I Need Help!

[milschicky]

Hi everyone... your help is appreciated! I'm focusing on Real Estate photography and my externals are really good but I'm suffering with my internal shots. I have a Nikon D200 with a SB800 speedlight and tripod. My lense is a wide angle 10-20mm. My shots seem dark and I have exposure issues. I just don't know what I should be doing :(

Samples

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm297/ohsosweet3/_IMP0001.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm297/ohsosweet3/_IMP0011.jpg

I want them to look like this

http://www.mcgrath.com.au/webimages/properties/SYLVANIA/114576/buying/71215/114576_m_02.jpg?30102008093233
http://www.mcgrath.com.au/webimages/properties/SYLVANIA/114576/buying/71215/114576_m_03.jpg?30102008093233

Where am I going wrong? What settings should I use? and should I shoot RAW or JPG? I have tried in RAW and when I download them in photoshop and go to edit they come up as JPG :confused:

I have another shoot next week and really want my pics to improve by then so any help is so much appreciated...

Milschicky

[dkippen]

Milschicky - Jerry will be a good one to help with this. He has Nikon as well and is very knowledgable about indoor lighting.

[milschicky]

Thank you, how do I find Jerry?

[LensBaby]

Jerry is on here often. He checks posts all of the time. He is a very busy man right now, but he will check this post. He knows his stuff.

[reval8r]

What they are doing is mixing light sources to balance the lighting in the room and coming in from the windows. One camera flash isn't strong enough to do what you are asking, nor can it cover the wide angle lens you are using. Generally a camera flash unit is only good for around 10 feet of coverage and around a 40mm lens. The examples you gave for the results you are trying to achieve probably use two or more studio flash units with domes balanced to the ambient light sources in the room. Even a small monolight has several times more power than a strobe made for the camera. A couple of strobes and an incident / flash meter really makes this much easier that a camera flash.

The equipment you have can do a much better job for you. In your images, the light coming in from the window is probably 3 or 4 times brighter than the light anywhere in the room. There is no exif file with the images so I'm guessing you were shooting using the TTL mode for the flash. If so, the camera is over compensating for the window light and not letting the flash put out enough power. What you need is to meter the light coming in from the windows and use your flash to achieve the same reading.
I'm not familiar with your equipment, (another Jerry can help is inserted here) but learning the manual modes on your camera and flash will be a big help. This is not one of those areas you'll master in a couple of shoots. It's going to take some practice to really know what you are going to get.

Here's a link that should be of some help http://www.photolinks.com/resources.html?p_page=cg_display.html

Larry

[milschicky]

Thank you for the link Larry, I'll get reading and practising!

[jerryph]

Thank you, how do I find Jerry?
It's not that hard. :)

Larry already gave a ton of really good advice. :)

A few things that I can suggest is:

1 - know what your camera is metering for (if you meter for the window, the room looks dark, if you meter for the room, it looks good and the window will look blown out, so... see point #2).

2 - Don't take pictures at times of the day where you are getting direct sunlight coming in through a particular window. Most of these guys take pictures either early morning or just before dusk. Sometimes both... depending on the shots they want to get and the orientation of the rooms in relation to the sun.

3 - 1 flash is not enough. Depending on the complexity of the shot, you may need anywhere from 2 to 4 or more.

4 - Ultra wide angle lenses cause a distortion that are not desirable in architectural photography. What you want to do is use a wide angle or learn how to make panoramic shots (AutoPano is one of the best software out there for that).

5 - Tripod... never take a shot without one.

6 - These shots are all about balance. That sometimes means using less light, slower shutter speeds and higher ISO. That may sometimes increase digital noise. A good noise removal program is often necessary. Imagnomic's Noiseware Pro just rules.

7 - To control your exposures, it helps if you understanding what to meter against. The Zone system is invaluable. Learn it, use it, benefit from it. :) (google the zone system, there is a ton of info out there... look for info that is directly related to digital cameras!).

8 - There is a TON of great info on lighting located at www.strobist.com . Look for and start off by reading, understanding and practicing the info from Lighting 101 and 102.

That's all that I can think of off the top of my head, but I am sure that when I think of more, I would be happy to add to my list of suggestions.

[charlieh]

My 2 cents: Since you are only seeing JPGs, you have not installed the necessary RAW converter to bring up the images. When you do, you will be able to tweek your images to a more acceptable level. Best of luck.

[milschicky]

Thanks Jerry and everyone for your advice. I have a shoot tomorrow morning so I'll be sure to let you know how I go... Lots of practising tonight :)