Property Photography

[Chriss]

Alright, so I am going to soon attempt to get into the field of real estate (or property) photography. Frankly, I am on quite a budget and have a lot to learn about lighting before I can do professional work, but I'd like your help on what sort of lights would be beneficial to a real estate photographer.

As of now, I have (unfortunately):

18-55mm Kit Lens (I have a 60mm Macro and a 55-250m lens, but I assumed the kit lens would best the best choice for shooting rooms).

Canon Rebel XSi

430EXII Canon Speedlite

Tripod (sturdy - good enough quality for what I'm doing)

Remote Switch

So - my question to you all is: what else would you think is necessary for simple property photography?

I know that extra lightning is essential, unless I were to be just using natural light (unlikely) so I've looked at a few umbrella and softbox kits online. I have heard I would need somewhere around 500w Flash Heads or something to illuminate the room. Is that all that would be necessary?

Second: What do you think would prove better in this situation: continuous lighting or flash lightning? As a somewhat beginner, I'm assuming I would want the continuous lightning, though I want to hear your opinions.

Lastly, could you all suggest some lighting kits for me for real estate photography? I've looked at a multitude of them myself. My budget is around $250 - $350 for the time being.

Some of the ones I have looked at are:

Amazon.com: Studiohut 500W Photography Flash Light Set Up Kit for Video and Digital Photography with two white umbrellas and light stands: Camera & Photo

Smith Victor K42-U 2-Light 1200W Toolbox KIT; Umbrellas Quartz Kit

Amazon.com: ePhoto 3 Monolight Professional Photography Studio Light Umbrella Portrait Soft Light Kit By ePhoto INC Fan022: Electronics

Among many others...... What would you guys recommend?

Thanks!

- Chris

 

[skieur]

That is not the right equipment for serious work in property photography and you probably don't have the budget for what you need.

That is why there have been no answers so far.

skieur

 

[Destin]

I know this is out of your budget, but the most important thing for real estate photography in my opinion is a wide angle lens. Something like the Tokina 11-16 2.8, which is around $600.

As far as lighting goes, I think I would try to use natural light as much as possible (long exposures on a tripod). You can even layer photos in photoshop or use HDR in order to get proper exposure on windows and rooms at the same time. You can use fill flash for this too, but its more expensive and more stuff to carry.

 

[Chriss]

I know this is out of your budget, but the most important thing for real estate photography in my opinion is a wide angle lens. Something like the Tokina 11-16 2.8, which is around $600.

As far as lighting goes, I think I would try to use natural light as much as possible (long exposures on a tripod). You can even layer photos in photoshop or use HDR in order to get proper exposure on windows and rooms at the same time. You can use fill flash for this too, but its more expensive and more stuff to carry.

I was looking at wide angles a bit - obviously out of my budget but I can gather some money soon. If you think that the wide angle is important, I think I'll start shooting towards that. Natural lightning shouldn't be a problem, and I think my 430EXII can handle small bathrooms and such. Thanks.

On a side note - what are your opinions on panoramas for real estate photos? I've heard that it is disliked due to the distortion it can cause, but it seems like an alternative for wide angles or at least a somewhat efficient way to make rooms seem bigger as long as the distortion is kept to a minimum. Thoughts?

 

[Destin]

I know this is out of your budget, but the most important thing for real estate photography in my opinion is a wide angle lens. Something like the Tokina 11-16 2.8, which is around $600.

As far as lighting goes, I think I would try to use natural light as much as possible (long exposures on a tripod). You can even layer photos in photoshop or use HDR in order to get proper exposure on windows and rooms at the same time. You can use fill flash for this too, but its more expensive and more stuff to carry.

I was looking at wide angles a bit - obviously out of my budget but I can gather some money soon. If you think that the wide angle is important, I think I'll start shooting towards that. Natural lightning shouldn't be a problem, and I think my 430EXII can handle small bathrooms and such. Thanks.

On a side note - what are your opinions on panoramas for real estate photos? I've heard that it is disliked due to the distortion it can cause, but it seems like an alternative for wide angles or at least a somewhat efficient way to make rooms seem bigger as long as the distortion is kept to a minimum. Thoughts?

Small ones, to gain a couple feet? no problem. more than 2 photos together, I wouldn't do it... not indoors at least. Maye outdoors, but probably very limited in using it.

I think a Series of photos that show a full 360 degrees with arrows to click through them would be pretty cool. Then its like watching the camera turn around the room on screen. Make sense?

