Architectural (Real Estate) Photography 1

Introduction

I have stated, in a previous blog, that interior photography is one of the most difficult fields of photography.  In this blog I hope to help you understand why I would make such a statement.

Artificial Lighting

The interior of a building usually has low light levels if there are no windows to the outside world.  The light is usually either incandescent, a yellowish light from ordinary light bulbs, or florescent, one of several tints ranging from a daylight blue to an erie greenish color cast.  Today’s cameras have several preset white balance settings to cover the different types of lights you run into.  All is well if there is only one source.  If you try to take a photo of mixed light sources you confuse the camera and you will see multi-tint casts across your picture.  If the purpose of the picture is to be artistic then the multi-tint cast can look really cool.  The purpose of the photo for real estate is to expose the structure and the casts are a distraction.  Distractions are rather strange in that the observer might not be able to tell you what is wrong but they can sense it.  The sense that they feel is unsettling and they cannot fully appreciate the purpose or subject of the picture while they are experiencing the distraction.

A bathroom with both florescent fixtures and incandescent makeup lights and an exterior window brings in three different colors of light and will result in a very distracting picture.  In order to salvage some value from the photo it would be wise to only leave one light source active.

The least elegant approach is to light up the space with a flash unit.  The camera is well equipped to deal with the color of the flash.  The problems with flash is that the pictures tend to look flat with no depth to them.  Reflections coming off of surfaces can show up when observation by the photographer prior to the shot gave no indication of the problem.  A casual photographer may not examine the resultant image until they get back to their computer to down load the images.  At that point it is too late and the glare is an integral part of the photo.  Glare and reflections tend to be distractions and loose the purpose of the picture.

Natural Light

Windows light up a room and for years realtors setting up an open house have opened all of the blinds to make the rooms appear as bright as possible.  Wise realtors have discovered that open blinds are not their friend and so they photograph with the blinds shut.  If the blinds are open and the window is in the picture then disaster usually occurs.  One extreme is that the room appears very dark and the window appears to reveal a nuclear event outside.  This type of picture makes the viewer very distracted.  The dark room looks like a dungeon and no one can make out any of the details in the room or outside the window.

The problem described above can be solved in several different ways.  The first and easiest way is to take your exposure off of the wall and make the camera use that exposure.  The window will be totally blown out with no detail available.  The interior will appear bright and details in the room will be very clear.  The second approach is to use flash to light up the interior to balance the light between the interior and exterior.  The problem here is that it sometimes takes a lot of flash power and the single flash built into the camera is ineffective at lighting the room sufficiently.  The third way to deal with it requires good timing.  If the pictures are taken at dusk or during a very cloudy day then the light will not be too extreme coming through the window.  Dusk pictures can be quite attractive and are often worth the effort of waiting for the sun to go down.  

Conclusion

You have learned that light coming from different sources will display multiple color casts which are always a distraction to the viewer.  When the viewer feels uneasy they do not fully appreciate the features that you are trying to project.  The next thing I hope you took away from this blog is that extreme differences in brightness are very difficult to deal with using a single camera and its attached flash.  Waiting for dusk or clouds may not be practical so a reasonable alternative is to set the exposure to that of the wall in the picture.  You will need to read your camera manual to determine how to use this feature.

Just remember that the window, while a pain to photograph, is usually a major feature that needs to be recorded.  A professional photographer with specialized equipment and post processing techniques can take a photograph that perfectly exposes the indoor details and still allow the view through the window to be appreciated.  

If the goal is to attract a buyer to the the property then the picture cannot project distress and a proper exposure showing interior detail is a must.  The gorgeous view through the window is the thing that will draw the buyer to take a look at your listed property.

If you would be interested in seeing the difference that professional photography can have on you listing then please contact Lingering Impression Photography Services for a consultation.  We are always prepared to talk photography if you have any question on the subject we will be glad to take the time with you.