Hey guys! Here is a quick video showing a good comparison of using natural light in a room vs. using a supplemental light when taking photos. For this comparison, I used a very simple lighting setup, basically just a really bright light bulb pointed at the ceiling, showing that even something as basic as this is WAY better than nothing at all.

In real estate photography, one of the biggest factors in ending up with great photos is lighting. In this video, Jordan demonstrates the importance of lighting to fill out dark areas of rooms and also to provide for the main room light, relying less on the natural light and lamps in the room.

Below, use the slider to compare before-and-after photos of the bedroom in this home. On the left side, only the natural light (window light and lamps) in the room is used. On the right, a 500w Photoflood lamp is added, directly above the camera.

Before we look at the details, here is another photo to compare before and after. In this photo, the same 500w photoflood lamp is placed above the camera, pointed at the ceiling.

Why do I need better lighting in real estate photography?

There are a number of correct answers, so here we go!

• By relying on artificial lighting, the real estate photographer can control the color of that light. Color of that light is bolded because to me, having accurate colors is absolutely critical! Imagine you are the potential buyers of this condo, you would not want to come here for a showing and have this wall that you expected to be blue actually be green, or white be yellow!

• By incorporating artificial lighting, the real estate photographer can eliminate or greatly reduce shadows. In the first comparison picture, notice on the floor how there are some very distinct and distracting shadow lines, but they are greatly reduced in the after photo..

• By adding artificial lighting to the gear bag, the real estate photographer and take photos which show multiple rooms in one shot (imagine standing in a bedroom where you can see in to another bedroom across the hallway without that additional room being a black hole. Any number of additional lights can be added as needed to get a picture perfect shot!

Get the lighting gear used to make these images!

Luckily, the gear used to get these results is pretty simple, just a specialty light bulb and a floodlight base/reflector. Use the links below to find the items on Amazon.com!

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