LestheK

I take pictures of projects that we do. I'm a remodeling contractor and the pictures I take are often lop-sided because I can get directly in front of the scene. I use a Nikon D80 with a 18-55mm lens set at 18mm to shoot kitchen and bathroom remodels. Because the bathroom is narrow, often 36" or less, I have to shoot at an angle. Is there a wider lens that is not fish eye that i can use?
Another problem that I have is that the home owner may want to do the painting to save some money. We will take the pictures of our work but the walls are unfinished. Is there a program like Photo Shop that will allow me to add paint or tile to the walls. I'm thinking of Photoshop and Light Room.
I appreciate any help.

Les

Tet68survivor Loc: Pomfret Center CT

I'm pretty sure both of those programs have that ability! I have never tried that, but I do know my GF, removes things she doesn't like, so I'm guessing if you can take it out, you can out it in! We use Elements Premier 15

moonhawk Loc: Land of Enchantment

If you don't get an answer to your question here, try Google.

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

You can get a 10 - 24mm wide angle for a reasonable price. With the 1.5 crop factor of your camera you will have the equivalent of a 15mm and that will do better. You can use Photoshop to fix or change as needed. It's 10 bucks a month but there are other free or cheap programs that will do some of it.

BB4A

I think the lens advice is sound; you should be able to get excellent showcase pictures of your work with a 10-24mm wide angle lens.

I'm going to suggest another option for you, on the subject of showcasing finished work:

Concept 1 - for an "A to Z" remodeling, why not include a little time in the Project to take pictures of all the significant milestones, to show prospective clients all the craftsmanship & care you would take on their remodeling request, from start to finish? I'd suggest initiate a conversation with a new Client, to gain their approval for the stages photographs. I'm sure you would get their approval with a small discount offered at the end of the work, together with a copy of all the pictures, for their records?

Concept 2 - Client does their own finishing; maybe you can initiate a conversation about taking the in-progress pics, plus a return visit to check your work & photograph their finished room, in exchange for them giving you a reference on your website, or a referral or two, to their friends? You could also use this conversation to clarify the finishing work required, what you would charge, and that small discount if they allow you to do the finishing? 😉

Concept 3 - If of course you also want to gain proficiency in post-processing tools, you could still always discuss Concepts 1 & 2 above, AND gain the skills to "fix" staging issues that will probably occur on the final shoot for Concept 2? That way, everyone wins; you get references and great pics to showcase your work, client gets great pics for all major phases of the project including finishing, and possibly a discount... And you gain experience in fixing the DIY Painters/Finishers wobbly lines, dodgy tile grouting, or just shocking sense of complimentary color schemes? 😱

Of course, each one of these Concepts tends to change your relationship with your Clients, from valued building contractor to indispensable consultant with multiple valuable touch points on their project.

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

I assume you mean Adobe Photoshop Elements 15. Premiere Elements is an Adobe video editing program.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I have a Sigma 10-20 for my D7000 and it's a great lens for indoors and out. Be sure to take fairly level shots to avoid some barrel distortion. Pointing up or down may lean things in or out a bit.

BlueMorel Loc: Southwest Michigan

For the paint, don't paint companies have programs where you can input your room photos and the program changes the paint color for you? It's been awhile, but I'm sure I used a program on cd that was in the paint aisle or online.

Larry Maxon

I am using GIMP to edit photos. Its a free download.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

If you have time and are willing to spend a year in classes and reading books about how to use it, Photoshop is the best program around for what you want to do. But it has NO built in support, is very complex and sophisticated, and has a very steep learning curve! Lightroom will be of no help to you, for your purposes. It has only very basic and rather crude image editing and retouching tools. It's mostly a cataloging and image management tool.

Much more practical is Adobe Elements 15.... about $85, with three user-selectable interfaces (Beginner, Intermediate and Expert), it's got simplified versions of some of the most important features found in both Photoshop and Lightroom.

Nikon has recently introduced an AF-P 10-20mm ultrawide lens that's very affordable for lenses of that type and seems would be ideal... BUT I am concerned that your D80 might not be able to autofocus an AF-P lens. You might have to look at Sigma 10-20mm, Tamron 10-24mm or Tokina 11-20mm lenses... all of which tend to be more expensive than the new Nikkor. Nikon also offers AF-S 10-24mm and AF-S 12-24mm ultrawide lenses, which I'm confident would work well on your camera, but they are quite pricey.

Any ultrawide lens will tend to distort interior space relationships to some extent. It's just the nature of lenses of this type.... an exaggerated look, and possibly "leaning" walls ("keystoning", can be effected by the level at which the shot is taken and whether or not the camera is tilted up or down).

Another method is to use a less wide angle focal length and take multiple shots, panning the camera and lens around between shots... then combine them in a panoramic technique. This can show less distortion, depending upon what focal length is used. It's best done with a tripod. You also need to take care that exposure doesn't change from shot to shot, or they won't stitch together well. (Adobe Elements 15 can stitch together panoramas).

The most cost effective way to achieve this actually might be to hire a professional photographer, who will have the gear, software, skill and knowledge how to achieve what you want.