Focusing between shots is absolute nonsense. Common sense would dictate that you focus manually during the entire shoot, otherwise your shots will never match.
Thanks for sharing Mike, great detail and steps. I have been using a 5 bracketed set with 1 flash pointed to the ceiling then merging all layers in LR using Enfuse/LR. I may not achieve the highest perfection level, but honestly the images will be downsized to MLS standards and a lot of tweaking I would do would just be lost. Of course on high end $1M+ homes, the efforts would be worth it, however, details are still lost in the MLS system. I try to balance my quality with my time and that has worked for me successfully for 15 years now. I follow you, because you have great ideas, willingness to share and easy to listen to and follow. Thank you!
I do a 3 bracket, 2 stops apart ambient set & blend in enfuse & also 2-3 flash shots usually normal exposure & 1-2 stops under, blend those separately in enfuse, then I have the blended ambient & flash blended, then enfuse those two images and the results tend to be more than acceptable. See an example here; www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ajlydj4jbyntdr58w2g0o/INTERIOR-109.jpg?rlkey=w238hkpsgu8w47flc94sz8zfs&dl=0
I signed on with a real estate photographer broker and they insist on having their photographers shoot like this. THEY ONLY TAKE TWO EXPOSURES and that made my head spin.
Thanks for the video Mike. I noticed that your single ambient frame as well as your flash frames are not Raw but Jpegs. Is that intentional? if so how come?
this is what have i have been using for the lasts year. so i will do one normal exposed shot and then one under exposed by 2 stops for my windows pulls. however i do notice in larger areas. it can be tough todo.
I tried this method a while ago, and sometimes it works great. Yes it is faster to shoot than the regular flambient method and gives better results than HDR. But the problem is that most of the times, with the flash on camera at a low position pointing directly at the ceiling, this will create harsh shadows from things like ceiling fans, light bulbs, chandeliers, etc.. And to get rid of those shadows in the flash layer, you have to use normal mode instead of luminosity, which will bring back the color cast issues, or create a duplicate layer then a solid color layer in color mode and it will take more time in editing. So now I shoot Brackets when there's a lot of natural light and mostly white walls where color cast would be minimal and easy to control. Otherwise I find the regular flambient where you can control the height and position of your flash to be much more efficient.
seems like it takes just as long - with more problems introduced with darker background and brighter foreground. I like using one light when possible - with a caveat - I use multi exposure mode on a Lumix S5; this allows me to use up to 4 flash shots, with the camera only adding new brighter pixels - spitting out one single RAW file. I shoot one over head, then step into the room for background left pop - then repeat for the other side on another RAW file- and when needed - I can quickly add a pop in a back room or hall that's visible in frame. The in camera blend looks smoother than lighten mode mixes in post - and many times, due to the smoothness of the blend in camera, I don't even need an ambient shot. It's a neat trick the camera offers.
@@denisl1071 yea, basically it's a live composite that adds brighter pixels to each flash shot - makes it really quick to get in and get out with one light and no light stands. The Lumix does a great job at smooth gradations with each added flash pop - better than lighten mode in photoshop. The S5 mark ii no longer has the multi exposure mode, though I've seen some grumbling online asking them to bring it back - basically all Lumix cameras prior to the S5ii and G9ii had multiple exposure mode. Pretty sure Olympus offers it as well - it's a great tool. Not to be confused with other live composite modes, they are not individual raw frames - those are essentially for light painting a light streaks. With multiple exposure, each shot is the same iso, shutter speed and aperture - and you can adjust flash power up or down each shot - and if it doesn't look good, you can click a button to reshoot the last frame before moving to the next exposure - crazy Lumix science.
This method isn't terrible, but is only effective on houses with 8-10ft ceilings. Not sure how many custom modes a7S3 has, but on a7IV, you get 3 on the mode wheel. Set first to aperture priority with whatever your bracket preference is. Before setting up and saving M2 for that flash shot, go make custom white balance in manual mode. You can save this to the actual Flash White Balance or any one of the three custom white balances. Then go set up M2 for the flash shot and make sure you change it to wherever you saved the custom white balance. The white balance won't be perfect, but it will be closer representation than AWB.
