Beginners Guide to Lighting Choices For Real Estate Photographers
May 1st, 2008
I want talk about lighting choices for real estate photography. Lighting is probably the biggest challenge for those starting out in real estate photography. There isn’t any one right way to light interiors. I’ve seen beautiful images made with each of these techniques. What I see and hear after talking to hundreds of real estate photographers is a gravitation to one technique or another based on where in the photographic process you’d rather spend your time. If you want to minimize the amount of post processing time you end up using 3 or 4 and if you are OK with more post processing you gravitate towards 6. Frequently, beginning real estate photographers will use 1 or 2 and progress to other techniques as the gain experience:
- Available light: Just a tripod using the lights coming in the windows and interior lights. Pros: simplicity (not much to learn), excellent results if inside and outside brightness close. Cons: only way to control window brightness is by time of day, frequently dark corners and uneven brightness.
- Single on-camera flash in automatic mode: Pros: Works good in small rooms, better than 1, simple (not much to learn). Cons: Reflections, flat look, doesn’t work on large rooms where a single flash doesn’t have enough power.
- Multiple flashes using camera manufacturers automatic mode (e-TTL Canon, CLS- Nikon): Pros: Manufacturer documented, flash power controlled from camera, even lighting possible. Cons: Expensive (need to use all flashes made by camera manufacturer, triggering not reliable in many situations.
- Multiple flashes using manual mode: Flashes radio or optically triggered. Pros: A wide variety of inexpensive flashes can be used, even lighting possible, almost total control of window brightness, minimum amount of post processing required. Cons: Takes a while to learn flash setup techniques.
- Hot lights: The use of studio style continuous (always-on) lighting. Pros: Always on so you can see what final image will look line in viewfinder. Cons: A lot of gear to carry around, amount of gear reduces speed of shooting.
- HDR (High Dynamic Range): Shoot a series of registered images (on a tripod) a few stops apart and combine them with special processing. Pros: Very fast and simple to shoot, inexpensive because lighting equipment not required, Post processing software inexpensive compared to flash equipment, gets good results faster than flash in extreme window light conditions. Cons: Takes some experimentation to learn tone mapping, if tone mapping is a little off, images can look un-real (radio-active or grungy).
How many use each of these techniques? Back in Feb and Mar of this year I did a PFRE reader poll and got the following results:
- Available light: 11% of readers
- Single on-camera: 38% of readers
- Multiple flash: (3 and 4 combined) 39% of readers
- Hot lights: 2% of readers
- HDR: 11% of readers
The use of HDR is probably the fastest growing method because it is relatively new and HDR processing software has been improving rapidly.
21 Responses to “Beginners Guide to Lighting Choices For Real Estate Photographers”
Emerald City Photog May 1st, 2008 at 9:32 pm #
Of course, this shouldn’t be a one-size fits all thing. Some situations are more suited to available light, HDR, or small strobe lighting. I did a little of each on one shoot today.
I think that shooters should experiment with all sorts of different lighting styles to find what works for them in different situations.
Tony Meier May 2nd, 2008 at 8:47 am #
I agree it is not a one size fits all solution. The more I do this, the more I realize it takes several methods to make a good presentation while keeping time to a minimum.
I have been shooting all my recent listings with the following:
Exterior - all shots where bracketed +2,0,-2 and enfused together. I used to use Photomatix, but really like the results and simplicity of enfuse.
Interior, no window visible - all shots where taken with multiple 580ex units in ettl
Interior, window visible - all shots where taken with multiple 580ex units in ettl. Then I take a shot that properly exposes the windows without flash. These two images are then blended with enfuse, which bring the windows in nicely.
I still am learning my post processing in Lightroom, but I think this seems to work well. Here is a link to one of my recent listings (that sold in 7 days btw)…
http://www.tonymeierphotography.com/p138127031/?slideshow=1
larry May 2nd, 2008 at 9:16 am #
@Tony - Nice job! Great examples. This is a great feature of Enfuse, that flash shots can be blended with non-flash shots.
Cape Girardeau Missouri Real Estate May 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 am #
Tony,
You made several good points. To get good photos you do need to adjust based on the home, the outside lighting, windows, interior material …..
I will add one more lighting technique - Using a cameria / flash rig. This will place the light source about a foot higher than the on-cameria method. It also allows you to better bounce the light off walls and ceilings.
Joe May 2nd, 2008 at 11:50 am #
There’s should probably be a 7th technique - using full strobes. This is the technique used in some of my interior lighting books, though I suspect it is more for architectural photography than real estate.
When using a hot shoe flash the best investment is an off shoe cord. I currently use this method with my 580EX and it offers much more flexibility. If you use a flash on camera you will suffer from blowouts.
That being said I have already ordered Pocketwizards and another flash so I can use two flashes off camera. I currently only use HDR for outside shots and then only when the lighting demands it - I don’t like the effect on interiors.
Sister Sassy May 2nd, 2008 at 12:09 pm #
I’ve found that you can actually fake an HDR merge with not so bad results. I’m certain its better to take the pictures with multiple exposures and do it the right way, but if you only have one shot I have been able to use my software to darken and then merge to fix bad lighting spots. Ok, not totally fix, but really reduce them.
Anonymous May 2nd, 2008 at 1:59 pm #
Thanks Larry for always bringing to our attention tools to further learning. Can enfuse be used without lightroom do you happen to know? Tony, nice shots - no wonder it sold so quickly, good looking house.
larry May 2nd, 2008 at 2:30 pm #
@Sister Sassy - Yes, you can… I assume you are talking about what can be done by shooting a RAW image and opening it three times, once as-shot, once as-shot +2 stops and once as-shot - 2 stops and then processing all three with Photomatix or Enfuse. Depending on the image this can be a big improvement but for consistently good results Christian Bloch says in The HDRI Handbook that you should use 5 all 2 stops apart.
