I was commissioned to take photographs of two properties for Express Estate Agency and the first one was in Maud. Many years ago, I took photographs for most of the agents in Aberdeen and a lot of the national companies but a lot of them started taking their own photographs and the rates for this type of work dropped drastically. I have photographed several properties for brochures over the last few years (look out for a blog post on property photography) Photographing interiors is probably one of the the things I enjoy most.
The 14-24mm Nikkor is a perfect lens for interiors. Many "experts" think this is one of the sharpest and best lenses on the market (click here for review). It is far better than anything Canon produces, so much so, Canon users go to great lengths to get adapters to use this Nikon lens on their cameras. You have to be careful not too get too much distortion but using the virtual horizon option on the D3s and the spirit level on my "Really Right Stuff BH55" tripod head makes sure this is controlled even at 14mm. The only other thing to do is to balance the flash and available light and use bounce flash (as used here) or the appropriate light modifier.
My client was very happy – see email received
Hi Neil,
Just had a proper look at these photos and we are really impressed. Wish we could commission you to work for us Nationwide. Fantastic work thank you
Regards,
Frances Williams
Listings Manager
Express Estate Agency
A fairly typical job where the requirement was for a group shot and a head shot of everyone. The only difficulty was that there was no where in the office to take the shots so I had to use the entrance but there was a logo of another company on the door and door closers etc. but this is where Photoshop is a godsend and we removed all the distracting elements.
I set up a background in the entrance and used a soft box and the daylight from the door as a fill light and worked with my favourite lens – the 70-200 f2.8 VR11 to get the head and shoulder shots of everyone. We put them all on-line (click here) later the same day so they could choose the best ones for each person. Even although this is not always popular with staff, I got an email the following morning confirming they were happy with the images.
"Morning Neil,
Thanks for your time yesterday; the pictures are really nice…..
Cheers
Ismail"
Taking photographs to "put a face to a name" on a company website is something we do a lot. If someone new joins the company, we make sure we use the same background and match the colour balance to keep everything consistent. We also create management boards for display in reception area. I am amazed how many very amateur versions of this I see, even for very large companies who are normally very conscious of their branding and image. If this sort of thing might be useful for your company, please click here to email me for a quote
