Photographing a Small Property
Discussion
I have photographed a number of properties for various reasons. Most of the homes I have photographed have had quite large rooms.
Next week, I have to photograph a smaller house. It has some quite small spaces especially the bathroom and a galley kitchen. I've been trying to come up with some ideas on how to shoot this and was hoping for some suggestions please on not only how to shoot the areas, but also while making it look as spacious as possible?
Having thought about it a bit and experimenting at home, what I have so far:
Next week, I have to photograph a smaller house. It has some quite small spaces especially the bathroom and a galley kitchen. I've been trying to come up with some ideas on how to shoot this and was hoping for some suggestions please on not only how to shoot the areas, but also while making it look as spacious as possible?
Having thought about it a bit and experimenting at home, what I have so far:
- Declutter!
- Shoot with my full-frame camera
- Wide angle 17mm but not fish-eye
- I was thinking that in the galley kitchen, take a shallower depth of field with the cabinets near the camera in focus giving the illusion of a longer space
- Use lots of lighting
- Be prepared to photoshop myself out of mirrors, especially in bathrooms
I'd just ask any estate agent, they seem to have an unrivalled ability to make small rooms and gardens look much bigger in their photos.
The last house I viewed the garden looked about 100ft long with a 30ft tall Scots Pine tree in the middle of it, in reality the garden was about 30ft long and the tree was no taller than me!
The last house I viewed the garden looked about 100ft long with a 30ft tall Scots Pine tree in the middle of it, in reality the garden was about 30ft long and the tree was no taller than me!
Personally I would say 17mm (+/-) a few mm should do the job fine, any wider and the image stops looking real- at least for interior shots. The distortion can be fixed to a degree but it doesn't look natural.
To make a room look as big as possible shoot from one corner into another corner. Bring a tripod and ideally use it with the legs as close as possible and the column fully extended so you get it to just below chest height with the legs spread out as little as possible. This will allow you to wedge the camera right into the corner/against a wall.
Depending on what camera you have you may be able to sync it with a phone and use that as a remote trigger. I've found that to be suprememly helpful as I can put the phone on the floor with Live View and make adjustments to the camera as necessary, then step out of the room to take the shot.
Shallow DOF 'arty' type shots will work well for somewhere small if you want to give a classy look. Don't be afraid to capture door frames etc to widen your shot- it will look nice if it's out of focus and will give more perspective.
Just a note on shooting corner to corner- this makes the space look its largest but not necessary the most flattering angle. So best to mix it up.
To make a room look as big as possible shoot from one corner into another corner. Bring a tripod and ideally use it with the legs as close as possible and the column fully extended so you get it to just below chest height with the legs spread out as little as possible. This will allow you to wedge the camera right into the corner/against a wall.
Depending on what camera you have you may be able to sync it with a phone and use that as a remote trigger. I've found that to be suprememly helpful as I can put the phone on the floor with Live View and make adjustments to the camera as necessary, then step out of the room to take the shot.
Shallow DOF 'arty' type shots will work well for somewhere small if you want to give a classy look. Don't be afraid to capture door frames etc to widen your shot- it will look nice if it's out of focus and will give more perspective.
Just a note on shooting corner to corner- this makes the space look its largest but not necessary the most flattering angle. So best to mix it up.
Bumblebee7 said:
Personally I would say 17mm (+/-) a few mm should do the job fine, any wider and the image stops looking real- at least for interior shots. The distortion can be fixed to a degree but it doesn't look natural.
To make a room look as big as possible shoot from one corner into another corner. Bring a tripod and ideally use it with the legs as close as possible and the column fully extended so you get it to just below chest height with the legs spread out as little as possible. This will allow you to wedge the camera right into the corner/against a wall.
Depending on what camera you have you may be able to sync it with a phone and use that as a remote trigger. I've found that to be suprememly helpful as I can put the phone on the floor with Live View and make adjustments to the camera as necessary, then step out of the room to take the shot.
Shallow DOF 'arty' type shots will work well for somewhere small if you want to give a classy look. Don't be afraid to capture door frames etc to widen your shot- it will look nice if it's out of focus and will give more perspective.
Just a note on shooting corner to corner- this makes the space look its largest but not necessary the most flattering angle. So best to mix it up.
