Filter for Shooting in Sunlight

[acroreef]

Dear Folks,

I shoot real estate photography and sometimes don't have the luxury of choosing the time of day when I shoot the exterior of homes. What filters do you recommend when I have to shoot a side of the home that is facing into bright sunlight? And what if anything will I have to do, when using a filter, to correct for white balance or anything else that may be thrown off, by the use of a filter?

Thanks to all in advance who respond.

Dave

[Shadowman]

Do side views sell property? I've seen front views, backyards, and interiors but never side views.

[Glenn NK]

I would definitely not suggest a filter - they were useful in film days but the white balance (type of light) is your concern - which can be corrected (to some extent) in post processing.

I would think that all PP software has the ability to change the colour balance to achieve your needs.

Perhaps the simplest approach for your purposes is to use a white balance card/target. It can be very small and can be included in your images (and removed in PP). The target is then used to correct the white balance of your image.

Another method might be to simply adjust the colour balance to suit your own taste.

However, there will always be shifts in light temperature from open daylight to shade, even at the same time of day, so don't expect miracles.

Side view terminology is common, and most houses have at least two sides, and some people do look at them.

Glenn

[acroreef]

Sorry, my wording was somewhat confusing in my initial question. What I meant to say, is that I shoot the front and back of the home, so one shot may be taken directly into the sunlight. I tend to get sun flares, sun streaks, "spots" etc. So what type of filter can I place over my lens so that I achieve a good photo?

[Polar01]

That can depend on the lens used, longer focal length lens tend to have quite long lens hoods to prevent those things from happening. Wide angle every short hoods which do not really help much. Sometimes just a hand or something to shade the lens works best. Even if it shows up in image you can crop out or use content aware in Photoshop to remove also sometimes just shifting a few degrees in either direction when composing the shot will work wonders.

Cheers: Allan

[pnodrog]

The only filter that you may occasionally find useful is a circular polariser filter. It can help in lower reflections from glass or glossy surfaces and make a view with a sky look more dramatic. Usually you will be using a wide angle lens and unless you are very careful polariser and many other filters will end up causing more problems than they solve.

I do a reasonable amount of real estate photography and the dynamic range of a good modern SLR has made life much simpler than it was when shooting film. Usually one additional flash is adequate instead of the three previously needed. It is now very easy to even the lighting up in PP and interior shots with outside views in windows or ranch sliders are much easier to handle. Keep in mind the size and print media the photograph will be used for. A large sign or full page spread in a glossy magazine requires far more care than photos only used on a web site or small add in a paper.

Extra flash(s) yes, tripod sometimes, filters hardly ever.

[pnodrog]

Sorry, my wording was somewhat confusing in my initial question. What I meant to say, is that I shoot the front and back of the home, so one shot may be taken directly into the sunlight. I tend to get sun flares, sun streaks, "spots" etc. So what type of filter can I place over my lens so that I achieve a good photo?

Dave I had not seen this when I wrote the above.

There is no real answer to the problem of lens flare other than going back with the right lighting. Sometime I set the camera up on a tripod and use my hands, sheet of paper or what ever is at hand to shade the lens as much as possible. Getting into the shade of a tree or even crouching in the shade of a shrub can solve it. Where I work there are usually clouds drifting across so often it is just a matter of waiting.

[Shadowman]

Sorry, my wording was somewhat confusing in my initial question. What I meant to say, is that I shoot the front and back of the home, so one shot may be taken directly into the sunlight. I tend to get sun flares, sun streaks, "spots" etc. So what type of filter can I place over my lens so that I achieve a good photo?

The lens hood is your best option, if that fails blocking the source of light with your hand or a card, as Allan suggested is another option.

[acroreef]

Thank you for your responses. The lens I typically use for exterior photos for my Sony A7R is a 24-70. I usually stick right around 24mm. I do try to use shade, wait for cloud cover, etc. Per the advice above, I will try to "shade" the lens with a lens hood, my hand, etc. I also always set up on a tripod. Thanks again for the suggestions.

Dave

[William W]

. . . I shoot the front and back of the home, so one shot may be taken directly into the sunlight. I tend to get sun flares, sun streaks, "spots" etc. So what type of filter can I place over my lens so that I achieve a good photo?

You need to prevent the Lens Flare, for two reasons, firstly to prevent the: “sun flares, sun streaks, "spots" etc” and secondly, because shooting into the sun (especially with a zoom lens) is a recipe for Veiling Flare, the primary presentation of which is (at the least) an UNEVEN reduction in Mid Tone Contrast and (at the worst) is a white milky translucent film effect over the image.

As already mentioned:

> a Lens Hood or shielding the lens is what you need to do

and/or also

> moving the Camera Viewpoint slightly so there is no Flare apparent in the viewfinder.

*

Two additional matters for consideration are:

(1) Lens Hoods are less effective for the FL compass of a Zoom Lens, comapred to if you were using a Prime Lens and its own dedicated hood

(2) generally, Lens Hoods are less effective for wide angle lenses than for normal or telephoto lenses.

*

Consider carrying a (large) umbrella or other device to use as a makeshift shaded shooting area.

*

As for a Filter, I agree that the only filter that might be useful is a CPL, but be aware (as already mentioned) that using a CPL with wide angle lenses might create other problems.


Reading this may assist you.

WW

[rpcrowe]

I have a dandy little accessory which I seldom use but, can be useful when I am forced to shoot into the sun.

It is called a Probella and sort of looks like an old-time straight flash bracket (one which had a tripod screw on one end and a place to mount the flash on the other end). However, with this accessory, there is a small umbrella on a shaft at one end and a tripod screw to attach it to the camera on the other end. It is a double screw which has a female thread to mount both the Probella and the camera on a tripod.

The neat thing about this unit is that once it is mounted, it is hands free so you have both hands to manipulate the camera. Also once you have the Probella set up so it does not intrude into the frame, it will stay in place.

The only drawback is that I would need to mount an Arca compatible clamp in order to use my Arca accessories like an L bracket so I can use my camera in the vertical position.

It really shades the lens. I purchased this after finding it impossible to get a certain shot of a rock formation in the State of Utah which needed to be shot from a certain direction at a certain time of the day - almost directly into the sun.

OTOH... It seems like the sale of a house (at least here in California where prices are still pretty high) would be lucrative enough to be worth planning the shoot for a correct time of day and using a lens hood along with some decent post processing. I am always amazed at the generally poor quality photography evidenced by the majority of real estate ads here in the San Diego area. It seems like many were hand held with a P&S cameras or cell phones with absolutely no post processing and shot at the worst time of the day...

These real estate images seem to be in the same category as most shelter pictures of rescue dogs - ranging from the mediocre to the just plain awful...

There are several real estate firms in this area that consistently provide excellent images in their ads. I don't know if they shoot in-house or if they contract out their photography. I wonder if the interest generated by the superior imagery makes the effort to get good shots worthwhile. Somehow I expect it does, just like good pictures of dogs will go a long way to generate adoption interest...

IMO, the sun flare shots which have become popular in the world of portrait and wedding photography really have no place in real estate photography.