Learning Center
Real Estate

Whether you’re in the process of selling a house on your own or through a realtor—or you’re a real estate agent or a real estate photographer yourself—one of the most effective tools you can use to showcase any home effectively is a digital SLR with a Tamron 11-18mm zoom lens. With more home buyers than ever shopping online, the visual impression you make on the small computer screen is crucial—and as the saying goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. To be charitable, the vast majority of the interior and exterior views you see when perusing the images on the multiple listing service (MLS) are pedestrian at best and atrocious at worst. If you can make your house stand out from the pack with more attractive and enticing imagery, it’ll give you an edge. At the very least, you’ll motivate more people to look at the house, and every looker is a potential buyer. And now that the real estate market has cooled down in many areas of the country, getting the best possible house pictures online is more important than ever.

What makes an ultra-wide-to-wide-angle zoom lens like the Tamron 11-18mm lens so essential for first class real estate photography? It’s the angle of view that’s the key—as well as its pro-caliber imaging performance. On a consumer digital SLR (that is, all the popularly-priced models with APS C-sized image sensors,) this lens provides a 35mm equivalent focal length range of 17-28mm, which corresponds to an angular coverage range of 103.3 degrees to 75.3 degrees. At these extremely wide angles you can shoot impressively expansive views in tight spaces, display small rooms in their entirety, giving them a more spacious look on the screen, and show critical details such as windows and closets in an attractive perspective. That’s why auto manufacturers almost always shoot pictures of car interiors with lenses of this type—they make them look more commodious! This effect of “expanded space” is more pronounced at the ultra-wide settings (at or near 11mm) and more subtle at the regular wide-angle settings (as you zoom closer to 18mm) but it’s always present, and you can make it work for you in virtually all your interior images.

Is this cheating? Is it deceptive to show house interiors in a more expanded perspective than you get when viewing them with a normal lens or with the naked eye? It might be a tad questionable if a person bought a house without actually visiting it in person, but this is hardly ever the case. Shooting home interiors with a wide or ultra-wide lens is more like putting your best foot forward—getting potential buyers to consider your house and put it on their must-see viewing list. It’s analogous to shooting a portrait from the subject’s best side using a medium telephoto lens to de-emphasize their long nose, or displaying a McDonald’s meal on a big poster that looks more attractive than the one on your tray. In short, it’s part of the great American game known as “selling it”—and when online images are your first point of contact with potential buyers, posting pictures that are effective sales tools is Job #1.

Now before you just rush out and start shooting real estate pictures with a Tamron 11-18mm lens there are a few things you ought to know. When using an ultra-wide lens, especially at its widest setting, it’s important to keep your DSLR level, and aimed at the center of the wall or corner of the room you’re showing. Tilting the camera upward or downward will result in apparent perspective distortion that makes the picture look unnatural. For similar reasons, avoid placing window edges and room corners at the edges of the frame. To get a believable picture of an entire small room in a single shot, it helps to stand in one corner or the room if possible, but be sure to take a series of pictures from different vantage points so you can later select the one that shows the room in the best possible light.

And speaking of light, don’t rely on your camera’s built-in flash. It may be OK at the 18mm (28mm equivalent) setting, but at the 11mm (17mm equivalent) focal length its coverage will be inadequate, leading to unattractively darkened edges and corners of the frame. It’s best to open the windows, turn on all the lights, and shoot in daylight on a sunny day. The slightly warm color balance you get with incandescent lights (ordinary household bulbs) can actually be attractive, and most DSLRs will give good results in mixed (daylight plus tungsten) lighting conditions by using the auto white balance (AWB) setting or manually selecting the Daylight setting. If the light is insufficient for a sharp handheld exposure, set your camera’s ISO to 400 or 800 and/or use a tripod.

Before you shoot your interior documentation, make sure the house is as clean, neatly arranged and as clutter-free as possible—the classic advice of real estate agents when preparing for an open house. In short, think of your photos as an online open house, and make it look as inviting and spacious as you can before taking pictures. If necessary, move that extra chair, table, or any other excessive piece of furniture outdoors or to another room while taking each shot. And it may even pay to put excessive items in a storage facility while you’re in the process or selling and showing the house. Finally, if there are any areas or features of the house that are actually a turnoff, such as a funky bathroom or utility room, unfinished basement, or a dilapidated rear porch, etc. you are in no obligation to show them online. Don’t! The buyers will see them soon enough anyway (if you don’t decide to upgrade them prior to showing), and there is no need to discourage them beforehand.

While the ability to shoot expansive interiors or large and small spaces is what defines the Tamron 11-18mm as the real estate lens par excellence, it can also work very well for exterior views as well, especially at the 18mm (28mm equivalent) setting. Just as this wide-angle focal length gives a spacious feeling to a room, it can also enhance the feeling of a house and its surrounding property, and make a small lot or parcel appear more attractive. However, going all the way to the widest 11mm (17mm equivalent) setting may be overdoing it, making the house look small and insignificant. The widest setting may be useful in showing your beautifully landscaped spread, but probably not the house exterior. By all means take some pictures of the outside of your house at the 18mm setting, but also try your DSLRs normal 18-55mm or 18-70mm zoom lens at the 35 or 55mm setting as well. And for some grand frame-filling views of the house alone, back off considerably and take some pictures with a long-range telephoto zoom such as the Tamron 18-200mm at the 70mm, 100mm, or 200mm setting.

Incidentally, when I tell you that the Tamron 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 is a great real estate lens, I’m not just whistling Dixie. I recently sold my gorgeous, but modest-sized home in Rockland County, New York largely on the basis of the excellent interior and exterior images posted by my realtor that I shot with this very lens on my Canon EOS 20D. You’ll get a better idea of what I’m talking about and why they were so effective by taking a look at some of them right here. The bottom line: Selling a house is seldom an easy task, but this is one tool that can really help. Best of luck for a quick sale at a great price!

Expanding a living room: Modest sized living room (left) looks cramped when shot with normal zoom at around 33mm (50mm equivalent) setting, but much roomier and more inviting when photographed with Tamron 11-18mm (right) at close to ultra-wide 11mm (17mm equivalent setting). The wide shot actually gives a more realistic feel of being there.

Nestled in the woods: The homey appearance of a classic cottage-style stone house with a slate roof is enhanced by shooting it on a sunny fall day after the leaves have turned, even though the lawn is not optimal. I used the 18mm (28mm equivalent) focal length of the Tamron 11-18mm lens to show the house in its attractive setting.

Enhancing a finished basement: This image of the finished basement is an effective selling tool because it shows its large size to full advantage, and de-emphasizes the low 7-foot ceiling. Taken with Tamron 11-18mm lens at 11mm (17mm equivalent) setting on Canon EOS 20D.

The intimate look: Sometimes an intimate view is more effective than a super-expanded one, and at times a vertical shot works best. This view of an eating area adjacent to the kitchen illustrates both these points. It was shot with the Tamron 11-18mm at the 18mm (28mm equivalent) setting.

A bigger bedroom: To show this small ground floor bedroom to its best advantage, I shot it at the 15mm (24mm equivalent) setting of the Tamron 11-18mm lens. The image maximizes attractiveness while minimizing apparent perspective distortion.

Dealing with a dormer bedroom: Truncated contours of this dormer bedroom look more inviting and expansive when photographed with the Tamron 11-18mm lens at the 11mm (17mm equivalent setting), photo at left, but watch out! Placing windows at edges (right-hand photo) and/or tilting the camera results in noticeable distortion that makes the picture look phony and unappealing.