4 Ways To Do Real Estate & Interior Photography! (Shoot & Edit)

[@AndreiRestrepo]

Loved this! Such a cool comparison. Normally, flash is my favorite. Best color accuracy, even lighting, and controls tungsten lights. But I’m this case, I think HDR lights off looked best / most accurate of the room. (To what I remember. 😆)

[@jaredmeche6325]

Both methods have their place. Dome diffuser from AK-R1 kit on V1 or AD200pro + shoot through umbrella gives a nice soft spread instead of bouncing off a reflector. Since optimization becomes more of a factor if you're using flash, shoot through umbrella can be a pain moving room to room. I really want to try AD300pro + grip or gorillapod + godox 26" softbox lantern.

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Nice!! Great options if you're going for the most controllable results.

[@markcunzolo1659]

One technique I started doing is that after I take my well-exposed flash shot, I boost the power of my flash and take one over-exposed shot. I call it my "super bright" shot. When I bring all of the images into photoshop, I put the super bright layer on top of the flash base layer, change the blend mode to lighten, and I add a layer mask to the super bright layer. I then use a brush on 10-15% to lighten the exposure on the darker parts of the photo. I find that it gives a more natural blend of light instead of boosting exposure or shadows. You can also use the same technique for dark areas. Just do an under-exposed flash shot. That serves as a backup if you need to bring details back into darker areas that get overexposed.

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Smart strategy!

[@monearshaer859]

You’re awesome, I really appreciate your grind and attention to detail and I know you’ll go far if you keep it up bro!

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

That means a lot! Thanks :) You too

[@JAYSILB]

Hey mate, at 10:20 - you went a bit fast for my liking :D Suddenly the mask changed to all black, then you deleted the selection or something. I always struggle to select my windows, as I use the lasso tool to microscopically outline the blinds etc. Yet you did it in about 15 seconds! Are you able to elaborate further on the steps taken for the window pull? Cheers!

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Hey! If I had used the +2 exposure it would have been easier and probably would have just deleted a big square around the windows. All I did was polygonal lasso to rough select the windows then used the object selection tool (negative selection while holding command) to get rid of the in between spots and any other shadows caused by the flash. Let me know if that helps 😁 Sorry for rushing it, always trying to make videos shorter and sometimes cut out parts like that. I have an older video about editing that has some more examples If you want to check it out ! kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZ6UmKiGlsmqlac

[@FranHoganPanama]

Interesting comparisons. I prefer the HDR with the lights off. I shoot a lot of interiors for Real Estate. Lately I prefer to have all lights off because of the color casts, shadows and flares. I've gotten pretty good at lighting the lamps and lights in photoshop for those areas where the lights matter. Thanks for this relevant video!

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Nice !! Would love to see your work 👌

[@dataventurer9998]

I have shot a few houses with my Sony a7ii and processed the bracketed sets in Aurora. Then, in the past few weeks I have watched DOZENS of photography videos about window pulls because I'm in the middle of a project shooting 360 tours for guest rooms for a bed and breakfast inn. No auto-bracketing and no flash option possible, though I can take a sequence of five exposures pretty fast by changing the Exposure Compensation. I found that if the lighting is bright outside the window, there is no opportunity to hand blend in the darkest photo in the bracketed set. When the lighting is more even (early morning and afternoon if the sun isn't coming directly through the window), the HDR merged pic looks pretty decent for 360. Your comparo here is really helpful to see the differences. They are pretty subtle and I would guess most non-professional viewers would look at every one of your versions and consider them acceptable for a real estate listing. At this point I am thinking that an HDR set and then using a flash shot for the window pull and Darken mode to blend in Photoshop would be worth it if the outside view contributes to the interest of the photo. You had a good video on the cheap flash (the Amazon $45 Godox wireless from March 2021, which, by the way is now a $58 Godox wireless in April 2022 ) that I am planning to pick up for those shots. Thanks for providing your helpful content to the community!

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Thanks for the comment! Definitely worth trying out. With that Godox flash you will just have to make sure your shutter speed isn't too fast or it won't sync (probably 1/160) and will probably need it at full power. Might add any sort of diffusion/modifier ontop of the flash as well to make the results a little bit less harsh (on window blinds/ curtains / etc) if there are any there if you're planning to do it a lot! Let me know how it goes 😄

[@MagicBiscuitShow]

I, also, prefer the HDR with lights OFF. My second choice is the HDR with the lights ON. The HDRs don't have the (somewhat) distracting plant shadows ... and they have more detail in parts of the photos than in the Flash shots. Cheers, Chuck (North East Florida) : +)

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Nice!! Thanks for sharing :)

[@SoChicLife]

Do you have a video on how you export images after a shoot? I am looking for an external drive so these don't live on my Macbook after exporting and editing as shooting raw takes up so much memory.

[@tamparealestatephotographer]

Hey man I love your videos. I’m interested in taking your course. Do you provide information on the business side such as how to deliver photos/videos to clients and how to find /market to clients?

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Thanks!! I have videos on KZbin that pretty much cover that if you want to check those out first 👌 My foundations course is really geared toward people who know nothing about the Real Estate industry & Photography and covers what i think are the fastest ways to get started (hdr shooting, workflows, working with clients & homeowners, what to expect, editing, setting up your first portfolio etc) Hang tight if you’re looking for courses with flash & video !

[@epectase6314]

hey, very helpful thanks :) what do you look for in your histogram for that first middle exposure when doing an HDR?

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

An arc in the middle + nothing too far over or under exposed usually works 👍

[@dan8402]

This was actually a really cool experiment. Part of me is thinking using aperture and exposure to take one regular HDR and window exposure. Then mask those. It will allow you to work with less equipment, maybe just your IPhone, then mask and merge the window pull. I want to start doing real estate photography. The photos I see from my local relators isn't that high quality at all. Looks like they ran through the property with zero staging and just shot photos.

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

For sure ! Great to know all the options so you can make your own workflow that works for your creative ideas 👌

[@roslynpaige4442]

unrelated to the video, but would you say the Sony a7iii With the kit lens is okay to start in real estate photography? Or is a wide angle an absolute must? The camera guy at the shop tried to tell me I didn't need one, and the kit lens was fine. 😒

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Hey! Yes for sure - You don't "need it" to do good interior photos - but it's really wants expected by most realtors for houses to look as big as possible for listings to show off the square footage + to get as few shots to show everything. It's going to be a good investment if you're starting in the industry and trying to get referrals, for sure :) It will take much less time to get your photos looking like what people are used to and start hiring + referring you to others ! Hope that makes sense! Its definitely an investment but a good one.

[@roslynpaige4442]

@@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo thank you! That helps alot. With a 3k budget what would you suggest for a good set up? 😊

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

Including the camera ?

[@roslynpaige4442]

@@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo yeah!

[@TaylorBrownPhotoVideo]

@@roslynpaige4442 Honestly I would probably go with a EOSR (maybe used if you can find one) with whatever 16mm (or close) full frame lens you can get. Such a good camera for photos, and if you get into video it will last you a while before wanting to upgrade for quality!

[@Loveparaeveryone]

I think Flambiant would win lol