Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hey Everyone,

I was wondering if anyone here is shooting for real estate and could give me a few pointers.
It seems that most agents now use virtual tours for which you need to shoot pano pictures.
I have a few questions and I would much appreciate if you can help me with the answers.

1. What software do you use to stitch the pano pics? I want to spend as least as possible.
2. I have a 10-20 mm. Would 3-4 pictures (horizontal) be enough to cover one room?
3. What do you think about shooting with only one light source? I have a AB600 and a Nikon SB700.
4. Any other advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

1 - I use PTGui Pro, but it's far from the cheapest.
2 - Full 360, or are you going to be standing in a corner and scan the room? If it's full 360, you'll need more than 3-4 because of the proximity to the walls; aberrations and vignetting will kill the software you're using.
3 - If you know how to use it, should work fine. You'll definitely need something to diffuse it though.
4 - HDR, if subdued, works well indoors for these kinds of shots.

Thank you Venser.

2. Do you shoot vertical from the middle of the room?
3. I use an umbrella for the AB400. What do you think about using a diffuser on the SB700?
4. HDR? I guess you mean for the pano only. It sounds like too much work for that.

I've only done this a couple of times, so my experience is limited.

2 - I shot vertical from the middle. I probably took way too many photos, but I know it was something like 12-15 in total.
3 - Shooting through an umbrella should be OK. Just watch the cast shadows around lamps and other obtrusions. SB700 through an umbrella could be fine depending on the size of the room. Depending on the size of the final photos, increasing ISO could work to compensate for the lack of power the SB700 has over the AB400.
4 - Yes, it was a lot of work because each section needed to be lined up (in terms of balance and exposure), compared to the shot next to it. It turned out really well, but it was time consuming.

You'll probably need a tripod with a pano-head since you are taking pictures in close quarters and will most likely get parallax.

Given the rather horrible photos I've seen of some sold homes on MLS, I don't think the quality of the pictures is going to sell a home and therefore minimal effort should be taken.

For higher end homes, where there are no general open houses, this has the potential to be a valuable service.