RoomFlip / Guide

How to photograph your room so a redesign looks right

Better photo, better redesign. Where to stand, what to clear away, and how to light a room so a redesign tool keeps the real layout.

A redesign tool can only work with what your photo shows. If the floor is hidden, the window is cut off or the room is full of laundry, the result will guess, and guesses rarely match your room. These steps need only a phone and a few minutes, and they make the photo much more useful for any redesign tool.

Stand in the corner and shoot the longest wall

A corner shot shows two walls, the floor and most of the furniture at once. Pick the corner that gives the longest view across the room, and shoot toward the far wall.

• Back into the corner as far as you can without leaning on the wall.
• Hold the phone at about chest height, not at eye level or at the floor. A middle height keeps the walls straight and shows both the floor and the ceiling line.
• Aim straight ahead, not down at the furniture. Tilting the phone makes walls lean.

If the room is long and narrow, take the photo from the short end so the full length is visible.

Light

Good light shows the real colors and shapes of the room.

• Daytime with the curtains open usually works best. Natural light shows true wall and floor colors.
• If the light is dim, turn on the main overhead light and a lamp or two. Avoid a single bright spot in the dark.
• Avoid shooting straight into a bright window. The window turns into a white block and the rest of the room goes dark. Stand so the window is at the side of the frame, not in the center.
• Do not use the flash. It flattens the room and puts a glare on shiny floors.

Clear the clutter you do not want copied

Whatever is in the photo can show up in the result. Remove the temporary things first.

• Clothes, laundry baskets, bags and shoes.
• Cables, chargers and power strips on the floor.
• Dishes, bottles and trash.
• Items on the sofa and bed that are not part of the furniture.

Leave the furniture you plan to keep exactly where it is. Do not tidy the room into a layout you will not actually use. If you are not sure whether a piece is staying, keep it in the photo, because you can decide later.

Start with the floor. A clear floor tells the tool where the room begins and where the furniture sits.

Show the floor and the window frames

The floor and the windows are the two things that anchor a room. If they are visible, a redesign has something fixed to build around.

• Make sure at least part of the floor is visible in front of the furniture, not just a sliver at the bottom edge.
• Include the whole window, with the frame and the sill, and not cut off at the edge of the photo.
• Pull curtains aside or open them if they hide the frame. You can close them again afterward.
• Include the door if it is in view, so the tool does not remove it.

If you keep your walls, make sure at least one wall is visible without a large piece of furniture in front of all of it.

Phone settings

You do not need a special camera, only a few habits.

• Lens. Use the normal lens. The ultra-wide lens can bend straight lines near the edges and make a small room look bigger and stranger. If the normal lens does not fit everything, step back or use a different corner before switching.
• Orientation. Hold the phone sideways. A horizontal photo captures more of the width of the room and is easier to compare with a redesign.
• Focus. Tap on the main piece of furniture so it is sharp. Wait for the focus to settle before you shoot.
• Edits. Skip filters. Keep the photo as the camera took it.
• Level. Turn on the grid in your camera settings, and keep vertical lines such as door frames upright.
• Extra shots. Take a few from different corners. You can pick the best one afterward.

Check before uploading

Run through this list once. If any line is a no, retake the photo.

1. Can I see the floor clearly, in front of the furniture?
2. Is every window visible with its frame, not cut off?
3. Is the clutter gone, and is the furniture I am keeping in place?
4. Is the light even, with no flash and no blown-out window?
5. Are the walls straight and the photo sharp, taken sideways from a corner?

Once the photo passes, you are ready to decide what stays and what gets swapped. The guide on redesigning a room from a photo while keeping your furniture covers that step, including how to judge the result. If you are still choosing between looks, read about the four room styles for a first apartment.

RoomFlip is a planned tool that will work from a photo like this one: you upload it, tap the furniture to keep, and get four redesigns. It is not live yet. To hear when it is ready, you can join early access.