g._snow

Can anyone tell me the name of a certified color analysis test available for the general public. I'm looking to add something like that to my resume. Is there a test that is a industry standard and respected, even if only available to professionals who administer it? Thanks! Moderator note - moved to Casual Conversation to garner wider readership

I think it’s something the algorithm in LR does automatically when export settings are set to output for screen.

Exactly! My client shared with me that she did email the local MLS support to share the experience and note that she was disappointed in the customer support she received from the MLS CSR and that she was not at all helpful. In the end it all worked out and the agent hired me for another job that I’m actually heading out to now. This community is very helpful. If you notice my first post a couple of years ago when I was starting out on the real estate photography venture you can see how much I’ve learned and how far I’ve come. Thanks for the feedback!

I did not receive the email from MLS about the technical issue on that particular day as I’m not a member of MLS and the agent did not share it with me, she simply said there was indeed a problem on their end. After I posted this question on photo.net (I was frantically exhausting all research options on what was causing this to happen) I had a three-way call with myself, the agent, and our local MLS support. It really made me look bad in front of my client because at that time the MLS CSR insisted that my files were too big and MLS had to compresss them, but I knew they were no different size than any files I have ever delivered for MLS purposes without any problems, and I even sent the agent smaller files to try with no different result. Luckily my client knows now that it was a problem on MLS’ end.

Yep, I had my Lightroom settings the same as I always do when exporting to deliver to client for MLS and never had a problem before, although those settings are for the maximum MLS requirements so maybe I’ll change them in the future to be a little less than maximum limits

I did that of course but they uploaded with the same problem

Thanks everyone. The day after I posted the agent was contacted Through mass email by our local MLS saying that on the particular day there was a technical issue with all photos uploaded. I did send her smaller sizes images as soon as she told me there was a problem but that didn’t resolve the issue. My export settings In Lightroom have always been the same When exporting for MLS so I couldn’t figure out why this one time they looked horrible!

Moderator please move if this belongs in digital darkroom...wasn’t sure where to put it. Moderator Note - I have moved this conversation to Digital Darkroom, from Business of Photography because although it is a business related question DD should reap responses addressing the technical aspect. Notwithstanding the above, responses related to the business aspect of the thread, are encouraged. I delivered photos to a client yesterday in which I did everything the same as I always do (most importantly export settings in LR...I double checked these a bazillion times) delivered them to her the same way on Dropbox but I got a call from agent saying they looked “grainy” on MLS. It looks like MLS compressed the ALOT. MLS CSR told her that the files were too big and that’s why but my understanding is if file is too big for MLS agent will get an error message while uploading. Anyone out there with experience dealing with technical problems and MLS. My images are sized 2048 X 1536 and while they exceed the 12K limit of MLS uploads (they are around 2.4-3.5 MB) MLS has never had problems compressing them without losing so much quality.

Newbie question here...I had a client ask for a slideshow of a home I photographed for her and I told her "no problem" assuming the slideshow module in Lightroom would be easy. It was not, for me anyway. What is the best app/program (preferably free or very affordable) to use when creating a slideshow presentation for real estate programs? I want to be able to modify text layout more than what Lightroom offers, as far as I can tell.

I'm new to shooting real estate. Also new to anything having to do with the real estate industry.) I recently looked at my client's online listing (MLS.com) and the photos I gave her are being cropped on the website. After looking into it I learned that the MLS website utilizes a 4:3 aspect ratio for pictures. I have a DSLR plus my current lens is 16-85mm (I plan to purchase a wider lens in the near future) so I really can't afford for much of the image to get cropped on these online listings. I have a lot of questions and hoping some of you can give me examples of how you deal with aspect ratio efficiently during your workflow, especially export. For example: 1. Should I be putting every image on a template that is a 4:3 ratio, and how? Should I set my crop ration to 4:3? 2. Not knowing what different needs a client may have for various outputs, should I have more than one template based on different sizes, aspect ratios, DPI etc. and saving each image to them individually? 3. Is there a simple way to address these concerns during output settings in LR? below I cropped with 3:2 ratio and the edited, but if I'm going to crop to 4:3 then the composition is bad. What's more important when working within the limitations of my current equipment...editing for good composition or ratio and other details of final output?

