The 3 Biggest Flambient Mistakes, and how to fix them

Three big mistakes are common with flambient photography and this episode shows how to correct them. Below are links mentioned in the video:
My online courses to learn real estate photography:
LearnRE.Nathan...
My real estate photography book series:
amzn.to/3OR3brT
Mastering Flambient Photography:
amzn.to/3FflT8n
Learn interior photography:
ProInteriors.n...
Mastering Color in Photography:
amzn.to/3H3j64j

[@Hawtload]

I went to photography school, paid quite a fee to do so, and am mostly working in the real estate photography world now as my career. What Nathan is providing on his channel is literally a free education in a field that can easily make you good money if you put some work in.

[@love2cycle2]

Nathan, so don't let the ambient do the heavy lifting. I totally agree. I always have my assistant (wife) walk across a large room and I do a ceiling bounce on the left and right side of the room being careful to not have the hot spots on the ceiling get too close together. I have watched lots of KZbin content on shooting real estate interiors and the methods I use have come from your books. Your videos are great but the books contain so much more content and examples. I would encourage photographers to not just rely on your short videos, but purchase your books. The amount of time and work you put into writing the books and the very low cost of the e-books makes it a no brainer to get the books. In my market, I can make enough money shooting a front and back twilight of a house to pay for all of your books. There are a lot of great real estate photographers out there but you are a great educator as well. Thanks for all the work you put into sharing your experience and knowledge.

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Thank you for the kind words Casey. Much appreciated.

[@rafograph]

I'm buying the books also thanks to this comment. Let's go!

[@elston.outdoors]

I come from landscape and wildlife photography. Recently got serious about real estate. I had no idea there was this much skill involved. After bracketing my first shoot and fighting colors & ambient lighting I can totally see why you do what you do

[@Drewlehman]

Thank you Nathan, you have helped me so much over the past year to improve my photography. Today I learned that flash creates a sharper image. I had no idea!

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

You're very welcome Drew! That, btw, is explained in more detail in "Mastering Flambient", along with other things that might surprise you as well. Here's a link if you'd like to check that out: amzn.to/3hz5PXc

[@marcinwiniarski6425]

Nathan as always master of real estate photography :)

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Thanks Marcin :)

[@richardbrenyah4357]

I really enjoy your videos. I wish I saw your channel earlier. I've a question, how do you correct the overexposure ceiling from the bouncing of the flash

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Thank you! If you're overexposing the ceiling from bouncing flash then you're doing it wrong. It might help to take a look at my pro interiors course, which goes through lighting in detail. Here's a link if you'd like to check that out: ProInteriors.NathanCool.com

[@jacktsai1378]

Thank you, may I ask when you stand inside the shot, holding a flashlight, how do you remove yourself from it and keep all that brightness? thx

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

You're very welcome! It's compositing, which is something I delve deep into in my Pro Interiors course at learnre.nathancool.com

[@kenmcarthurphotography6544]

Thank you !

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

You're welcome!

[@shadowlightroom]

Thanks so much Nathan. Your last two videos have cleared up a lot of what I had misunderstood about the technique. And after carefully correcting my steps, in addition to the fantastic results, I have noticed a huge improvement in the shooting and editing workflow. Thanks so much Nathan. I was just wondering if you have ever tried taking an HDR image as an ambient shot? What do you think about it? Would it make a difference?

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Glad this has helped! On the HDR ambient, nope, completely unnecessary and a waste of time. That is something I explain (along with an alternative) in "Mastering Flambient", here's a link if you'd like to check that out: amzn.to/3HOJYps

[@shadowlightroom]

@@NathanCoolPhoto Thank you.

[@rchockley]

Question-- on the bathroom shot, you talk about how important it is to knock out ambient on the flash shot, and use shutter speed of 1/200, which I presume is your max sync speed. Why not use that shutter speed (max sync) on all flash shots? I notice that you normally use 1/100 -- doesn't that add some ambient to the flash exposure?