 

[usayit]

really? Unless we are talking about high end properties, it always seems like the photos were taken with the very basic of equipment. Heck, up here even 1-2 million USD properties don't have a portfolio that would require even anythink close to serious photography.

 

[mike3767]

Me being a real estate agent, our MLS (website we pay monthly for agents only) doesn't except panoramas. This is a tool that sells 95% of our properties so I think you'd need to make it a priority to purchase a wide angle.

 

[CCericola]

Me being a real estate agent, our MLS (website we pay monthly for agents only) doesn't except panoramas. This is a tool that sells 95% of our properties so I think you'd need to make it a priority to purchase a wide angle.

+1

 

[newb]

As for lighting interior shots with a flash....

I can over power a room roughly 15x15 with 2 SB600 speed lights at 1/8 to 1/16 power. I trigger them with Yongnuo RF602's. I bought the lights used in perfect shape off Craigslist for $150 each, and the trigger set for less than $100 delivered off E-Bay. One more plus, is the setup is highly portable and compact.

You deffinitely dont need big fancy strobes for interior. A nice expensive wide angle on the other hand, is a must.

 

[gsgary]

I have noticed that every time this question is asked most times they say get a wide lens but i had the chance to watch a top Uk interior photographer and he said he always uses the longest posible lens for each situation and always tried to use natural light

 

[Chriss]

I know this is out of your budget, but the most important thing for real estate photography in my opinion is a wide angle lens. Something like the Tokina 11-16 2.8, which is around $600.

As far as lighting goes, I think I would try to use natural light as much as possible (long exposures on a tripod). You can even layer photos in photoshop or use HDR in order to get proper exposure on windows and rooms at the same time. You can use fill flash for this too, but its more expensive and more stuff to carry.

I was looking at wide angles a bit - obviously out of my budget but I can gather some money soon. If you think that the wide angle is important, I think I'll start shooting towards that. Natural lightning shouldn't be a problem, and I think my 430EXII can handle small bathrooms and such. Thanks.

On a side note - what are your opinions on panoramas for real estate photos? I've heard that it is disliked due to the distortion it can cause, but it seems like an alternative for wide angles or at least a somewhat efficient way to make rooms seem bigger as long as the distortion is kept to a minimum. Thoughts?

Small ones, to gain a couple feet? no problem. more than 2 photos together, I wouldn't do it... not indoors at least. Maye outdoors, but probably very limited in using it.

I think a Series of photos that show a full 360 degrees with arrows to click through them would be pretty cool. Then its like watching the camera turn around the room on screen. Make sense?

Yea, I've seen those virtual tours online and they seem pretty cool, something I might happen to look in to. As for panoramas, I would probably stay away from more than three photos and would keep it to two, as you suggested. Outdoor panoramas seem pretty cool in my opinion so I think I'll try that a few times. Thank you very much.

 

[Chriss]

I have noticed that every time this question is asked most times they say get a wide lens but i had the chance to watch a top Uk interior photographer and he said he always uses the longest posible lens for each situation and always tried to use natural light

Really? That's interesting. Would you happen to know his name or site? I'm curious to see how a telephoto (or longer lens) can efficiently do real estate. Thanks!

really? Unless we are talking about high end properties, it always seems like the photos were taken with the very basic of equipment. Heck, up here even 1-2 million USD properties don't have a portfolio that would require even anythink close to serious photography.

That's actually what I was thinking. Almost every real estate photo that I see seems very low quality, and I think that even with low budget equipment, I could do much better than most of those attempts.

As for lighting interior shots with a flash....

I can over power a room roughly 15x15 with 2 SB600 speed lights at 1/8 to 1/16 power. I trigger them with Yongnuo RF602's. I bought the lights used in perfect shape off Craigslist for $150 each, and the trigger set for less than $100 delivered off E-Bay. One more plus, is the setup is highly portable and compact.

You deffinitely dont need big fancy strobes for interior. A nice expensive wide angle on the other hand, is a must.

I assumed lighting would be the most important aspect but manipulating natural light seems to be doable and the best option I suppose. I'll shoot for that wide angle, it seems to be a nice lens - especially considering I'd like to shoot some landscapes as well. Thanks!

 

[gsgary]

Adam Butler Interiors Photography - London based Interiors Photographer

 

[skieur]

The house I recently purchased was advertised on the net, by a local country realtor with 2 virtual tours: one inside and one outside along with several HDRs.

skieur

 

[Chriss]

The house I recently purchased was advertised on the net, by a local country realtor with 2 virtual tours: one inside and one outside along with several HDRs.

skieur

Shooting HDR was also something I was considering as long as they weren't too... out there.