Also, the SB800 will fire when it's mounted on the camera's hot shoe so that tells me that it should be working properly.

yes, all of the above I have set. Good point. I should probably get some radio triggers. do you recommend a particular brand? One more thought, I can get the SB800 to fire when set in TTL mode but not manual.

My head is hurting from digging through manuals and reference books and nikon online support is offline. I'm trying to fire my SB800 wirelessly when setting my D90 to commander mode and nothing is happening. Am I wrong in thinking that the D90 in commander mode can fire the SB800? I have the internal speed light set to manual and the SB800 set to manual as well. They are both on channel 2 and since I only have one speed light it is set to group A.

Good point...no I have not calibrated my monitor in ages

I graduated art school concentrating in photography way back in 2001 (a fact to some to some of you who commented on my first thread may come as a surprise seeing as how I made some grossly technical mistakes during my first attempt at shooting interiors. I was surprised at how many brain cells I lost while raising five kids and leaving my camera in it's bag for 10 plus years.) Trust me, I would much rather be shooting more interesting subjects rather than real estate interiors but I'm just trying to pay the bills, and thank you to everyone for your helpful comments.

The agents that I feel like I will most likely attract while I'm just starting out will be paying for images to simply use in online listings. The reason why I question whether or not I need a wider lens is that, since they are limited to how many images they can use in a single listing, they will want to show as much of the space as possible in one image. Would you agree? I found it challenging to show that the living room had vaulted ceilings and still create a visually appealing composition. I shot the living room both ways, showing vaulting ceiling and another with what I thought was a better composition, and she did use both in her listing.

As far as shooting verticals, I was told by another real estate photographer that I had to shoot everything horizontal, otherwise agents would not be able to use the images on the mls website. Is that not true?

I questioned that myself before posting but thanks for commenting

I'm working on starting a real estate photography business. This was my first shoot and she asked me to do another one next week so I feel good about that, but I showed these pics to friend of mine who is a real estate agent and she said they were "better than what someone could do with their own camera but not as good as what a professional would take." I plan to experiment with different methods and workflow (HDR, off-camera flash, flash-ambient blending etc.,) but for this house I did not use flash (simply because I left the batteries in my speed lights the last time I used them years ago and they weren't powering on,) bracketed, and corrected exposure in lightroom/photoshop. Shooting interiors is a lot more challenging than I expected, so any advice from those of you with experience in real estate photography would be greatly appreciated. I'm specifically wanting to know if my lens is not wide enough for smaller house like this one. The agent did mention that she wished she could have seen more of the kitchen. Right now I have a Nikon 16-85mm. Thanks in advance for your comments.

Thanks got your comment! I’m curious, why is a high ISO bad for real estate purposes. I set the ISO high because I was planning on “shooting dark,” per other photographer’s advice, which I interpreted as underexposing entire image so as to not blow out highlight detail. Would a lot of grain really make a difference if images were just going to be viewed online for real estate purposes?

Greetings. I am trying to start a real estate photography business. Not sure if this should go under the practice and technique forum but I'll start here. I spoke to a successful real estate photographer in my area and was on-site at a listing he was shooting. He only had his camera and his tripod and said he shot everything dark, to avoid blowing out highlights, and corrected exposure in post. I have been practicing photographing interiors this way and, granted I have a learning curve to work through with lightroom, the images look terrible. I usually try to get things right with my camera too eliminate too much post-processing, but I don't have experience shooting interiors. I have Nathan Cool's book, "Photography for Real Estate Interiors," and, while I haven't read it yet, his workflow is a combination of flash and flash/ambient light blending in photoshop. While I have the Nikon speed light system and a lightstand I've never had much use for them, so if I am going to incorporate flash when shooting interiors I will also have a learning curve there as well. Most photographers I know are real perfectionists, including myself, but at this point I am trying to figure out a workflow that is "good enough" and get my portfolio built and website up as quickly as possible. My husband may be losing his job in the next few months. I am a busy mom and I have to be focused on bringing in income, not trying to be the best real estate photographer in the world. There will be time to work on a better technique in the future. The attached file is a work in progress. If I am going to underexpose to preserve highlight I obviously have to learn how to correct for it in post. I haven't been shooting for years and am very rusty. My question is, would it be conceivable to give realtors decent real estate interior photos without the use of flash. I know there is a demand for real estate photographers in my area but am at a point where I need to decide on my workflow before working on a portfolio. Thanks for your comments.