Canon EOS 6D / EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM Lens for Real Estate Photography
Real Estate Photography Cape Town
As a Canon photographer / photography trainer I get quite a few requests to do ‘photo-shoots’ for organisations and / or individuals (for various genres). Most of the time I do not have the time or it is something that I don’t really do. Above all – I don’t really sell images, except to National Geographic and / or doing articles (with VCP images) on Canon EOS / EOS R equipment.
For quite number of years I was involved in fashion (and portraiture) photography – mainly for Partners Hair Design, but prefer my own ‘photo-shoots’ wrt my own architecture / landscape / wildlife / macro (and other) genre interests.
For this week I was asked to do interior real estate photography for a business / personal stakeholder. Under most circumstances I would prefer ‘outsourcing’ this type of request, but for this project I am keen to travel with a few ‘Canon cameras / EF lenses / EX Speedlites and yes, of course, the tripod’.
As I’m preparing and researching my photography objectives I believe the best lens(es) to use will be in the 16-35mm and 24-70mm zoom range(s). With two lenses covering said focal lengths I will take a few other (prime lenses) along as well. The main lens for this job will probably be the Canon EF 16-35mm lens (as an ultra wide-angle choice) paired with my old and trusted Full Frame Canon EOS 6D.
I have done a few of these interior real estate project before, so will go with this frame of reference in mind. I have not seen this specific interior and will rather go over-prepared wrt focal length / lenses. (If indeed possible it is highly recommended to get a good look / feel of the property / spaces before the actual shoot – especially if it’s for someone else – i.e. paid assignment).
Important environmental considerations will be general architecture, décor, interior space(s), angles, colours and available light – all based on the client’s requirements and specific (publishing) objectives. Good communication with the client is essential for the best possible outcome.
For softening outside sunlight (shining into windows – to capture outside day time views from inside) I will use HSS flash (High-Speed Sync) on the external Speedlight flash. The reason for this is, is that the maximum shutter speed of the EOS 6D is limited to 1/180s (most other Canon EOS / EOS R cameras are limited to between 1/200s - 1/250s - not much of a difference and not fast enough for this objective) – to override this, the flash must be manually set for HSS for increasing the default maximum flash shutter speed to ‘balance the interior and exterior ambient light’. A shutter speed of i.e. 1/500s - 1/2000s may be required - depending on the outside light / environment). If HSS is not enabled the external (outside) light will be far too over-exposed vs. the inside interior light – during day time shooting.
Should you have to do a project of this nature with an APS-C camera any Canon EOS / EOS R crop body (or other brand) should do. My lens recommendation(s) will be EF-S / RF-S lenses (or other brands) in the 10 – 135mm range – either as an ultra-wide angle lens (10-18mm / 10-22mm), a prime wide(r) angle lens and / or zoom lens(es) wide enough for required interior space(s) / creative objectives.
RAW image processing is highly recommended - for enhancing i.e. the best natural exposure / contrast / shadows / saturation / vibrance / perspective challenges (when using ultra-wide angle lenses on a Full Frame body).
Useful Interior Real Estate Exposure and other Settings (Canon EOS 6D / EF 16-35mm lens):
- Av or Manual Mode (depending on available light)
- Aperture: F8 - F16 (depending on space)
- ISO: 100 - 400
- Manual Focus Mode
- Speedlight Flash (depending on available light)
- HSS flash mode (if outside views through windows are required during daytime)
- Manfrotto 190 Pro Tripod (for low ISO shooting / manual focus stability)
- RAW processing (via Adobe Lightroom)
Interior Real Estate / Interior Décor Photography Training Contact Me
Please note: This is a summary of a personal project with a few recommendations (of how to go about this genre of photography from my own experience / perspective). Actual settings may vary as they are dependant on specific conditions / requirements.
© Vernon Chalmers Photography
The Basics of Real Estate Photography for Interior Photos
© Vernon Chalmers Photography
The Basics of Real Estate Photography for Interior Photos
.jpg "Small Butterfly with Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM Lens Copyright Vernon Chalmers")
