Real Estate Bracketing Calculator
Spot-meter the view through the window and the darkest corner you want to see into, at the aperture and ISO you'll shoot. The calculator turns those two shutter speeds into how many brackets to shoot, the shutter speed of every frame, the center exposure to set for auto exposure bracketing, and how long each room takes. A typical sunny room, with the window at 1/500 s and the corner at 1/4 s, has 7 stops of contrast: 5 frames 2 stops apart, centered on 1/40 s.
The brightest part of the view you want to keep.
The darkest corner you want detail in.
At the step you picked; some bodies allow wide steps only with 3 frames.
Camera positions you bracket, for the shoot totals.
Both readings at the same aperture and ISO (f/8 and ISO 100 is typical): in manual mode with spot metering, turn the shutter until the meter reads zero on each spot.
Pick the two meter readings to see the bracket.
How to meter a room for brackets
Put the camera on the tripod at the composition you'll shoot, set your working aperture and ISO (our camera settings guide uses f/8 and ISO 100), switch to manual mode and spot metering, and take two readings:
- The window. Aim the spot at the brightest part of the view outside that you want to keep: sunlit siding, a lawn, bright sky. Turn the shutter until the meter sits at zero and note the speed.
- The shadows. Aim it at the darkest area you want to see into, such as the corner behind a sofa or under a counter, and do the same.
The gap between the two readings is the room's contrast in stops. Every halving of the shutter time is one stop, and cameras mark speeds a third of a stop apart, so 1/500 to 1/4 s is 21 clicks of the dial, or 7 stops. The bracket runs from a frame at (or just past) the window reading to one at (or just past) the shadow reading. That's a conservative rule: in the darkest frame the window view sits at middle gray, well clear of clipping, and in the brightest the dark corner does. If your merges come out flat, you can drop a frame at either end.
How many brackets for each room?
The number of frames is the contrast divided by the step, plus one, rounded up to an odd number so the bracket has a middle frame for your camera's auto exposure bracketing (AEB) to center on, and never fewer than three.
| Window to shadow | 1 stop apart | 1⅓ stops apart | 2 stops apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 stops | 5 frames | 5 frames | 3 frames |
| 6 stops | 7 frames | 7 frames | 5 frames |
| 8 stops | 9 frames | 7 frames | 5 frames |
| 10 stops | 11 frames | 9 frames | 7 frames |
| 12 stops | 13 frames | 11 frames | 7 frames |
So the familiar advice, three to five frames about 2 stops apart, covers rooms with up to 8 stops between the window and the shadows. A room with direct sun on the glass or a very dark corner can run past that, and that's when a seventh frame, or a flash frame to lift the shadows instead, earns its place. Our guide to HDR real estate photography covers the merge.
Setting it on the camera
In manual mode, set the center shutter speed the calculator gives and set AEB to the frame count and step. The camera fires the center frame and the others around it. Use the 2-second self-timer or a remote so the first frame isn't shaken; many cameras fire the whole bracket from one press on the timer.
Two things to check on your body. AEB frame counts vary: many cameras take 3 or 5 frames, some 7, 9 or more, and some allow their widest steps only with 3 frames. If the bracket needs more frames than your AEB takes, the calculator gives the step that fits, or shoot the extra frames by hand at the speeds listed. And in aperture priority the camera centers the bracket on its own meter reading, not on yours, so the ends can land somewhere else; manual mode keeps the bracket where you metered it.
Long exposures and twilight
Dark rooms and dusk push the slow end of the bracket out. On many cameras the longest timed shutter speed is 30 seconds; past that you need Bulb mode and a remote with a timer, and AEB can't do those frames for you. The calculator marks any frame past 30 s and adds up the exposure time for each composition and for the whole shoot, which matters most at twilight, when the usable light lasts only 13 to 31 minutes in the lower 48 states. Our twilight calculator gives that window for the listing.
Frequently asked questions
How many brackets do you need for real estate photography?
Enough to span the room's contrast: meter the window view and the darkest corner you want detail in, and shoot frames from one reading to the other. At 2 stops apart, a room with up to 4 stops between those readings takes 3 frames, up to 8 stops takes 5, and up to 12 stops takes 7. So the common advice, 3 to 5 frames about 2 stops apart, covers any room up to 8 stops.
How far apart should brackets be for HDR?
About 2 stops apart is the usual setting for interiors, and it keeps the frame count low. A 1 stop step gives the merge more overlap between frames but nearly doubles the number of frames: a 7 stop room takes 5 frames at 2 stops and 9 at 1 stop.
What shutter speed should the middle bracket be?
Halfway between the window reading and the shadow reading, in stops. If the window meters at 1/500 second and the darkest corner at 1/4 second, that's 7 stops, and a 5 frame bracket 2 stops apart is centered on 1/40 second: 1/640, 1/160, 1/40, 1/10 and 0.4 second. Set that center in manual mode and let auto exposure bracketing take the rest.
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