Property Photography

[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

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

These HDRs overdid the wood colour and tone on the inside and seemed to make little difference on the outside.

skieur

 

[skieur]

From what I am reading on this site, real estate photography tends to be far more widely used in Eastern Canada and it is far more professional in quality. Even cottages tend to have a dozen or more photos and larger properties have panoramas or virtual tours. The house I just bought (tomorrow the deal closes) had 3 google pages of photo/virtual tour ads on different sites.

Of course, I do not know what real estate commissions are in the US. In many parts of Canada they average $25,000 and higher.

skieur

 

[Chriss]

From what I am reading on this site, real estate photography tends to be far more widely used in Eastern Canada and it is far more professional in quality. Even cottages tend to have a dozen or more photos and larger properties have panoramas or virtual tours. The house I just bought (tomorrow the deal closes) had 3 google pages of photo/virtual tour ads on different sites.

Of course, I do not know what real estate commissions are in the US. In many parts of Canada they average $25,000 and higher.

skieur

Congratulations on the new house! Could you direct me to the site that the pictures were taken, or where you see the professional quality photos? I'd like to check it out. Thanks for your help.

 

[scotch59]

sigma 10-20mm would be a great wide angle. the f/3.5 version of that lens is like 400 or so if im not mistaken, but definitely an ultra wide angle lens is a necessity.
I did a shoot for my neighbors Vacation home which he rents out using an 18-200, and I can say I sure as hell wish I had a wider angle lens, I ended up having to make panoramas in PS for almost all the shots ..that sucked :/

 

[Chriss]

sigma 10-20mm would be a great wide angle. the f/3.5 version of that lens is like 400 or so if im not mistaken, but definitely an ultra wide angle lens is a necessity.
I did a shoot for my neighbors Vacation home which he rents out using an 18-200, and I can say I sure as hell wish I had a wider angle lens, I ended up having to make panoramas in PS for almost all the shots ..that sucked :/

Ouch. Did the panoramas turn out well? I mean, was it a good solution?

 

[Scatterbrained]

Here are some links that might be helpful...
a thread dedicated to real estate /architectural photography (81 pages and growing)
A thread for real estate, architectural, and interior design photography - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Attic Fire Photography. These guys are setting a benchmark right now for property photography..
** Attic Fire Photography - Luxury Hotels, Resorts, Architecture **

One thing I've noticed is that lot's of architectural photographers are using tilt shift lens rather than traditional wide angles to help with perspective.

 

[Chriss]

Here are some links that might be helpful...
a thread dedicated to real estate /architectural photography (81 pages and growing)
A thread for real estate, architectural, and interior design photography - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Attic Fire Photography. These guys are setting a benchmark right now for property photography..
** Attic Fire Photography - Luxury Hotels, Resorts, Architecture **

One thing I've noticed is that lot's of architectural photographers are using tilt shift lens rather than traditional wide angles to help with perspective.

Wow. Attic Fire is absolutely amazing. What equipment do they use to do that? HDR and a bunch of well-placed lightning?

 

[Ginu]

Here are some links that might be helpful...
a thread dedicated to real estate /architectural photography (81 pages and growing)
A thread for real estate, architectural, and interior design photography - Canon Digital Photography Forums

Attic Fire Photography. These guys are setting a benchmark right now for property photography..
** Attic Fire Photography - Luxury Hotels, Resorts, Architecture **

One thing I've noticed is that lot's of architectural photographers are using tilt shift lens rather than traditional wide angles to help with perspective.

Wow. Attic Fire is absolutely amazing. What equipment do they use to do that? HDR and a bunch of well-placed lightning?

I have to say, I'm really impressed with the pictures on Attic Fire and it most likely has to do with the way the light is used, but this is just a guess. I can't tell if HDR was used in those pictures, I'll have to stare some more once I get home and not at the office.

 

[mjhoward]

I second the recommendation for the Tokina 11-16 2.8. As for lighting... Its not necessary. The rooms aren't moving so a tripod and a slightly longer exposure is all you need for really low light.

 

[skyy38]

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.

These HDRs overdid the wood colour and tone on the inside and seemed to make little difference on the outside.

skieur

I'd stay away from the HDR's because you don't want to overhype the property for sale by making it look look better than it really might be-in other words "too arty".

There is nothing wrong with either available light or using the interior lights of the house as practicals. Stanley Kubrick used practicals on a James Bond movie and it worked out just *fine*.

To make sure you have most if not ALL of your angles covered, I'd shoot with white balance set to: auto then manual then cloudy.

If you have scene mode I'd set it on "Museum" or similar and see where that gets you.

Oh yeah-DO NOT USE FLASH!!!!!!!!!!

Some reading for you:

Real Estate Interior Photography Secrets

 

[Chriss]

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

These HDRs overdid the wood colour and tone on the inside and seemed to make little difference on the outside.

skieur

I'd stay away from the HDR's because you don't want to overhype the property for sale by making it look look better than it really might be-in other words "too arty".

There is nothing wrong with either available light or using the interior lights of the house as practicals. Stanley Kubrick used practicals on a James Bond movie and it worked out just *fine*.

To make sure you have most if not ALL of your angles covered, I'd shoot with white balance set to: auto then manual then cloudy.

If you have scene mode I'd set it on "Museum" or similar and see where that gets you.

Oh yeah-DO NOT USE FLASH!!!!!!!!!!

Some reading for you:

Real Estate Interior Photography Secrets

Even if it's bounced or diffused?

 

[Destin]

These HDRs overdid the wood colour and tone on the inside and seemed to make little difference on the outside.

skieur

I'd stay away from the HDR's because you don't want to overhype the property for sale by making it look look better than it really might be-in other words "too arty".

There is nothing wrong with either available light or using the interior lights of the house as practicals. Stanley Kubrick used practicals on a James Bond movie and it worked out just *fine*.

To make sure you have most if not ALL of your angles covered, I'd shoot with white balance set to: auto then manual then cloudy.

If you have scene mode I'd set it on "Museum" or similar and see where that gets you.

Oh yeah-DO NOT USE FLASH!!!!!!!!!!

Some reading for you:

Real Estate Interior Photography Secrets

Even if it's bounced or diffused?

Dude, you can use flash. You just need to use it subtly to fill in shadowy corners and such. It's not going to be your only light source, you just want a flick of light to cut out the shadows, or place a highlight on something in the frame that is important.

Get a set of radio triggers and a few speedlights, and start practicing. Speedlights are small, and you can hide them anywhere (behind something on a counter, in a sink, in a tub, in a cup in the toilet if you realllly have to, wherever)

 

[Kobegoat]

HDR's?

 

[Chriss]

I second the recommendation for the Tokina 11-16 2.8. As for lighting... Its not necessary. The rooms aren't moving so a tripod and a slightly longer exposure is all you need for really low light.

What do you guys think about the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 in comparison to the Tokina? Not much of a price difference, and the Sigma received better reviews as a real estate lens. Thoughts?

Amazon.com: Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM FLD AF Ultra Wide Zoom Lens for APS-C sized Canon Digital DSLR Camera: Camera & Photo

 

[Chriss]

Bump. (Sorry, I'm running outta time here.)

Out of curiosity, how would the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 compare to the Tokina? On a real estate website I was looking at, it rated the Sigma much higher.

Oh wow, nevermind, the price just shot up. I suppose the price would be the difference then..