Post on 11-Sep-2020
ZIG
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Photography guidelines & practice runReal Estate
Welcome!
We’re delighted that you’ll be doing a practice run with us!
In this guide, we’ll cover some basics for camera settings, etc. to show you how we shoot real estate.
We’ll also show you some good examples and finally they’ll
be instructions on how to submit your practice run.
Enjoy!
Before you startBelow is a quick brief of what you’ll need for your practice run
Camera settings
Av-A Mode ISO 200-800 White
balance: AWB Aperture: F7.1 to F11
Tripod
Use a tripod. Set height to 110cm
or 4.5ft
Camera lens
Wide angle lens. 16mm if full frame
11-14mm if APS-C
Bracketing
Set your camera on bracketing mode at
-3, 0, +3
-3 0 3
RAW
Shoot in RAW only
15-20 photos
Number of photos you’ll need + bracketing
Landscape ONLY
Bracketing for HDRWe shoot in HDR to ensure pleasing and realistic photos
-3 0 3
Brightest exposure Middle exposure Darkest exposure
• Set your camera’s bracketing mode to -3, 0 and +3 • For the darkest exposure, details outside the window MUST be
visible. Adjust exposure compensation if not • Set the camera on a stable tripod • Use your camera’s timer or a remote to minimise vibrations
Create an HDR preset
Tip
• The bracket must be set as three exposures in 3 stop increments. The three exposures are: correctly exposed for the midtones; 3 stops underexposed for the highlights; and 3 stops overexposed for the shadows.
• The camera must be set so the aperture determines the shutter speed during the bracket.
• The aperture must not be opened wider than f11. The smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field.
• Capture in RAW
• Auto White Balance
Angles & composition
The “three walls” rule
Whenever possible, there must always be three walls in an indoor picture. This creates better depth in the image. And remember the rule of the shortest wall. Try to never shoot into a corner, as it does not accurately reflect the size and dimension of the room.
Angles & composition
More floor than ceiling
Unless you are shooting for a creative angle, always try to ensure that there is more floor than ceiling in the photos. The photo on the left shows too much ceiling. The concern was probably shooting into the furniture if the camera was lower. However, the camera could have gone lower to eliminate some of the ceiling without looking too much into the side of the furniture. As a rule of thumb, try to have it as 55% floor and 45% ceiling. Approximately.
Angles & composition
Keep lines straight & camera level
The images must be shot as straight as possible. No slanted or falling lines - unless the image is intentionally taken slanted or off-center. Straight lines are achieved by using the already vertical points in the scene such as trim, doors, windows, etc. Do not crop a window in half whenever possible; instead, crop at the frame. The same is true for kitchen cabinets and similar architectural elements.
Angles & composition
Open spaces & flow of light
Furniture and objects can sometimes interfere. Remove those items so there is space in front of the camera. It is about finding the angle where there is open space in front of the camera. Go as far back as possible and use the entire room.
Angles & composition
Avoid tunnel effect with straight-on shots
In the kitchen shot, because it is a long galley design and it is open on one side, it made the most sense for drama and to show the most information about the cabinets and appliances, to shoot straight on. If the kitchen had walls on both sides, the shot would have been more claustrophobic shot straight-on instead of at an angle. Please also note that, in the kitchen shot, the camera is higher to avoid looking underneath cabinets and to show the countertops.
You can also minimise tunnel effect by zooming in a bit
Angles & composition
Show flow
To help tell a story about what moving around in the space is like, try to show how the room flows by illustrating your composition with door openings to other rooms
Summary & checklistGood luck with your practice run! Below is a summary of what you’ll need and a checklist
Camera height When photographing empty rooms, set camera to approximately 110cm / 3.5 feet. Show more floor than ceiling. Raise the camera when photographing a kitchen to show countertops
Keep lines straight Keep vertical lines straight and parallel. No tilting.
Flow & light Leave doors open. Open blinds and curtains. Close open windows. Turn on all lights.
Shot list Do a few shots of each main room: living room, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom & exterior Approx. 70% should be inside and the rest outside.
Remove clutter Especially kitchen countertops are important to keep fairly clean. Ensure towels and bedding looks ok and not messy. They quickly stand out in photos.
Inspiration & examples : exterior
Inspiration & examples : living room
Inspiration & examples : bedroom
Inspiration & examples : bathroom
Inspiration & examples : kitchen
Finishing up
We hope you enjoyed the practice run! Next, all that remains is to submit your files. For the practice run, in order to decrease file size, please upload in JPG 3000x2000. This is ONLY for the practice run. For real assignments, please always upload in RAW to the Zigna platform.
To submit your JPG (all three exposures for each photo), please submit as a collected PDF:
1Combine all your photos into a single PDF. Here’s a how to guide: https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/convert-images-to-pdf-macos-preview/
3 Upload your PDF using the link in the email from us. If unsure, send an email to join@zigna.com
What do do?
2 Shrink the file size using: https://smallpdf.com/compress-pdf