Real Estate Photography

The bulk of my work nowadays is real estate photography. As mentioned elsewhere, I enjoy photographing and looking at beautiful examples thereof.

It's almost always a pleasure therefore, to get a commission to photograph interiors for houses or apartments that are going on the market. 

The majority of my commission jobs originate from an international startup company which hires photographers near to where the properties are. Occasionally I also get assignments well outside my area because maybe there are no local photographers available.

My assignments are generally booked for one hour. Sometimes, in the case of a particulary luxurious subject, I'll get two hours.

These are my observations.

The Gear

I carry the bare minimum of gear with me. Important here is a good wide-angle lens. On my Canon full frame body, I'll use the excellent Canon EF 16-35mm f/4.0L IS USM at the widest focal length. On my Fuji body I will use the equally fine Fujinon XF10-24mm F4 R OIS WR, also at the wide end.

Using the wide end of the lenses creates an illusion of more spaciousness than actually exists. I always set the lens for every image at F11 or F13.

 

Wideangle lenses create a false sense of roominess

Due to time constraints, I don't take any extra lighting units or stands, so to balance the (sometimes) dark interiors with (often) bright exteriors, I shoot three exposures in quick succession while the camera is mounted on a tripod. These are shot at normal (metered) exposure and then again at minus two stops and again and plus two stops.

 

 Three exposures

 

The resulting exposures are then fed into an HDR editing programme which merges all three images. The HDR programme takes the shadow details visible in the overexposed image, the highlight details visible in the underexposed image together with the midtones from the normally exposed imge and blends them together.

The final result is well exposed

 

For my own HDR processing, I use the excellent Photomatix Pro programme which gives a range of finished templates or you have the option to finetune the resuts yourself. The programme currently costs $99 for the watermark free version.

There is however a wonderful and fully featured free alternative called Picturenaut. I wish I'd known about this before I bought my copy several years ago!

What to look out for

Remember. Your job as the photographer is to present the property in an as appealing way as possible. There is a story that the smell of freshly brewing coffee can help swing the sale of a property when prospective clients are onsite. However, well exposed and organised images can help in a virtual sense. 

With that in mind, I make sure that the place looks tidy (if the house is still occupied). Remove any ashtrays and dog/cat baskets visible. Clean windows look a lot better than dusty smeared ones. Normally the house owner or real estate representative will make sure that everything looks good. I don't normally have time to do both cleaning and photography without charging extra.

Some photographers don't like personal items such as family portraits and framed family pictures on display. My reasoning is that they make the house look more like a home and "lived in" instead of a sterile "home and garden" magazine type image. Any personal pictures that appear in any shots are blurred to avoid recognition.

Family pics on this extractor fan give a family "feel".

 

What could possibly go wrong?

Check your gear thoroughly before setting off. If possible take an extra body or extra wide angle lens. Make sure that the front element of your lens is squeaky clean as you will often be shooting into the light which will immediately highlight any greasy fingermarks or blemishes.

Make sure also that your sensor is clean. Any dust spots will show themselves against a blue sky or lightly coloured walls.

Although I don't like the process of "chimping*" (checking each image on the monitor after each shot), it is a must when doing interiors because sometimes the focus is not absolutely spot on. Better to correct it onsite than travel back to base to discover that the image isn't ultra sharp.

Next up are verticals and horizontals. I use the camera's built in electronic level to ensure that the camera is absolutely perpedicular and not tilted etc. This also saves time later in post processing.

Keep the camera vertically and horizontally perfect.

Another thing to consider is that toilet seats should be down. It looks more aesthetically pleasing.

               

To give a good impression when visiting I also put cloth covers over my shoes to protect the flooring and carpets in the client's home. These are very inexpensive and can be bought online.

Cloth shoe covers

Conclusion

These are the methods that I employ when photographing interiors. They serve me well and I tend not to deviate from them. That's why I can photograph a property in one hour (forty minutes if empty) which is convenient for the home owner and enables me to get to the next one quicker. 

Here are a few of my recent examples.

  

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and can maybe consider using the info when you next have to shoot interiors. As ever, if you have any queries, please feel free to contact me.

Tom

 

 

*Chimping is a colloquial term used in digital photography to describe the habit of checking every photo on the camera display (LCD) immediately after capture.

 

Sometimes the best camera . . .

There's a saying that "the best camera is the one that you have with you". This simply means that to capture an image, you don't necessarily have to use your state of the art DSLR, compact or bridge camera. Whatever you have to hand at that moment will suffice.

This was brought home to me recently when I decided on a whim, to take a few pictures at the nearby Teufelsschlucht (Devil's Gorge).

My aim was to capture a few shots of the waterfall using various shutter speeds to use as source material for some of my photography classes.

I parked nearby and, because of the slippery track down to the gorge, I decided to travel with the bare minimum of gear. Namely my new Fujifilm X-H1, a Fujinon 10-24 wide-angle lens and my trusty Benbo tripod.

