Favorite Lens - Real Estate

dmward wrote in post #18351596
Around me, the realtors want wide to make a room look spacious. That creates a challenge for finding points of view that won't make things look too strange. If it looks too distorted I show the realtor the back of the camera and let them decide. They invariably take the wider shot.

That's interesting. My clients don't want to have a buyer disappointed when a room is not as big as they thought from the photos so I am careful not to deliberately misrepresent the size of a room.

rgs wrote in post #18351603
That's interesting. My clients don't want to have a buyer disappointed when a room is not as big as they thought from the photos so I am careful not to deliberately misrepresent the size of a room.

The difference in field of view between different lenses has an impact on the appearance of a space. Most humans have peripheral vision that is at least as wide as a 20 to 16mm lens on 36mm sensor.

The difference is that a human mind does a much better job correcting corner distortion than a lens. Then when cropped to a given size the edge distortion is more prominent.

Foreshortening is another visual characteristic of lenses that the human optical system does a great job correcting.

That's why, for years, the default "normal" lens for a 36mm sensor was 50mm. However, I doubt that any realtor would want to have a property photographed with a 50mm lens.

I don't think a wider angle lens misrepresents the space relative to human vision, the foreshortening does present depth which it seems realtors like in the pictures.

What I've found shooting for realtors is that they want whatever the rest of the office is doing.

dmward wrote in post #18356394
The difference in field of view between different lenses has an impact on the appearance of a space. Most humans have peripheral vision that is at least as wide as a 20 to 16mm lens on 36mm sensor.

The difference is that a human mind does a much better job correcting corner distortion than a lens. Then when cropped to a given size the edge distortion is more prominent.

Foreshortening is another visual characteristic of lenses that the human optical system does a great job correcting.

That's why, for years, the default "normal" lens for a 36mm sensor was 50mm. However, I doubt that any realtor would want to have a property photographed with a 50mm lens.

I don't think a wider angle lens misrepresents the space relative to human vision, the foreshortening does present depth which it seems realtors like in the pictures.

What I've found shooting for realtors is that they want whatever the rest of the office is doing.

Not so sure a cold discussion of our processing capabilities as opposed to a camera's is the point. You also have to be a bit careful of window pulls because of the lack of 3D information in a photograph. It's not a direct line from our brains to the camera sensor. If the lens is so wide as to make the photograph of the room appear much larger than it appears when one is in the room, the distortion - whatever it's cause - misrepresents the room. When a buyer feels like he or she has been deceived -intentionally or not - by the photographs, the realtor is blamed. Most of my clients do not want that to happen. 16mm (or 10mm on a crop) can easily make a room appear MUCH larger than it is. Usually best to back off a touch but each photographer and each realtor must decide that in their market and for each room. Just something to be aware of.

rgs wrote in post #18356481
Not so sure a cold discussion of our processing capabilities as opposed to a camera's is the point. You also have to be a bit careful of window pulls because of the lack of 3D information in a photograph. It's not a direct line from our brains to the camera sensor. If the lens is so wide as to make the photograph of the room appear much larger than it appears when one is in the room, the distortion - whatever it's cause - misrepresents the room. When a buyer feels like he or she has been deceived -intentionally or not - by the photographs, the realtor is blamed. Most of my clients do not want that to happen. 16mm (or 10mm on a crop) can easily make a room appear MUCH larger than it is. Usually best to back off a touch but each photographer and each realtor must decide that in their market and for each room. Just something to be aware of.

You're right that it does depend on the realtor.
In the last month more than 50 realtors, with one exception, while approving close to a 1000 room images has asked why the room looks bigger than it is in reality. Several have asked if there is a way to make it look bigger.

The one expectation was a realtor concerned about the edge distortion making the chair look too big. Not that the room was too big, just the chair.

This is a for properties ranging from $250K condos to $3 million houses.

As a commercial photographer, job is to create and present pictures that satisfy the client's expectations.

Hi guys, I am close to getting my real estate license and I have an older t1i that i would like to revive. What would be a budget lens for interior work?

Canon 10-18 would be a good choice for a budget wide angle on a crop body. I have one for sale as I went with the 17-40L to use on my 6D. Send me a PM if interested. Thanks!

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Without question, 17mm TS-E on full size sensor.

+1 for the Canon 17mm F4 L TS-E. What's cool about the 17mm is... if it's too wide, I can use a 1.4x TC and it's closer to a 24mm OR, sometimes I just mount it on an APS-C body and it's about 25.5mm

I took this last month while visiting Southern California when we went to look at some model homes.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/VBwL​U7

A few yrs back, I used my 40D and 10-22mm lens, between 10 & 14mm. Clients were happy, and that's what it's all about

When shooting interior shots of RE... Is there a rule of thumb for the height of the camera on the tripod? Eye level or lower?

reefvilla wrote in post #18688317
When shooting interior shots of RE... Is there a rule of thumb for the height of the camera on the tripod? Eye level or lower?

Lower. Mid-chest is pretty good. And a consistent height makes the set have a consistent look. Exception may be in kitchens were counter tops may require an eye level view.

FTb wrote in post #18404566
Without question, 17mm TS-E on full size sensor.

Real estate is really about having the skill and experience to produce the best work in the shortest time. When I enter a house, I have one Rovelight on a stand, and one camera on a tripod. My camera is tethered to a tablet that is mounted on the same tripod. I use one WA zoom 95% of the time. I have belt pouches that hold an additional lens (rarely used), a hand held speedlight, spare batteries for everything, and a few small extras. Because I have limited equipment to move, I can move quickly from room to room. I can finish a 2500 sq ft house - providing the client about 40-50 images - in a little over 1 hour. I also rely heavily on PP since I do no HDR and most images are hand blended. Total time per house - including post - is 4-5 hours. My goal is $50 per hour. I would charge more except I am on the high end in my area and frequently loose work to the run and gun guys who produce very cheap work. I have clients who appreciate how much good work increases their sales and get plenty of work, but, if I charged more or took more time for which they had to pay, I would would lose work.

That said, in my experience a fixed focal length lens in real estate work is a liability. It either slows you down because it requires MUCH more equipment and frequent lens changes or it restricts framing to a single point of view. In real estate work, time is money. You have to work fast to make a profit. And most of the virtue of a TS lens can be accomplished by accurate framing and careful PP.

Other architectural work is not so critical with regard to time. Clients are willing to pay for the extra time to produce good work so the exceptional quality of the 17mm TS will really pay off.

This is, of course my opinion based on my location and experience. Others may have entirely different conditions which make other choices more viable.