First Pro Gig - Housing Photography, C&C

[Timoris]

I have been hired by a Canadian Home sales company to do shots for online profiles.

Here are a select few from the first photoshoot. Yeah, big house.

Am I doing this right?

Equipment:
Canon EOS 550D (T2i)
10-20mm f4 Lens
Removable Flash 580 EX

 

[Scuba]

I am by no means an expert but it seems that all the interior images are too dark. You need to make the room feel open and bright. Also, the last image you need a deeper DOF as the chairs on the left are out of focus. Also, I believe most ppl do HDR's for real estate photography.

 

[Timoris]

The basement shots where quite difficult. Even with a flash I couldn't close the aperture down too much, or I'd have to go to 1600 ISO and above. But yes, I agree.

 

[D-B-J]

The basement shots where quite difficult. Even with a flash I couldn't close the aperture down too much, or I'd have to go to 1600 ISO and above. But yes, I agree.

So a long exposure was out of the question...?

 

[Timoris]

Good point.
Very good point.

It might not have been if the house was smaller and the owner was in a hurry to leave.

 

[tirediron]

In addition to the other comments, the thing that strikes me most about these is the skewed perspective. If you don't have a wide enough lens to accomodate the space, consider making a panorama.

 

[shootermcgavin]

Why not take a tripod, I would think it a necessity for a good house shot.

 

[Scuba]

One thing I have trouble with in life is don't let someone rush you if it will compromise the quality of what you are doing. The quality of your work is what will get you more or less work and build your reputation. I would suggest if there is not sufficient time to complete the task then reschedule.

Were these all hand held shots?

 

[willis_927]

As shooter said, get a tripod, use a longer exposure, lower your ISO also. I have seen some residential stuff with a slight HDR toning to them which also looks good if it is not overdone. Maybe that might be a possibility for you as well.

 

[gsgary]

Going by your settings, NO why did you shoot the first shot at 1/2000 @ F4.5 when it could have been shot at 1/125 F16

 

[DiskoJoe]

There are several white balance and focusing issues that should be reviewed in this set.

 

[dsquared]

I think they must be a little brigther, except 1st...and the last one must be more in focus

 

[c.cloudwalker]

I believe you are right to worry about doing the job correctly. I think this kind of house (and anything else bigger, of course) is about the only one that will pay anything. Most RE photos are done by the agents and are fine for what they are but, in this case, you need to spend the time (if the owner doesn't have the time, than the agent should) and you should be charging enough so that you can do it right. HDR is the word here.

And NO, not the comic book type. The sort of HDR that allows you to have interiors that are not too dark (most of those are I think considering the amount of windows we are seeing) while keeping the windows from being totally blown. Also, I did not see a response from you on whether or not you have and used a tripod. You need one. A very good one for the HDRs and also for shots like the basement one.

A long exposure with the ceiling lights on is not the best answer for the basement shot but it can be done with just one flash. You just need to do multiple pops of the flash, turning slightly with each pop so as to light the whole room and have the ceiling lights on for just one (or maybe two) of the pops so that they show up up but are not the main source of light. I know it sounds hard but it's not that bad to learn. I've shot caves and underground quarries that way and it's not that complicated. Just practice in your basement. Mind you, it does help if you are comfortable calculating manually set flash exposure in the first place.

In addition to the other comments, the thing that strikes me most about these is the skewed perspective. If you don't have a wide enough lens to accomodate the space, consider making a panorama.

I'm not sure I quite get this comment. A wider angle will end up with even worse skewed perspective...

I like that the OP didn't use too wide a lens to do those. I recently put a house on the market and the agent did all shots with a super-wide that made the house look like something I had never seen. I had her re-do all the shots because I didn't recognize the place...


Back to the OP. You didn't do the best job but it is a pretty darn good one. TBH, the one that bothers me most is the first one. The outdoor shot. Who wants to live in the middle of a parking lot? There's got to be a better way to show the outside of the house.

Good luck.