HDR Real Estate Photography: The Most Efficient Process
Vložit
- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- In this comprehensive tutorial, Elijah takes you through our streamlined process for photographing homes efficiently without compromising quality. From the moment you park to the final shot, we share our secrets to ensure your real estate photos stand out. If you prefer reading, find a detailed PDF checklist in the description.
In this video, Elijah covers everything from gear choices and settings to composition principles and specific techniques for interiors and exteriors. Discover the power of a geared head, the magic of -1.7 exposure comp, and the art of showcasing three walls in every shot. Learn how to prep a home for photography and gain insights into capturing the essence of each room. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or just starting, these tips will elevate your real estate photography game. Join us on this journey, and don't forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments!
Checklist: docs.google.com/document/d/1P...
Read Instead Of Watching:
www.allisonmediaco.com/post/m...
Stay Connected With Us:
Website | www.allisonmediaco.com
Instagram | / allisonmediaco
Facebook | / allisonmediaco
Twitter | / allisonmediaco
LinkedIn | / allisonmediaco
Our Main Equipment:
Sony A7iv
CA | a.co/d/5aSswTT
US | a.co/d/arNwRro
Tamron 17-28
CA | a.co/d/jaADDO3
US | a.co/d/1f1nz8M
Sigma 24-70
CA | a.co/d/ddGX1R3
US | a.co/d/co7KcfQ
Manfrotto 290
CA | a.co/d/dBfLF0e
US | a.co/d/a41z6tZ
Benro 3-Way Geared
CA | a.co/d/1BlbazV
US | a.co/d/9iVtE7x
DJI Ronin-S (We now recommend the RS3)
CA | a.co/d/h4xTyV3
US | a.co/d/9d9CUZ7
Tascam DR-10L
CA | a.co/d/houHvpi
US | a.co/d/gMbpRG0
DJI Mini 3 Pro
CA | a.co/d/5BPrZZ3
US | a.co/d/aasJtcC
On our channel, we discuss topics like:
Real Estate Photography, Home 3D Tours, Measured Floor Plans, Building Process Showcase, Commercial Branding, Headshots, Videography, Social Media Management, Digital Ads, Creative Content, Luxury Photography, Luxury Videography, Commercial Branding, Social Media Marketing, Digital Advertising, Real Estate Listings, Building Client Showcases, High-Quality Media Production, and we are focused in the Niagara region of Ontario. Based around towns like Welland, Pelham, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Thorold, St. Catherines, Niagara Falls, Grimsby, Fort Erie.
![Exposing My Real Estate Photography Workflow 🤯 [So you can copy it]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/J0X0k09R2rY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Exposing My Real Estate Photography Workflow 🤯 [So you can copy it]](/img/tr.png)
I've been shooting real estate professionally for 11 years and a lot of what I have learned along the way is included in your video. I've never used a -1.7 exposure comp but I'll give it a try. I also use F9 and shoot at ISO 400 interior and 100 exterior, but that's a minor difference. I shoot a litter higher than you inside, especially in kitchens (hate seeing the underside of cabinets). Overall you did a great job with this.
Thank you so much! Haha yes… some people hate to see the underside of cabinets and I totally understand.
I tried to give as much value as I could in this video as I’ve learned a lot from years of shooting houses - wish this video existed when I first started shooting lol.
Fun fact - yesterday we were shooting and the house had super dark cabinetry and I shot the kitchen at -1.0 because the brightest bracket at -1.7 was still a tad dark … so I changed it. As I stated in the video, every home is different but this is the first time in a long time I went brighter than -1.7 for interiors.
Dude make more tutorials! Great video
Dude! We're planning to make a bunch releasing soon :)
Love the tip about connecting the entranceway to the bathroom. Definitely gonna do more connecting photos from now on
Awesome. So glad you liked this :)
Great stuff! Thank you!
Thanks man! Appreciate that
I'm just getting started. This was so helpful. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Love this content 🔥
Appreciate you my friend!
Just getting my start, nice video man hit some points I didnt find in some others. Thank you!
My man! Tried to cover everything I could in this one to make sure there’s only 1 video to watch when getting into real estate photography.
So glad you enjoyed this video
Awesome photos and super helpful info. I’ve done photography in the past and am just starting to learn about shooting RE. Hope to see you put out more content.
Appreciate the comment so much my friend. If you have any video ideas let me know!!
Great video and thank you for the checklist! Very helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
Great contents about the real estate photography. I have learnt a lot from here and will surely incorporate these ideas in my forthcoming shoots. Allison you have earned a subscriber. Love from India.