I run with an AD 200 base attached to my camera frame, with a round head on a mini monopod on the top of the frame…I can raise it up, tilt it back & take a flash…or, pull it back down for a window pull…I shoot 5 brackets & 2 flash, using the IOS app Cascable, initial blend in PhotoMatix, final tweaks in PS/LR…camera rig moves quite easily between rooms & takes only minutes to shoot/edit…
Heya Mike, I've followed you for a long time ... and I like your vids, really good all the time. This toot is no exception to that. BTW-- have you tried Luminar NEO? Not only is it great, the Ukraine folks who made this are constantanly improving it ... and making available more AI and other plugins. Jus' sayin'. Another BTW-- do you still use a polarizer filter on the house interiors, routinely? Question: where did you get your channel intro graphics page, if ya don't mind me asking? I hope your family is doing well. Grace & Peace. Cheers, Chuck ... Jacksonville, FL
Thanks! I used to use a previous version of luminar but I haven’t messed around with luminar neo yet. What particular features do you like about it for real estate photos? I do use a polarizer routinely. The channel intro was a after effects template that I purchased and manipulated. I don’t remember where I got it now unfortunately.
Your videos have single handedly help ease my anxiety as I dive into this work. I really appreciate the time you have invested into this community and have no doubt others feel the same. Amazing!
So I freelance for a company that mainly shoots this way. They do this to save time and money and they have their photographers take a single exposure with no tripod. I am not a fan of this method at all tbh. It removes color cast for sure, but it creates dark spots in doorways, exposure inconsistencies in certain sized rooms, and its much harder to have level shots. Its a good idea, but there needs to be something else with it to balance out the dark/light spots and inconsistent leveling due to shooting by hand. I have gotten to a point where I can consistently take level shots, but feels like I am compromising quality by taking one exposure. Apparently some agents prefer this style, but personally I would rather the extra work and time on site for better quality and consistency for the client.
That's exactly what they are doing! It honestly baffles me. 70% of the image looks good, but like I said those doorways are dark af and the windows are always blown out lol @@InsideRealEstatePhotography
Focusing between shots is absolute nonsense. Common sense would dictate that you focus manually during the entire shoot, otherwise your shots will never match.
Thanks for sharing Mike, great detail and steps. I have been using a 5 bracketed set with 1 flash pointed to the ceiling then merging all layers in LR using Enfuse/LR. I may not achieve the highest perfection level, but honestly the images will be downsized to MLS standards and a lot of tweaking I would do would just be lost. Of course on high end $1M+ homes, the efforts would be worth it, however, details are still lost in the MLS system. I try to balance my quality with my time and that has worked for me successfully for 15 years now. I follow you, because you have great ideas, willingness to share and easy to listen to and follow. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience!
I do a 3 bracket, 2 stops apart ambient set & blend in enfuse & also 2-3 flash shots usually normal exposure & 1-2 stops under, blend those separately in enfuse, then I have the blended ambient & flash blended, then enfuse those two images and the results tend to be more than acceptable. See an example here; www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ajlydj4jbyntdr58w2g0o/INTERIOR-109.jpg?rlkey=w238hkpsgu8w47flc94sz8zfs&dl=0
I signed on with a real estate photographer broker and they insist on having their photographers shoot like this. THEY ONLY TAKE TWO EXPOSURES and that made my head spin.
There are two much simpler ways of doing this. You over complimented the editing process.
Thanks for the video Mike. I noticed that your single ambient frame as well as your flash frames are not Raw but Jpegs. Is that intentional? if so how come?
this is what have i have been using for the lasts year. so i will do one normal exposed shot and then one under exposed by 2 stops for my windows pulls. however i do notice in larger areas. it can be tough todo.
I tried this method a while ago, and sometimes it works great. Yes it is faster to shoot than the regular flambient method and gives better results than HDR. But the problem is that most of the times, with the flash on camera at a low position pointing directly at the ceiling, this will create harsh shadows from things like ceiling fans, light bulbs, chandeliers, etc.. And to get rid of those shadows in the flash layer, you have to use normal mode instead of luminosity, which will bring back the color cast issues, or create a duplicate layer then a solid color layer in color mode and it will take more time in editing. So now I shoot Brackets when there's a lot of natural light and mostly white walls where color cast would be minimal and easy to control. Otherwise I find the regular flambient where you can control the height and position of your flash to be much more efficient.
Yeah, I wasn’t even thinking of those things! Great points and thanks for sharing your experiences!
i use a version of this method. use a Gary Fong diffuser that eliminates most shadows
seems like it takes just as long - with more problems introduced with darker background and brighter foreground. I like using one light when possible - with a caveat - I use multi exposure mode on a Lumix S5; this allows me to use up to 4 flash shots, with the camera only adding new brighter pixels - spitting out one single RAW file. I shoot one over head, then step into the room for background left pop - then repeat for the other side on another RAW file- and when needed - I can quickly add a pop in a back room or hall that's visible in frame. The in camera blend looks smoother than lighten mode mixes in post - and many times, due to the smoothness of the blend in camera, I don't even need an ambient shot. It's a neat trick the camera offers.
Sounds interesting! I would love to see that in action
Live Composite?
@@denisl1071 yea, basically it's a live composite that adds brighter pixels to each flash shot - makes it really quick to get in and get out with one light and no light stands. The Lumix does a great job at smooth gradations with each added flash pop - better than lighten mode in photoshop. The S5 mark ii no longer has the multi exposure mode, though I've seen some grumbling online asking them to bring it back - basically all Lumix cameras prior to the S5ii and G9ii had multiple exposure mode. Pretty sure Olympus offers it as well - it's a great tool. Not to be confused with other live composite modes, they are not individual raw frames - those are essentially for light painting a light streaks. With multiple exposure, each shot is the same iso, shutter speed and aperture - and you can adjust flash power up or down each shot - and if it doesn't look good, you can click a button to reshoot the last frame before moving to the next exposure - crazy Lumix science.
Every time I have a question, and look it up, there you are with the answers. Thank you for what you do!!
This method isn't terrible, but is only effective on houses with 8-10ft ceilings. Not sure how many custom modes a7S3 has, but on a7IV, you get 3 on the mode wheel. Set first to aperture priority with whatever your bracket preference is. Before setting up and saving M2 for that flash shot, go make custom white balance in manual mode. You can save this to the actual Flash White Balance or any one of the three custom white balances. Then go set up M2 for the flash shot and make sure you change it to wherever you saved the custom white balance. The white balance won't be perfect, but it will be closer representation than AWB.
I run with an AD 200 base attached to my camera frame, with a round head on a mini monopod on the top of the frame…I can raise it up, tilt it back & take a flash…or, pull it back down for a window pull…I shoot 5 brackets & 2 flash, using the IOS app Cascable, initial blend in PhotoMatix, final tweaks in PS/LR…camera rig moves quite easily between rooms & takes only minutes to shoot/edit…
Great insight, which mini monopod are you using?
@@mgaquer the monopod is just a cheapie…but it’s sturdy & I can tilt the head…
Thanks for sharing your technique!
Can you make a little video explaining the process?
Heya Mike, I've followed you for a long time ... and I like your vids, really good all the time. This toot is no exception to that.
BTW-- have you tried Luminar NEO? Not only is it great, the Ukraine folks who made this are constantanly improving it ... and making available more AI and other plugins. Jus' sayin'.
Another BTW-- do you still use a polarizer filter on the house interiors, routinely?
Question: where did you get your channel intro graphics page, if ya don't mind me asking?
I hope your family is doing well. Grace & Peace.
Cheers, Chuck ... Jacksonville, FL
Thanks! I used to use a previous version of luminar but I haven’t messed around with luminar neo yet. What particular features do you like about it for real estate photos? I do use a polarizer routinely. The channel intro was a after effects template that I purchased and manipulated. I don’t remember where I got it now unfortunately.
Hi,
Which color profile should I use for M1 MacBook Pro ...should I be using default profile Colour LCD or change it to Adobe RGB or SRGB? pls help!
Hi, I’ve always left mine on the default setting
Your videos have single handedly help ease my anxiety as I dive into this work. I really appreciate the time you have invested into this community and have no doubt others feel the same. Amazing!
Thank you! Glad to hear the videos are helping!
Excellent lesson. Thank you.
great stuff as always
Neat video!
Great video. What white balance did you shoot at?
Thanks! Auto WB
Hi. Can the edit be done using Luminar Neo?. Thanks.
I’m not sure but I don’t think so. At least not in the same way.
Yes, with similar or better results and in a fraction of the time.
So I freelance for a company that mainly shoots this way. They do this to save time and money and they have their photographers take a single exposure with no tripod. I am not a fan of this method at all tbh. It removes color cast for sure, but it creates dark spots in doorways, exposure inconsistencies in certain sized rooms, and its much harder to have level shots. Its a good idea, but there needs to be something else with it to balance out the dark/light spots and inconsistent leveling due to shooting by hand. I have gotten to a point where I can consistently take level shots, but feels like I am compromising quality by taking one exposure. Apparently some agents prefer this style, but personally I would rather the extra work and time on site for better quality and consistency for the client.
Hey man! Are they just taking one shot with the flash and not blending it with a second ambient shot? If so, yes, that’s an absolute no haha.
That's exactly what they are doing! It honestly baffles me. 70% of the image looks good, but like I said those doorways are dark af and the windows are always blown out lol @@InsideRealEstatePhotography
@@Kool_Slacks 😮
@@Kool_Slacksman in that case any realtor can do it themselves.
Do they charge a lot for photos?
You have time to do this for 30-50+ photos per home?