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Lighting for Real Estate Photography
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Feb 7, 2016 17:51:24   #
CKBailey Loc: Omaha
 
My sister-in-law is a real estate agent. I photographed her last house which had wonderful natural light (lucky me) and she would like me to photograph her next listing. I want to do a good job for her but I have limited equipment, experience and don't want to break the bank on an idea we are just developing. I have a Nikon d750, one lens, Nikkor 24-120 and have yet to purchase a speedlight. I have read that a wide angle lens is considered essential for this type of photography and I know lighting is crucial. Since this is only for the local MLS and not Architectural Digest, I don't want to go overboard. I was hoping for advice and wisdom in my ABC/123 approach.

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Feb 7, 2016 18:02:56   #
dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma
 
some ideas, good luck.
http://photographyforrealestate.net/2012/05/13/choosing-gear-to-get-started-in-real-estate-photography-for-least-the-cost
http://www.google.com/#q=basic+equipment+for+photographing+real+estate+house

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Feb 7, 2016 18:25:07   #
katherineivey Loc: Corinth, Texas
 
I have a Canon 60D and use a Canon 10-22 mm lens that I love for real estate. Always on a tripod and always use bracketing for HDR processing in Photomatix. My website is kativeyphotography.com where I have photos posted. I always turn on all lights and don't use flash.

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Feb 7, 2016 19:25:36   #
Bill_de Loc: US
 
Nice work!

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Feb 7, 2016 19:26:36   #
davidrb Loc: Half way there on the 45th Parallel
 
Lighting is one problem, field of view is another. I don't think your 24mm zoom will get you as wide as you need to be. Another responder mentioned 10-22mm that would suit your needs better. Get some invisible pants and shoes cause they will be in your shots if you aren't careful. Good luck.

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Feb 8, 2016 05:44:17   #
jimbo70 Loc: Orange Park, FL.
 
katherineivey wrote:
I always turn on all lights and don't use flash.
Nice, but you might want to look at DXO Viewpoint.

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Feb 8, 2016 06:30:34   #
rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona
 
For the real estate photos I've done, a 20mm f/2.8 worked very well. Though, I have used a 28mm for a few of them.
Learn to work with a couple of speed lights, preferably off camera. This will allow you to selectively light areas, or focus the viewer's attention on certain features which are considered important.
Do not use any enhancement techniques such as HDR. That, in my opinion, unless done exceptionally well, presents a false appearance. Learn how to get the optimum exposure and work with that. --Bob

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Feb 8, 2016 06:32:58   #
DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX
 
I am a professional real estate and architectural photographer. Your D750 and 24-120 will be fine while you learn. Ultra wide angle lenses aren't absolutely necessary. I shoot real estate mostly at 24mm. Architectural is different in that you really need a shift tilt. Your most important piece of equipment will be a good tripod and geared head like a Manfroto 410 Jr. Because you don't have lights you'll need to bracket 5 to 7 shots and then blend in post. Keeping your camera level is a must. You need to concentrate on composing two walls rather than trying to get an entire room. When you process, and I suggest LR CC, your vertical adjustment is a must. Look up Scott Hargis on YouTube and consider taking one of his courses. Good luck.

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Feb 8, 2016 06:44:42   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
Yes, I have your system plus a 910 flash. Inside you want to point the flash behind you and up. Use TTL settings on flash, you can shot manual or what ever on camera. Experiment with it.

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Feb 8, 2016 07:09:35   #
Jcmarino
 
I love Scott Robert Lim Strobies. Because he designs them himself and does little advertising, they are quite reasonable. They work with Nikon, Canon and Sony with no problem. Great quality, and light. Easy to work with off camera. I bought the 3 strobie and transmitter kit. I thought it was over kill at first, but now I don't know how I did anything without them. I think when I bought mine, it came with the triple mount as well. If you have any questions, you can just email Scott and he responds back very quickly. For continuous light, I suggest Rotolight Neo.

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Feb 8, 2016 07:15:36   #
Capture48 Loc: Arizona
 
For MLS only photos your gear with the addition of a tripod (I'd buy a video tripod) and flash will be adequate for now. occasionally I have to move my flashs off-camera,on-camera I always bounce it. If you want to do walkthrough videos then you need gear like sliders, video tripod, Lav mics and of course video editing software. I added a quad to my business two years ago to do these videos. This investment was expensive up front, but it is paying off.

If this is something you think you will get into, then you need backup's to all your equipment. Two flashes, two bodies etc. People think it's just a house it will be there to re-shoot if I have to get my camera repaired. But I am normally displacing the homeowner for up to three hours, and don't want to do that a second time because my equipment failed.

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Feb 8, 2016 07:46:20   #
zerobeat
 
I have done a little of real estate photography, using a Canon 70D with a Canon 10-22 or my 24-105. I get plenty of coverage with these two. As to lighting, room light seems to be OK as I'm not afraid to boost the ISO up to the 5000 range and then apply the file to Noise Ninja or some other noise fighter. As you say, these won't be in a art show. Using a tripod works for low light.

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Feb 8, 2016 07:51:56   #
Capture48 Loc: Arizona
 
zerobeat wrote:
I'm not afraid to boost the ISO up to the 5000 range and then apply the file to Noise Ninja or some other noise fighter. Using a tripod works for low light.
So just curious why you need to set ISO to 5000 when you're using a tripod?

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Feb 8, 2016 07:56:07   #
zerobeat
 
I meant to give several options. Dale

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Feb 8, 2016 07:58:54   #
PhotoArtsLA Loc: Boynton Beach
 
It depends on what time you are able to shoot. When I used to to architectural interiors, the client asked for mid-day shoot times.

This required huge amounts of light, about 3200 watt-seconds, placed such that wireless triggering was needed. Sometimes, I had to gel all the windows on the outside when I had to do video.

The amount of equipment to comfortably shoot can be a lot, or, you can suggest to shoot at sunset, when you can naturally have the house's internal light closely match the light in the exterior, rather than having the windows blow out. Then, all you have to do is to carefully adjust your color balance to match the interior and watch the exterior go blue.

On some noontime architectural shoots even my basic 3200 watt second package was not enough, and so, I would build up the exposure on the same piece of film with strobe "pulses." Your camera CANNOT MOVE when building an exposure in this way.

Architectural Interior Under Strobes
Architectural Interior Under Strobes...

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