Photography For Real Estate

Recently, I was talking to Malia Campbell who shot the video for Scott Hargis’s now famous real estate photography lighting video series. She reminded me that we are going on 6 years since she and Scott released this fantastic video series. For those of you who are just starting out in real estate photography and […]

Carmen in Spain asks: I want to move from HDR to off-camera flash. With a tight budget and so many options out there, how can I make sure I buy the right gear on the first try? I’m not going to bore you with my lifelong history of gear buying failures but the most epic […]

Note: this was originally posted on PFRE July 23, 2007. First of all, I need to point out that this is Scott Hargis’s post. Like many of you, I’ve been admiring the way Scott uses a hand full of strobes to light a room to look like an Architectural Digest shoot and still keep the […]

Darren in Northern California says: Is there a particular technique or tactic to reducing glare and reflections on interior windows during twilight photo shoots? I capture a few exposures (ambient and flash fill) and then brush them together in editing. Often times, the views beyond the window are obstructed by interior reflections. Window reflections can […]

Last week I got two similar questions about which flashes to use for real estate photography. Shane said: I’m switching to the Scott Hargis style lighting for my real estate clients. I’ve shot interiors in the past using studio strobes and umbrellas etc. and will continue to do that when appropriate, but I want to know […]

Earlier this week a reader asked: Does anyone use LED lights so that you can see how everything looks before shooting (aka not relying on flash lighting)? I don’t have any direct experience using LED lighting but I would speculate that in general, continuous LED lighting wouldn’t be that much of an advantage for real estate […]

Brady in the Seattle area asked: Any suggestions for photographing, or more accurately, lighting galley kitchens evenly? I have a similar challenge with long hallways. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with a remote flash with a Stoffen diffuser mounted on a small stand. Taking two shots and moving it enough between shots that I can photoshop […]

I knew this was coming sooner or later. Smart phones have amazing cameras and it’s only a matter of time before you’ll be able to do everything and more with your SmartPhone that you can do with your DSLR. This little guy will be available on August 25 for $70. I’m still waiting for a wide angle […]

Polina in Florida asks: How does everyone deal with light reflections on the walls that come from the mirrors or glass doors on the opposite walls and produced when using flash? Do you control it at the shoot somehow or there is a good trick to edit these big lighter spots on the walls?

Ryan in California asks: I was wondering how you would suggest I shoot a whole house without editing until I get home. Currently I have to retake shots after editing on site after making sure they are exposed correctly. Should I shoot bracketed shots from the dark to light? Like 9 shots total for each […]

Brad in Idaho says: I would love some specific advice on one room of a house. It’s a gigantic “great room” and very very dark. There is also a large emphasis on the view. I shot it last year before I knew how to use multiple flashes and was still doing HDR. I was very […]

Ron in Northern California says: I love your resource here. I have a Canon 5D MKIII with 600EX-RT speedlite and ST-E3-RT trigger. I’ve been shooting for a couple of months using brackets and Lightroom HDR. I had some color consistency issues and after reading some your posts on using a manual flash I added flash […]

Steven in South Jersey asks: I am looking at a Flashpoint 360 and wondered if any other readers use one for real estate? I will soon be shooting with a Sony A7 Mark III and continue to use my Nikon with the latest SB flash can I get the nikon to function as a slave […]

Roy in Los Angeles says: This has been plaguing me for a long time now and I guess I have just been editing my way around this sometimes blending multiple brackets: How does one shoot a long, deep interior space (condo or apt) that has an outside view at the far end (large window, terrace, […]