The sample above was shot with existing lighting and NO photoshop. No flash was used.
Canon 5d - 17mm lens 1/2 sec exposure at F/20. Manual mode of course.
If you want to get the most out of your digital camera when
taking real estate interior photos, here are some pointers that will help.
1.
Use
a wide angle lens. Using an extreme wide angle lens
will greatly improve your chances of getting a great shot. Wide angle lenses
make the interior shots look more spacious
interesting. If you don't
have a wide angle lens or are using a simple point and shoot camera, try using
the panorama mode.
2. Use a
tripod. Using a tripod will steady the
camera and reduce the number of blurry photos. Also you can get more creative
by using the tripod to take panorama pictures, if your camera allows it. With a
tripod you can take multiple exposures of the same shot and blend them in a
photo editing program. This is very helpful when shooting during the day and
it's very bright outside the windows and much darker inside the house. This
method is called HDR (high dynamic range) photography.
3.
Look
for interesting angles with lots of color in the shot. Adding
flowers in the foreground is one way to accomplish this.
4.
Use
the flash wisely. Using a flash from your camera may
enhance or reduce the professional look of your image depending on the existing
lighting conditions. Try taking one with and without and choose which ones
looks best to you.
5.
Pick
the proper time of day. The time of day is critical to
getting the best shot when shooting interior photos. Wait too long, and outside
the windows will be black. Shoot too early, and the windows will be too right
and blown out. After the sun sets or right at sun set is the optimal time
because the lighting outside and the lighting inside will be the same level of
brightness.
6.
How
the pros do it: Professional photographers are always
challenged by interior photographs. The good ones will stage the areas to be
photographed by adding colorful pillows, flowers, throws, rugs and the like. We
almost never shoot without a tripod. Some photographers will change every light
bulb in the room and add their own color balanced light bulbs. They avoid
fluorescent lights as much as possible as they have a tendency of turning
photos green. Additionally, we always bring our own lights and light modifiers
to lighten and area or highlight a specific location. Pros also sometimes rely
heavily on post- processing techniques in Photoshop or LightRoom.
7.
For those of you who need to take
your own real estate interior photos, we hope this article helped. These are
just a few suggestions to immediately help improve your photography skills.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to schedule a personal
consultation. Our rates are very reasonable and I promise you will leave
feeling like a pro!
