Jules Karney wrote:
Hi to all members.
I am thinking about getting into real estate photography. As a matter of fact I shot my first interior-exterior yesterday.
The equipment I have is Nikon D500, D7100 50 1.4, 24-70 2.8, 80-400 4.5-5.6 70-200 2.8. Nikon SB 700 flash. Nikon 18-140.
My question is (I have read all in the search section real estate photography), I need either a 12-24 f4 or a 14-24. Which lens would I purchase? And why.
Thanks in advance.
Jules
Las Vegas
Jules, you need to get an excellent understanding of light, color, composition, post processing (compositing, HDR, color handling, focus stacking, layer blending, frequency separation, cloning, etc, etc, etc) before you consider going down this path. Your 18-140 will give you the width you need, and if not, you can generally do a stitched pano to get wider.
First image - horrible keystoning. poor control over light, not sure what you are wanting a prospective buyer to look at that says "buy me."
Second image - wrong time of day, too much contrast, the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset would avoid your blown out sky and concrete driveway. Don't need to show the side of the house, it is unattractive. Slight keystoning here is ok, but I would have corrected it.
Third image - window totally blown out, keystoning, barrel distortion correctable in Lightroom, Photoshop PT Lens with the proper lens profile. Doesn't really show the room to it's best advantage.
In smaller rooms you will need to use a wider lens, but carefully, to avoid keystoning, volume anamorphosis, severe extension distortion. Or you can use a longer lens, but you'd have to start being concerned with having adequate depth of field, so you'll have to learn how to do focus stacking. A tripod with a bowl platform (often used in video) and a level will be indispensable.
Take a look at this guy's portfolio. I mentored him a few years ago and his work is really excellent now. You probably don't have the clientele, especially if you are doing MLS RE Agents, but you can certainly learn from his approach.
http://ronnachtwey.com/bas/beforeafter-residential/FYI, he was a Canon 5d Mk III shooter until he found he needed a 14-24mm, at which point he bought a Nikon D800. A comparably wide lens on your camera would be an 8-16mm or a 10-20mm. I think the 12-24 or the 14-24 may not be wide enough for those difficult, tight spaces. But if you understand it and use it appropriately it should be your least used lens.