Thank you for the suggestions.To make a room look as big as possible shoot from one corner into another corner. Bring a tripod and ideally use it with the legs as close as possible and the column fully extended so you get it to just below chest height with the legs spread out as little as possible. This will allow you to wedge the camera right into the corner/against a wall.
Depending on what camera you have you may be able to sync it with a phone and use that as a remote trigger. I've found that to be suprememly helpful as I can put the phone on the floor with Live View and make adjustments to the camera as necessary, then step out of the room to take the shot.
Shallow DOF 'arty' type shots will work well for somewhere small if you want to give a classy look. Don't be afraid to capture door frames etc to widen your shot- it will look nice if it's out of focus and will give more perspective.
Just a note on shooting corner to corner- this makes the space look its largest but not necessary the most flattering angle. So best to mix it up.
I shot the property this morning. Will process the images in the next few days, but I'm pretty happy with my first look through.
I have used my iPhone as a remote trigger, but to be honest, it's a pain in the ass so I just contort myself into the corners/tight spaces. Yoga-like!
The Moose said:
Thank you for the suggestions.
I shot the property this morning. Will process the images in the next few days, but I'm pretty happy with my first look through.
I have used my iPhone as a remote trigger, but to be honest, it's a pain in the ass so I just contort myself into the corners/tight spaces. Yoga-like!
No worries, would be keen to see your efforts so post a few if you can I shot the property this morning. Will process the images in the next few days, but I'm pretty happy with my first look through.
I have used my iPhone as a remote trigger, but to be honest, it's a pain in the ass so I just contort myself into the corners/tight spaces. Yoga-like!
I regularly do it as I take photos for holiday lets up here.
I took these last week. You can see how small the property is.
My advice. Lightroom. It'll sort out stupid angles you get with very wide angle lenses in small rooms. 'Shadows' lets you correct inside/outside light.
Forgive me if you knew this.
It really is VERY small in there: http://stevecarter.com/ian/Ian.htm
I took these last week. You can see how small the property is.
My advice. Lightroom. It'll sort out stupid angles you get with very wide angle lenses in small rooms. 'Shadows' lets you correct inside/outside light.
Forgive me if you knew this.
It really is VERY small in there: http://stevecarter.com/ian/Ian.htm
Bumblebee7 said:
Nice shots, and yes definitely not super tiny.
IMO 1st kitchen shot is better, if you don't mind the only bit of constructive feedback I'd add is that table shot in the kitchen area and the exterior shot are taken from too high up- too many converging angles. Otherwise good job
I don't mind constructive feedback...how else will I improve?!IMO 1st kitchen shot is better, if you don't mind the only bit of constructive feedback I'd add is that table shot in the kitchen area and the exterior shot are taken from too high up- too many converging angles. Otherwise good job
I agree with you about the height of the outside shot. The only thing I would say is that if I went a little lower, you couldn't quite get a good view of the seating which I thought was quite attractive.
Which shot do you mean about the table? Both the round table with 2 seats and the square with 6 are higher which screws with the height I wanted the camera at.
Bumblebee7 said:
For me, the 6 seater shot is perfect. You need to get the top of the table in (same as kitchen worktops which you have done). It was the 2 seater shot that would be better from lower down, very small space though tbh so I probably wouldn't have taken a photo of it at all.
I understand what you mean now. I wanted to shoot this space - it's East facing and is actually a lovely little spot to have a coffee in the morning, but more importantly it's an additional casual dining area.Thank you for the comments - I appreciate it. My next one to shoot later this week is not as well turned out but will present it's own challenges too. I'll be trying something new there also!
Edited by The Moose on Thursday 22 August 03:56
With the photo of the two seater table you're best bet is to try and only capture 2 walls to give a greater illusion of space. As soon as 3/4 walls are captured you can immediately see the true dimensions of the space. I've tried to straighten some of the lines and crop the photo so you can see what I mean. I'm specifically referring to the original shot where you can see the wall in the bottom left corner. As soon as this is removed you have the illusion of a bigger space. I've also just bumped up the saturation a bit to add a bit more colour.
GetCarter said:
It really is VERY small in there: http://stevecarter.com/ian/Ian.htm
Fabulous shots - And I'd love to live in a place like that!Can I ask your workflow/thought process to getting such a good balance of exposure with both the interior and the exterior visible through the windows? Something I always seem to struggle with...
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff