What’s it really like to be in a five million dollar home?! How good of a photographer do you have to be to shoot a million-dollar home? Is your gear good enough?
In this industry, it’s all about who you know, for me this was my first time shooting a home like this, or doing this type of photography in general. I was lucky enough to work with a real-estate photographer named Erik Sven, he’s a Seattle based photographer who’s been in the game for seven years! He was kind enough to take me on a random job with him and it just so happened to be in a luxury home.
The entrance was stunning, a double door greeted you as they swing open to reveal a large foyer with a baby piano in the middle, with a view to a garden and mini water fall. As I knocked on various things in the home to check to see all the material was all real (it was), I didn’t even know where to start. Erik started grabbing his camera equipment, me too. We were actually there to shoot video of the home, as it was an additional cost Erik could tac on to this project.
We started a bit late discussing the approach of what to shoot in the foyer, it was so big and beautiful, we tried a few things and we settled on a shot going up the stairs leading to the chandelier. The picture above is one of my ideas, I ended up trying it as a photo too.
I’m obviously starting out in this industry, I happen to reach out to Erik through Instagram. I was lucky enough that he was so open to collaborating. Architecture photography is where Erik is heading and I already had some pictures of that up on my website and instagram as well. As for the skills to edit photo in Real-estate, you just need a wide-angle lens, tripod and to good ol’ Photoshop. All these photos have been layered, four simple photos shot in four different stops of light make an HDR photo. Pretty basic, right?
For me at least, I love the shooting Canon and using their L-series (luxury line), I need my lenses for a variety of situations, so the L-line is best for me. Another case for using high-end equipment, is it’s a bit less editing, the contrast, sharpness, vivid colors are great in the L-line. this all adds up when you have to deliver 20 or more, HRD photos.
Lastly, the technical skill it takes to shoot a home like this is really where the meat of skill you is. The dynamic range, changing light, and balancing the natural and artificial lights takes some quick thinking.
When it comes to video, I would say a steady hand, catching clever movements for BTS (social media ammo), and an eye for detail(s) is key. You’ll need to be able to glance at a room and know where to put your camera to get the shot. sometimes the clouds move and change your exposure in seconds, if you’re in auto-mode fine, but is it million-dollar quality? I think not (personally), manual mode gets the best quality light and color.
What type of video do I take in a luxury home? Erik shot on some automated rails to get a slow pan from left-to-right, some were up and down or at an angle. We would slow these down in post and add some music as a walk-though video. These give clients a pleasant experience as if they were there.
Overall, it’s an art in itself, but not too complicated.
-James