Setting off down the track, I was pleased not to be carrying a selection of lenses and bodies with me but when I got to the waterfall I discovered a problem. The waterfall had all but dried up! Hmmm.

I tried a few experimental shots of the trickle of water running down the rock face but it was hardly inspiring. I decided to go back to the car and as I,turned around to make my way out of the gorge, something in my peripheral vision alerted me to the fact that something seemed "out of place". It was a frog. Clinging to the moss which covered the rock face. He (or she?) was poised motionless. Probably waiting for me to leave.

I decided to make the best of an otherwise lost chance. I wanted to take some closeups of the reptile but only had my superwide zoom lens with me: the Fujinon 10-24 f4. This is roughly the equivalent of my Canon 16-35 lens which I use for interiors. I would have preferred to have a macro lens but that was in the car and I really didn't want to trek all the way back to fetch one.

The wonderful Fujinon 10-24 f4 zoom

I re-positioned my Benbo tripod as slowly and as carefully as I could because I didn't want to frighten him off. Using the lens at the 10mm focal length meant that I would have had to get uncomfortably close which I wasn't keen on doing in case it frightened the frog. It would also have made more of the background seem in focus (one of the traits of a wide angle lens) and my aim was to try and isolate the frog and the background as much as I could. 

I chose instead to  shoot at the 24mm end (roughly equivalent to a 38mm lens on full format) and choose a wide aperture to try and render the background as unsharp as possible while still being recognisable as a gorge.

Here is the camera in position. You can see the last remnants of the waterfall in the background.

The Benbo is an extremely versatile tripod and able to get into the most awkward positions.

I am still relatively new to the Fuji system and it took a little bit of messing around to get the exact settings I wanted, but one thing for which I was grateful was the tilting screen. Normally, with the Canon, I'd have to contort myself into being able to see through the viewfinder. With the X-H1 I simply tilted the screen!

Tilting monitor

After a bit of positioning and repositioning, I selected aperture priority mode using f4. With 200 ISO this gave me a shutter speed of 1/4 sec. Such a slow speed wasn't a problem because the frog was obligingly still!

Several pics in both vertical and horizontal mode and this pic (above) was my favourite.

So. As I wrote at the beginning, the best camera for capturing something is the one that you have with you at the time. If I had only had my mobile phone with me, I would have used that. A super wide zoom is not the ideal lens for close-up nature photographs but it was all that I had with me.

Thanks for reading. Have you taken pics with gear that isn't normally used or recommended for a particular subject? Leave a comment and tell me about it. 

Tom

The Four Seasons

This is not a blog post about Vivaldi's seminal work. 

Some years ago when living in my previous apartment, I photographed the same view from my kitchen window during the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and winter.

At the end of the year, I combined them into one image using my image editing programme. It was purely a personal project and the people I showed seemed to like it.

My 1st attempt. View from the kitchen window

After a two year break from thinking about it, I decided to do another. This time with an historical angle.

I am lucky to be living in a beautiful area that has several castles, forests and ruins all within a short distance from my apartment. This was important because I couldn't guarantee that the weather would be the same as I wanted when arriving there. 

My partner and I visited several places over a period of weeks before deciding on a view halfway between my place and the town of Balsthal. There is a parking spot which affords a spectacular view of the ruins of Castle Neu Falkenstein.

My rules for the four seasons project are pretty much the same as for when I am documenting progress on building sites. I wrote about it here.

We picked a good vantage point and my partner , Sue, took pictures of where I was standing and which fence post I would be standing beside as an "aide de memoire" for later.

 

My location. Google Streetview image

 

  

 My viewpoint. Picture by Sue.

 

The exact fence post!😀

I took the first picture this year (2020) in February. We had a light sprinking of snow and I didn't know if there would be another* 

 

February 2020

After choosing a viewpoint, it is also of course important to use the same camera and lens setup for every picture. I settled on my Fujifilm XE-2s coupled with the 18-55 zoom, always set at 55mm. The focus point chosen was always the middle one and I had the "level indicator" always visible in the viewfinder in order to keep the camera level. Doing all this helps the final editing to go a lot smoother.

Guidelines showing the center of the image

The following images were taken using the methods and equipment desribed above in April, July and October.

April. Spring

 July. Summer

October. Autumn

After the final picture was taken, it was a simple job to create a new document in Affinity Photo with a layer for each season. I then divided the image into four and erased any bits that didn't belong. This is the final result.

I am rather pleased with the end result and am currnetly looking for my next location(s).

This is a simple and very pleasurable photo project that gets you out of the house and exploring new (or familiar) places. It is interesting to view the changes over the course of a year. Of course, your final image doesn't have to be in the style that I did. You could display them separately or have all four in a frame.

Whatever you do, have fun and be safe.

Tom

 

 *There hasn't been yet.(November 2020)

Always use protection. . .

In my courses, I always stress the importance of using a filter on the front of your lens.

