Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 7-bracket HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseFor me it is always nice to get a commercial real estate job because it provides a welcome change of pace to the usual people-based photography I do. In some ways, it is much easier to photograph a bedroom or a kitchen or a living room. Nothing is moving around, nothing blinks, nothing is camera shy, and perhaps best of all it's air conditioned! Then again, lighting a room or small or large size presents its own challenges. Furniture does need to be posed, or rather arranged, for best presentation. Which angle most flatters the room? What elements get left along the edges of the frame (bit of crown molding above) and which get cropped out (painted wall to the right)?
Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 9-bracket HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseI chose to use mostly HDR to make the photographs for Barefoot Beach Resort in Clearwater. I tried some two-strobe setups, but in the end all but one image I delivered to the client was HDR. The one non-HDR shot was of a small kitchen where I could not setup my tripod, but rather had to climb up on a counter and almost lay down! That was actually kind of fun.
Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 7-bracket HDR tripod mounted with cable releaseOther challenges of doing open window room photographer include reflections. The above photograph of a master bedroom had a window to the right of the frame which I wanted open (well the blinds actually) as it provided needed light, but it also caused a huge reflection on the painting on the wall above the bed. You cannot see it now because of some careful, and tedious cloning work. Then there was the setup. French doors lead out to the Florida room (middle photo) and are a main feature of the master bedroom. Working with the client we decided that just that much of the French doors in the shot was enough to portray them to viewers while still showing a good portion of the bedroom as well as the hallway to more show some of the layout of the condo.
Working with a tripod and without people as subjects meant I could really take my time and setup and frame the shots exactly how I thought best with input from the client too, without worry of the subject matter getting tired.
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