottom or top of the viewfinder. adjust the tripod so it makes a straight line. then zoom out.
 
If your tripod doesn't have a level you could buy a simple bubble level at the hardware store and just place it temporarily on top of the camera on the horizontal axis. If you want to get a little fancy, there are levels that slip into the camera's hot shoe and some, like the Hama Camera Spirit Level 5411 have two bubbles, one for each axis.

As for the lighting, as you may already know, there's no right or wrong. It's a matter of experimenting until you get a look that is satisfying.
 
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Also, after you are sure the frame is leveled, take a look at the shadows being cast by your lights. A shadow cast to one side of a horizontal surface, like a mantel, could make it appear unlevel.
 
In instances like this I always ignore the bubble level on the tripod and just move the camera so that it looks level in the viewfinder.
 
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