I am not talking about polarisers, grads or ND filters here. A simple skylight, UV, haze or protection filter is good enough.

Every couple of weeks a post pops up in my Facebook thread about whether or not to use one. The opponents argue that lens manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure that their products are optically perfect and putting another piece of glass at the front will degrade the quality. The proponents argue that with a good quality filter, you will not notice the difference and will be afforded another level of protection.

I am (and always have been) an advocate of using a filter to protect the lens for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I never use lens caps and the filter protects the front element when in my bag and when carrying it around. Secondly, I would rather wipe any dirt or water from the filter than risk smearing or scratching the front element. Thirdly, if the camera slips off your shoulder or is knocked against a hard surface, the filter will take the brunt of the damage as mine did last Tuesday. 

I returned from a photography class and had my Fujifilm x100 on my shoulder. The camera simply slid off my shoulder and fell lens first onto a marble floor. The only damage was to the filter. This was soon replaced and nothing major happened to prevent me continuing to shoot, nor did my camera have to be sent away to be fixed*.

I have always had a skylight, UV, haze or protection filter on the front of my glass. I do make sure though, that it is of good quality. How do I do this? I simply buy a well known brand (Tiffen, BW, Hoya etc)  if I don't know the brand, I will simply take a couple of pictures at varying apertures with and without the filter. They will then be enlarged to 100% to check if there are any glaring differences between them.

The picture on the wall behind me on the picture above was taken with a Canon EF 50mm f1.4 lens fitted with a Hoya skylight filter. I defy anyone to tell me that the quality would be better without a filter. the enlargements are three meters by three meters!

So my conclusion is to use protection in the form of a clear filter on the front of your lenses.

Thanks for reading.

* To add insult to injury, the lens hood which would also have protected my lens, fell off, unknown to me, on the way to the photo class!

Say hello to my little friend . . .

I never buy cameras when they first come out. 

I bought my current EOS 5D MKII just after the Mark 3 was introduced. This has the benefit of being "field tested" by thousands of users and being able to read their opinions. It also means that dealers will want to clear their shelves to make way for the latest model.

By the time I buy a new piece of kit, I will have read everything I can about it and therefore will be able to make an informed buying decision.

I saw my latest acquisition when it first came out in 2010 and immediately wanted it! It looked good and reminded me of my early eager years in photography. A time when not too many folks had zoom lenses and there were parallax correction indicators in the viewfinder.

I'm talking about the Fujifilm X100 range finder camera. 'Tis a thing of beauty and a joy to behold. 

I'm not going to do an in depth test here as there are plenty of other people doing that all over the 'net

What I will do however is to write about why I love this little "old" camera. Firstly, as I mentioned at the beginning it reminds me of my youth. It reminds me of when I was learning photography with an old Halina Paulette Electric camera. The X100 is like a supercharged version of that camera.

The day I received the camera (which I got for a very good price from an auction website), I spent just looking at it! It really is a joy to look at and feels good. All the controls fall easily to hand and anything that you set manually on the body can be seen in the very informative viewfinder window.

It has three auto modes. If you want shutter priority, you set the lens aperture dial to A. If you want aperture priority then the shutter speed dial must be set to A. For fully programmed, you have to set both the aperture and the shutter speed dials to A. For fully manual just pick and choose your own aperture and speed. The viewfinder will tell you how far off you are with a plus / minus bar on the left.

The camera is fitted with the 35mm full frame equivalent of a 35mm semi wide angle lens. No zooming here. You either stick to landscapes, groups or get in close! If you have read my blog in any depth or you know me personally, you will be aware that I dislike lens caps! I just don't like them. The first thing I wanted to do with the camera was to hide the lens cap away but that left the front element of the lens exposed. There is no filter ring on the lens so you have to buy an adapter ring.

The price of original Fujifilm accessories is, in my opinion, extortionate so I bought a JJC filter ring adaptor together with a clone lens hood for about Fr 20 ($21 or £13). Fuji want $70 for the equivalent.

I found the 35mm angle of view to be a bit restricting when I was out hiking so I invested in a screw on lens which converts it to a 28mm. The optical results are good enough for me and my clients. The hood is deep enough to keep anything from making contact with the lens.

 The JJC cloned lens hood

 The JJC cloned lens hood with the wide angle adapter

Here are a few snaps I took whilst walking around Rheinfelden, a charming town on the border between Germany and Switzerland. They are all straight from the camera.

         

This is a "direct from camera" panorama image

As mentioned earlier, there are lots of reviews for the camera on the 'net. I just wanted to write about how happy I am with it. It looks good, feels great in the hand and turns out more than adequate results. The only two minor niggles I have with this piece of kit are the RAW conversion software which I find clunky and cumbersome and the exposure compensation dial which sometimes gets inadvertently moved when the camera is slung over my shoulder.

All in all, it's a great piece of kit that puts the fun back into photography.

I take mine everywhere.

Thanks for reading.