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Questions about How to do Real Estate Photos?
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Apr 30, 2021 17:02:22   #
WDCash Loc: Milford, Delaware, USA
 
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Looking at photos I see in many "professional" listings I think to myself. "I can do that". And based on what I'm seeing probably better, at least for showing off my house.
We live on the water. When we purchased our home it was the view that grabbed us, the house meant little. So I want to show the view in every picture that I can.

I started experimenting today with how to best capture the view from inside and still show the room. these are my attempts. This is a first try. (The room has not been prepared for doing this properly so please don't bother pointing out my slippers, the orange ditch bag or anything else that doesn't not belong in a display photo.)

1 is exposed for the room,
2 is exposed for the view
I shot 2 more between 1 and 2
I merged them as an HDR in LR and that is #3

For a first try I think this is gonna work out ok.

Question for those who know how best to do this
Is my method the best way to achieve my goal? Show the room and view in the same photo.

What type of depth of field am I looking for? I'm thinking I should stop down to f8, which I did to help keep the room in focus. Should I stop down more?

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


(Download)


(Download)


(Download)

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Apr 30, 2021 17:08:31   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
WDCash wrote:
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Looking at photos I see in many "professional" listings I think to myself. "I can do that". And based on what I'm seeing probably better, at least for showing off my house.
We live on the water. When we purchased our home it was the view that grabbed us, the house meant little. So I want to show the view in every picture that I can.

I started experimenting today with how to best capture the view from inside and still show the room. these are my attempts. This is a first try. (The room has not been prepared for doing this properly so please don't bother pointing out my slippers, the orange ditch bag or anything else that doesn't not belong in a display photo.)

1 is exposed for the room,
2 is exposed for the view
I shot 2 more between 1 and 2
I merged them as an HDR in LR and that is #3

For a first try I think this is gonna work out ok.

Question for those who know how best to do this
Is my method the best way to achieve my goal? Show the room and view in the same photo.

What type of depth of field am I looking for? I'm thinking I should stop down to f8, which I did to help keep the room in focus. Should I stop down more?

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Lo... (show quote)



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Apr 30, 2021 17:19:47   #
larryepage Loc: North Texas area
 
WDCash wrote:
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Looking at photos I see in many "professional" listings I think to myself. "I can do that". And based on what I'm seeing probably better, at least for showing off my house.
We live on the water. When we purchased our home it was the view that grabbed us, the house meant little. So I want to show the view in every picture that I can.

I started experimenting today with how to best capture the view from inside and still show the room. these are my attempts. This is a first try. (The room has not been prepared for doing this properly so please don't bother pointing out my slippers, the orange ditch bag or anything else that doesn't not belong in a display photo.)

1 is exposed for the room,
2 is exposed for the view
I shot 2 more between 1 and 2
I merged them as an HDR in LR and that is #3

For a first try I think this is gonna work out ok.

Question for those who know how best to do this
Is my method the best way to achieve my goal? Show the room and view in the same photo.

What type of depth of field am I looking for? I'm thinking I should stop down to f8, which I did to help keep the room in focus. Should I stop down more?

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Lo... (show quote)


I think my only big suggestion would be to show the room a little lighter...maybe see what a half stop more looks like???

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Apr 30, 2021 17:25:29   #
WDCash Loc: Milford, Delaware, USA
 
larryepage wrote:
I think my only big suggestion would be to show the room a little lighter...maybe see what a half stop more looks like???


Thanks Larry, looking at them now on UHH, you are quite correct. Thanks

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Apr 30, 2021 17:30:04   #
SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer
 
WDCash wrote:
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Looking at photos I see in many "professional" listings I thinWhat type of depth of field am I looking for? I'm thinking I should stop down to f8, which I did to help keep the room in focus. Should I stop down more?

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


You are on the right track. Here's a trick I learned from my niece who does RE photos. Take 2 photos form the exact same spot; one exposed and focused for the inside and the other exposed and focused for the outside. Move the properly exposed window shot into the picture of the room. Here is a crude example.


(Download)

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Apr 30, 2021 17:34:12   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
WDCash wrote:
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Looking at photos I see in many "professional" listings I think to myself. "I can do that". And based on what I'm seeing probably better, at least for showing off my house.
We live on the water. When we purchased our home it was the view that grabbed us, the house meant little. So I want to show the view in every picture that I can.

I started experimenting today with how to best capture the view from inside and still show the room. these are my attempts. This is a first try. (The room has not been prepared for doing this properly so please don't bother pointing out my slippers, the orange ditch bag or anything else that doesn't not belong in a display photo.)

1 is exposed for the room,
2 is exposed for the view
I shot 2 more between 1 and 2
I merged them as an HDR in LR and that is #3

For a first try I think this is gonna work out ok.