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Those are some of the basics covered in my interiors book, here's a link if you'd like to check that out: amzn.to/3YPnV86

[@travisjacobsvideos]

I'm definitely new using flash instead of HDR but why not use a lantern with higher power and more directional than multiple flashes? Too bright?

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Because it's not about the *amount* of flash, it's the distribution. I cover this in more detail in amzn.to/3WEYxCq

[@PuchoWebSolutions]

Hello from New York City! When you do a window pull, how are reflected flash hot spots eliminated from the glass? Thank you for your informative video.

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Thanks! And you're very welcome. If you capture window pull footage correctly then there are ways to easily avoid and fix that if necessary. These are things I show in my pro interiors course, which you can check out at LearnRE.NathanCool.com

[@GONAVY183]

Hello Nathan, I know it's been a few months and a tutorial ago, but I bracket shoot all my real estate. I shoot R5 canon, EF16-35mm f2.8 lens F.8, AV 100 1/125 ISO. In your opinion, am I over working my work flow Sir? Also I use a Kelvin app for outside shots as a real estate photographer. I must be old school huh? . I do shoot at times some very high end stuff, 80% of the time, it's usually 300k - 400k homes. Thanks in advance for your insight.

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

There's a lot I see that you could improve on, but it's far too much to explain in a YT comment. I would suggest taking a look at my online courses, which cover these things in much more detail at LearnRE.NathanCool.com

[@keithbennett5179]

Great lessons! Thanks!

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Thanks Keith. My pleasure!

[@FlydreamMedia]

Holy cow. You are amazing!

[@cosmicmark]

I think your ambient are a bit more on the favorable side. Is it usually overcast where you are? Here in AZ, the windows are so much more blown out. I'd kill to see even the slightest detail outside a window without adjusting exposure so low that it's nearly pitch dark inside.

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

I live in sunny Southern California...we have the same issue you do :) It's not a problem if you follow the proper guidelines for gathering flambient footage. I cover that in detail in "Mastering Flambient", here's a link if you'd like to check that out: amzn.to/3GNRNcC

[@stargazer2455]

Couple of things… Luminosity mode will sometimes turn portions of my photo into black and white and secondly… when I do window pulls on dark and cloudy days, i struggle to get good shots.. Thoughts? Thank you and I purchased your lighting book.

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

The reason you're getting those results is due to what I showed in problem #2 in this video. You're likely not using enough flash distribution, which I show in the lighting guide, but also explained in detail in "Mastering Flambient". You might want to rewatch this video so see that problem, and also take a look at amzn.to/3HOJYps which can help you further, especially on the window pull problem you're seeing.

[@andrewnolan57]

Do you ever leave the lights off for the ambient and flash exposure and then take a dark image exposing for the lighting only and add it back in ps using the lighten mode?

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

No. There is no need to turn off lights for any of the footage is shot with the proper exposure and flash settings. This is something I talk about in more detail in "Mastering Flambient", here's a link to that if you'd like to check it out: amzn.to/3hz5PXc

[@Hackbarthja]

Have you thought to have someone follow you around on site to have a more in depth real-time tutorial? Could be a paid course of course.

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

I might consider a workshop at some point, but not a shadow. A course or workshop would be better so that I could apply the proper attention.

[@Hackbarthja]

@@NathanCoolPhoto sorry I meant someone following and filming you.

[@brandonlee1292]

Hey Nathan! Do you have any videos on combatting ceiling hotspots from flash - specifically in larger rooms? Thanks!

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

If you flash correctly then you shouldn't have any hotspots from flash. Not sure if you have my lighting guide but that should help, here's a link if you'd like to check it out: amzn.to/3VhJBGL

[@brandonlee1292]

@@NathanCoolPhoto is there somewhere I can send you examples of what I mean?

[@ramihz42]

thanks alot

[@NathanCoolPhoto]

Most welcome

[@georgemiller901]

Another video, another couple "Ahh-Ha" moments. I guess "Advanced editing for Real Estate" will be my next book. I started with "Shot Lists", (Really informative) then went to "Interiors". second. Thanks again!

[@mendezvideography3962]

I love you!