Have you ever seen Property Photography Photos were above the camera is well exposed and as your eyes are drawn into the photo, the room gets progressively darker. In this blog on Real Estate Photography, I will show you how I can evenly light a long room.
As you will see from the below example, Real Estate Photography is all about lighting, and a good property photographer can take almost any space & light it well. After all this is what we are essentially paid to do - Making spaces look good by lighting them correctly.
As for tools needed, as well as a camera (obviously), tripod, two flashes and a trigger of some sort. Sometimes I use a simple trigger I purchased on Amazon, other times I use a Camranger (my preferred method) hooked up to my phone. From this I can easily adjust the flash power to meet the need to light the scene properly. This method save time going backwards & forwards to the camera, checking for the correct exposure. Some would believe a camranger would slow you down, but I find I can instantly see from my phone what adjustments are needed. A little time to set up, but this is easily made up. Like all tools in my Property Photography bag, Its knowing when and how to use them.
The first step in getting an Interior Photography Shot of a long room, is to get a ball park exposure & light the area above the camera, giving a bright foreground. Then I light (using a speedlite or AD200) either side of the other end of the room. The flash pop on the left side lights up the right side of the room and the flash pop on the right side lights the left side of the room. A little confusing I know, but the trick here is to separate the photo into two halves (or zones) & from a bit of practice, you will understand the method.
A simple brushing technique (to hide my self either side) in photoshop & an evenly lit interior photography shot is created. Another way of doing this is you can use a 50% gray mask & brush accordingly.
Sometimes, using a powerful mono light like the Godox AD600 can do the job if you have the right conditions and have knowledge of the inverse square law. In this case, you would blast the wall behind the camera, the transition of the fall off is much smoother & therefore lighting the scene correctly. Works great on a white wall, but try it on another colored wall can create a color cast.
Property Photography can be challenging, but knowing your tools and when to use them separates a good interior photographer from the rest.
