Top products from r/RealEstatePhotography

I'm a big fan of this ballhead. It's out of stock right now, but it comes back, and it's on ebay. It's as smooth as I could ask for and locks tight with no droop. I wanted arca swiss so I could use an L plate for verticals, and to standardize my mounting system across tripods, steadycams and gimbals.

For a tripod I have this one. It's beefy and is a perfect match for that ballhead, size wise. The added benefit with those tilting center columns is that you can put it out horizontal and do sweeping pans for a faux slider video shot. But, I don't much like it, on account of it's size and weight. I liked the Dolica better, it's light and easy to move around, fold the legs in to walk through a doorway, and my tablet holder fit on it's center column. These bigger ones, I'm always worried I'm gonna knock the leg off of someones end table or smash a door frame.

Agreed. I ditched Photomatix too because I didn't like how it rendered wood. For example, I shot a gorgeous library that was floor-to-ceiling oak and Photomatix made it look pinkish-red. I would spend hours trying to adjust wood tones in houses without making them look dead, and I don't like how it makes everything look sooty like there had been a house fire. That's a terrible selling point in my line of work. So I switched to LR and it is so much better.

My workflow is actually quite similar to yours except that I export from LR right into PS to make any edits (Ctrl-E). When I save the edits in PS (Ctrl-S) it automatically brings the new version into LR.

Also, do you know about merging brackets using (Ctrl-Shift-H) instead of just (Ctrl-H)? It skips the preview screen and expedites the process. I just learned about it a few months ago and it made such a difference for me I tell everyone that will listen or cares.

I'm sure you know about setting your lens correction in LR to fix distortion (I hope). I bought this leveler last November and it has all but eliminated the step of straightening photos. It goes between the camera and tripod and I just make sure the camera is level on 2 planes before I take the shot.

Hope these bits help you!

Edit: Wanted to let you know that I do a fair share of dodging and burning too. I have my Import settings locked to: Highlights all the way to the left, Shadows to the far right, Blacks at -40 and Whites around +15. I then select all photos and do a +10 dehaze. Then I adjust each photo's white balance, specific shadows and highlights as needed. On export I sharpen normally for screen.

I've been doing walk-thrus for a few years now and have used a Glidecam for all of them (which btw are incredibly overpriced in my opinion). There is a learning curve, and in the beginning it really strains the arm(s) but you can get some really good results.

In december I purchased a 3-axis gimbal this one. The thing is buttery smooth, but unfortunately there is a problem with the yaw axis getting out of sync, causing the camera not to remain level. I need to re-calibrate the controller, and have to deal with customer service to do that, but I've been so busy this year that I haven't had a chance yet.

When it is finally working properly, I am pretty sure I will end up using it for most of my walk-thrus, with the added advantage of being able to use it for slider-type shots, and some other creative shots that would be tough with the Glidecam.

However, I think it may slow me down a bit too. In the end my plan is to increase the overall quality of my videos and in turn increase my rates slightly to reflect the level of the work.

If I were to do it all over again, I'd still start off with the Glidecam.

I have the AmazonBasic 70" pistol grip tripod; $64.34.
It's sturdy as hell (which means it IS heavy; 8.12 pounds) and the pistol grip/ball head is awesome. So, affordable and sturdy though slightly heavy but I use it for my real estate photography and it's great. They do sell other lighter weight/carbon fiber tripods. I've been happy with AmazonBasic branded items thus far.

Good article. What about case/backpack? I picked a cheap Case Logic SLRC-206 but now that I carry 2 bodies, I am looking at the Tenba Shootout.

Body with a flip out screen is also a good call. When getting shots of bathrooms and small rooms, it is very helpful.

I use this:
[](Manfrotto 269HDB-3U Super Giant Stand with 3 Leveling Legs (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010HCG5O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_sZbLxb35PV1V4)

I use a RRS BH55 ball head on top with a L plate attached to my D750. Live view and the Nikon WMU app help line up shots. Previously I would use a D3s and just eyeball it before raising the extensions then bracket the framing and take several shots with a wireless remote.

Add this diffuser to your ad200. Perfectly blankets the light evenly. Able to then combine the ambient and flash shot using a luminosity mask in Photoshop.

https://www.amazon.com/Godox-Diffuser-Speedlite-Witstro-Pocket/dp/B00F15W3B8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1541279640&sr=8-3&keywords=ad200+diffuser

It's been a while since I looked into this and I don't do it myself. I see people recommending this laser measure with bluetooth.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K5UDI5O/
I don't remember the apps recommended, but you can try a couple and find the ones that you think are best for you. I can't see it being difficult, but everybody is different. There are ones with 4 lasers which measure each room in one shot.

Not an editing specific monitor but I've been using this for my editing for about 2 years now and like it very much. Especially for the money. I believe I paid around $600 when it came out.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PC9HFO8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you're not using a proper pano head or at least a nodal slider, there will be parallaxing artifacts in your stitch (lines not matching up). This artifacting is especially noticeable with architectural interiors - so you better be prepared ;-)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096W1ONK is the 10-18mm

I dont have a lot of personal experience with flashes - it's an area i need to work on. However, i have looked into it and my suggestion would be not to stick with canon brand flashes - you'll pay a lot more just for the name. Yongnuo seems to make some decent flashes. I picked up two along with a wireless controller for i think about $300 and they work with canon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R29OF2G/
got two of those
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H7XFOKO

Unfortunately it looks like zoom wide glass for your particular camera is crazy expensive. If you had something like a Canon t6i a 10-18mm would be 300$

Here are the lenses I was able to find, it doesn't appear Rokinon or Sigma offer a zoom lens suited for your needs.

Panasonic 7-14

Panasonic 7-14 No Warranty

Olympus 9-18