Congratulations Alex Vincent, March 2024 PFRE Photographer of the Month! The theme this month was "Kitchen". Alex Vincent - #906 Yvonne Raaijmakers - #909 Peter Wingfield - #902 Here's what Alex has to say: Thank you for the award of Photographer of th ...
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Elsa recently ask the following question:
My name is Elsa and I ran into your website today as I was doing some research on the startup of a real estate
photography business. I am 19 years old and I want to get this going as soon as possible. The earlier the better right. it would be really great if you could give me some insight as to what camera I should use and if it's worth buying the more expensive camera. I have been doing some research on the market around me and it seems there is not a large amount of competition but it is there.
First of all with real estate
If one chooses the Canon 10-18mm as a wide-angle lens here is a couple of alternative DSLR bodies to go with:
In conclusion: my recommendation would be the Canon T6I and 10-18mm if you can afford it. Remember that aside from buying the best camera lenses, there are many other expenses involved in getting started in real estate
Its also quite useful to know something about photography, how cameras work, how lighting works, how digital processing works and how to get great results under poor conditions shooting mediocre properties. The camera does not take the photograph - you do. So learn to shoot a photograph in your head first. Then tell the camera what you want it to do. And then as mentioned above, some education is business is also a good thing from marketing to keeping books to self branding to how you present yourself. All important. Larry's archive of articles here is one very rich source of leaning.
+1 for Peter's comment. Get that Real Estate Photographer Stimulus Package if you are just starting out.
I have trained a few people how to shoot and process real estate photographs now. I wouldn't be so bold as to try to train them in the business end as I feel my way through that like many others. One grew bored with it quickly and went back to shooting weddings. Another thought it was too hard. Another just could not wrap their mind around 1 day turnaround and had problems with reality in post processing... only one is still shooting RE. This job is not for everybody.
I won't have a problem shooting 566+ homes this year.
I shoot RE with a Nikon D610 (used for $1125) & a used Nikon 18-35mm lens (I purchased it for $300 on ebay) The D610 is a full frame camera & has 1.6 times the sensor size of a cropped camera. I currently have 1 sb700 flash (less than $400) & a Manfrotto tripod. This setup has worked very well for me. It is also nice to have a backup camera for emergencies. I use a d3200, it is Nikon's least expensive line of DSLRs (I spent $430) But, it has a cropped sensor & lacks automatic bracketing.
I have what must be a dumb question. I think Larry has recommended not shooting wider that 24 to 28mm. So how does this 10-18 fit in?
"...Larry has recommended not shooting wider that 24 to 28mm. So how does this 10-18 fit in...?"
Scott, the Canon T6i has an APS-C sensor so you have to account for the 1.6x crop factor. Therefore the 10-18 essentially becomes a 16-28.
I have the Canon 10-18mm lens. I also have a Tamron 10-24 and a Tamron 11-18 lens. Of the three, the Canon handles flare much worse. This is using a hood and no filters. It's also a lot more... finicky... in regards to focus, than the Tamron 10-24 lens. It is half the price of the other lenses. I just thought I'd pass along what I've found out.
Oh come on, Canon best? or cheapest? It depends. All I can think is that if someone is going for the cheapest they will end up doing cheap work. From day 1 be a professional and aim for top quality work. Nowadays you need full frame, you need to shoot raw, and you need a quality lens and Tamron's 15-30VC is just the ticket. and you need at least two speedlites