Question for those who know how best to do this
Is my method the best way to achieve my goal? Show the room and view in the same photo.

What type of depth of field am I looking for? I'm thinking I should stop down to f8, which I did to help keep the room in focus. Should I stop down more?

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
We are seriously thinking of selling our house. Lo... (show quote)


Lighting is everything. The room has some high hats in the ceiling. Turn them on. No one wants to see the backs of chairs. Take them out. Shadows on the wall from the TV, furniture, not a good look. Lighting coming from behind the camera - not a good look. Try shooting at an earlier or later time of day. Use compositing to put an image on the computer screen and/or the TV. But the biggest issue is your lighting, which no amount of HDR is going to fix.

Look at the work of one of my "mentorees" to get some ideas. I like his style and attention to detail. There is a lot to be learned by studying his images.

http://ronnachtwey.com/

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Apr 30, 2021 17:36:28   #
Sharona Loc: Alpharetta, Georgia
 
Shoot on tripod AEB brackets of 5 raw in manual or aperture priority, iso 100, F 7.1 or 8, +.03 or so exposure compensation as needed. Darkest exposure for window views and brightest for detail in shadow areas. Merge in Photomatix natural or Lightroom with Enfuse plug in. That’s all I got, we send post processing out. Of course have room staged with no clutter, remove scatter rugs, dish towels, etc. Mostly wide angles like 16mm, some closer up detail shots to highlight special features. Small bathrooms can be done in vertical camera position.

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Apr 30, 2021 17:58:26   #
Quixdraw Loc: x
 
I got a great piece or property at an excellent price because of crappy real estate photos. My son got his house for the same reason. Very nice custom house, but with views so magnificent that someone wealthy would have bought just for the property and built new. If your interest is learning real estate photography, well and good. If your primary thrust is selling the house, hire a pro. Another aspect is staging prior to photos or showing. Something as simple as a mirror to make a space look larger, position of furniture, clearing clutter, and a lick of fresh paint can turn the trick. Either way, best of luck!

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Apr 30, 2021 18:00:12   #
Hip Coyote
 
You have a bunch of things going on here. First, remove all unnecessary stuff, such as red bags, from the room. Position furniture so that the room looks inviting. Right now furniture is random. Turn lights on. Shoot at golden hour so things are warmed up. No backs of chairs. Lines have to be horizontal and vertical. Curtains have to be perfectly straight. No visible cords on floor or on wall. Put something interesting on the computer screens and tv screen. Lighten up the entire scene. Do not show the other parts of the house in the same shot.

If my wife were to see this she would say to add a few accent things, a throw on the chair, etc to make things inviting. If we have one throw we have five. Not a fan, but happy wife....

My opinions only. Best of luck.

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Apr 30, 2021 18:09:29   #
larryepage Loc: North Texas area
 
Hey folks...read the original post again. We were asked to comment on exposure and focus. That's it.

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Apr 30, 2021 18:14:42   #
WDCash Loc: Milford, Delaware, USA
 
larryepage wrote:
Hey folks...read the original post again. We were asked to comment on exposure and focus. That's it.


Its sorta expected to be like this Larry.

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Apr 30, 2021 18:18:30   #
Hip Coyote
 
larryepage wrote:
Hey folks...read the original post again. We were asked to comment on exposure and focus. That's it.


I took the, “any other suggestions” to mean he was looking for other
comments I know I was critical, as were others, but there are a lot of good suggestions that could increase the perceived value of his house. In this case, focus and lighting are only a few of the issues that need addressing. Of course the OP can take or leave any comments. But I sure don’t want to insult the OP or anyone else. Comments were offered in earnest desire to maximize his benefit and sale price.

Best regards. And no offense intended.

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Apr 30, 2021 18:49:43   #
WDCash Loc: Milford, Delaware, USA
 
RWebb76 wrote:
I took the, “any other suggestions” to mean he was looking for other
comments I know I was critical, as were others, but there are a lot of good suggestions that could increase the perceived value of his house. In this case, focus and lighting are only a few of the issues that need addressing. Of course the OP can take or leave any comments. But I sure don’t want to insult the OP or anyone else. Comments were offered in earnest desire to maximize his benefit and sale price.

Best regards. And no offense intended.
I took the, “any other suggestions” to mean he was... (show quote)


None taken.
ActuallyI expected alot of that is said. But there are some good suggestions salted in.

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Apr 30, 2021 19:03:17   #
Hip Coyote
 
WDCash wrote:
None taken.
ActuallyI expected alot of that is said. But there are some good suggestions salted in.


Best of luck on the sale.

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Apr 30, 2021 19:10:20   #
PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place
 
Aside from all that has been said I would crop out the door frame on the left side of the image.

Don

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