@Anonymous - Yes, there are at least 3 other interfaces to Enfuse that I know of. I give links to them all in the following post:
http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/03/24/photomatix-vs-enfuse-two-ways-to-do-hdr/
Mike Martin May 2nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm #
Assuming the front exterior shot is the most important marketing photo, it most always should include the front entry door. Often, even in the best sun angle, it is in a covered location. Getting this area to show well is difficult. I’d like to brighten the front entry area with my Canon 508EX II sppedlite fired from my Canon XTi held more than 50 feet away. I assume I need some kind of wireless flash trigger. Any suggestions?
larry May 2nd, 2008 at 5:31 pm #
@Mike - The cheapest way to go is Cactus wireless triggers. See:
http://www.gadgetinfinity.com/product.php?productid=16766
Another way to do it would be a Canon ST-E2 See:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Speedlite-Transmitter-580EX-Speedlites/dp/B00004WCFY
I have both and I’d go with the Cactus triggers… every inexpensive , they are pretty reliable and they work when they are out of the line of site.
Mike Martin May 2nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm #
Larry,
I bought two Cactus triggers a while back. I’ve not been happy with them. They don’t fire when out of line of site (next room) and don’t fire beyond 50′ when in site. I’ll look at the Canon ST-E2 next.
larry May 2nd, 2008 at 5:43 pm #
@Mike - ST-E2 I find has more problems than the Cactus triggers. Pocket wizards are the best choice. See:
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Wizard-Sensing-Smart-Transceiver-Range/dp/B000GHXMO8
Mike Martin May 2nd, 2008 at 5:44 pm #
Larry,
I just looked at the Canon ST-E2 available on Amazon.com. I don’t like the following specifications:
Indoor transmission range of approximately 40 to 50 feet.
Outdoor transmission range of approximately 26 to 33 feet.
Typically, I take the primary photo from more than 50 feet away from the front door entry.
Mike Martin May 2nd, 2008 at 6:05 pm #
Larry,
Besides my general interest, the reason I bring this topic up is because: the front exterior is the primary marketing shot. It is the do or die. If you don’t make it attractive, the rest of the photos/tour won’t be looked at. Entry door areas are difficult because they are often covered and thus have poor light. Being able to activate a hidden strobe seems fundamental/essential. If you agree, I hope you consider this topic for a separate complete post and maybe a photo discussion on Flickr.
A.Hurst May 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 pm #
Larry,
I think your 7th option should be exposure blending, like Tony Meier I have recently played with both enfuse and photomatix. I have gone the other way and prefer the photomatix program.
My stuff is no where near the standard of Tony’s, I would like to know how you guys get the sharpness into your photos, it is amazing - is it combination of great lenses, cameras and post processing sharpening?
Here is an example of a recent shoot done with out flash - due to an onsite failure. The amount of bracketing between shots is something I am working on to improve the amount of post processing required. Each shot was made with three exposures.
http://www.open2view.com.au/tour/photo/57948/6
The outside shots were done using photomatix exposure blending, it was late afternoon very dull, but the exposure blending allowed the front door area to have some detail.
larry May 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 pm #
@Andrew - In my discussion above I lumped Enfuse and Photomatix type tone mapping together in the HDR. I consider Enfuse a different way of doing HDR. But perhaps the should be separated for clarity.
David Sherfey May 4th, 2008 at 4:06 am #
I am a Realtor and am relative noob to higher end real estate photography. Cost right now is important and I went with HDR so I could spend the bucks on the best wide angle lens for my camera. I just finished the first house with this stuff and you can see the results at
http://26foxhollowdrive.com
My results tell me that like everything else in life, you need more than just one approach to get high quality results. Because I am my own customer, I can get away with just HDR for now. It gives what is needed to show the detail in a room, but some photos don’t look as real as others. HDR does funny things with moving clouds too! I have to go back to one of the raw images to see if I can get an acceptable result that way.
I’ll agree with Mike that the FOH shot is the most important. If you are fortunate enough to have the house oriented properly, you can get sun on the face in early or late hours and get great sky behind. I would like to know more about flash for this purpose, because we are not always lucky with the positioning of the house.
Great blog, Larry. Photography is half (or more) of the language of real estate, and I consider yours to be the best real estate blog there is.
Zac May 4th, 2008 at 8:43 pm #
“Contrast Masking” is another method of getting “HDR” type results with only one shot. Pretty simple especially if you make a little photoshop macro to run it. Google contrast masking to pick up link for the method
Leigh Wanstead » Blog Archive » ????? May 9th, 2008 at 11:08 pm #
[…] real estate photo […]
JC May 15th, 2008 at 9:52 pm #
What Photomatix tone mapping settings have people had luck with? I’ve used Enfuse with some success, but it doesn’t quite go as far as I’d like.
However, I’m having zero luck with Photomatix getting anyhing that is acceptable. Most websites talk about outdoor setting, but what works for indoor home photos?
Photography For Real Estate » Basic Real Estate Photography Shooting and Workflow July 30th, 2008 at 8:05 pm #
[…] speed, aperture, ISO and whether you use a tripod depends on your lighting technique. See the post on the Beginners Guide to Lighting. Also see Scott Hargis’s discussion of Interior Lighting with Multiple Strobes. Lighting […]