My friend!! Thank you so much. Appreciate the kind words - so glad this was helpful for you
@@AllisonMediaCo I wish you all the best.
The connecting shots showing the flow of the house are great. The potential buyers 1st impression when viewing a home online is to see the flow of the house. I also incorporate this technique into my videos.
👍
Absolutely. Most of these rules I will repeat in our breakdown of real estate videos. Have to guide the viewer through the home!
Nice bro best video with great tips
Thank you so much man. Really appreciate this comment
Very informative video mate. I’m starting my new job as a real estate photographer 😊
Stellar. Thank you so much for the comment and best of luck with the new position!
@@AllisonMediaCo 🙏🙏🙏🙏 I had my first Realestate session yesterday.
Nice man. How’d it go
Well done. Very helpful. Thank you!
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed this
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
My next step is to get a full frame camera, but for now I'm making my GH5 w/12mm work just fine. And yes, I've shot a door handle/frame once or twice in my life... 😝
Great video. Selling our house and didn't like the photos from the company the realtor hired. I do mostly portraits, but want our house to be well represented. This helped!
So glad you liked the video! Let me know if you have any questions
Thank you mate, really usefull.
Dude so glad you liked this video
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
My grandmother fired me- I watched this video and now I told gma to 'get lost!' bc I have so many clients :D
Your photos are SHARP, great work! Do you use polarizing filter? Maybe it couldve made the exterior windows shine. Great video, definetly using f8 or 1f10 from now on. Keep up the content!
Thank you my friend! We don’t use polarizing filters. I’m thinking of A-B testing photos using one vs. Not using one and see how they look after post processing (and make a video on it for you all to see). My guess… not a huge difference. But we’ll see! If they’re better photos with a polarizing filter, we will switch to using them
Great video, liked and subscribed. I'm trying to get into RE media and look forward to more videos from you, especially how to hustle new clients and ways to deliver the media files. Olympus E-M1 Mk III and 7-14mm F/2.8 PRO is my kit. It has in-camera HDR that comes close to your results, but not quite as good. I agree you need about 3 stops for the inside and the outside.
Thank you for your comment Mike!! Would love to see your in-camera HDR with that Olympus ... email me :)
Great video with good info. I shoot almost all my exteriors with my drone. No leaning buildings/homes and I can shoot straight-on. I only need to fly the drone at 20 ft or so for most homes
COMPLETELY AGREE!!! Thanks for bringing this up. Anytime we have a drone ordered... we basically redo the exteriors we got on our Sony's ... with the drone.
Such a great point to bring up... thanks!!
Can you do a video where you show your editing process pls too?
Yes, eventually we will! We want to be sure we cover all the bases for the editing video and not miss a step, so it's taking a while to put together!
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
🔥🔥🔥
My man!!! 🤝🏼🤝🏼
This is pretty much how we shoot homes as well - spot on! Been doing it for 8 years now. We learned how to be in an out and get the job done quickly but nailing all the shots. I too shoot at 0 exposure, with 5 brackets you pretty much get all the dynamic range needed. I also shoot F9 @ 400 ISO for interior and F11 @ 100 ISO exterior. I feel that's the sweet spot for my camera. Excellent job putting this together! BTW, who does your editing? 🤩
So good!! Everyones settings are different ... always do what works for your workflow :) Really appreciate the comment Tim!! Haha ... anytime we onboard a new editor they go through our editing training workflow (I haven't shared or talked about this online yet), just work with them on a few older homes for a few days before putting them through a paid job. Have to make sure quality is consistent.
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
Nice video!!! Can you do a quick video showing the editing portion? I shoot 3 brackets combined with flash. I am interested to see how you blend 5 brackets . Thanks!
I will eventually make this video! Maybe in the next month or so. Any other video ideas let me know :)
I am a real estate photo editor, I will help you post-edit real estate photos.
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
figured id comment to help your algomarhythms....im not yet any type of pro photographer, im a practicing phone photographer at best...but alot of how you do things makes sense to me and lined right up with how I imagine I would do things if I got into real estate gigs once I have a camera. Which makes me feel like Il do alright lol. certain angles just make more sense for perspective, helps the viewer get an actual feel for the space rather than just a visual of what kind of rooms are in there. TY for your efforts.
Thanks so much for your comment!! Best of luck with getting into this whole photo game. If you need anything I'm just a comment away!
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
That's a great tutorial. I have a quick question. Which software or app do you use for editing that virtual staging that I see in the photos. looks amazing. Thanks in advance.
Thank you so much!! Outsourced virtual staging ... not sure what exact program they're using. There's a lot of great options out there for virtual staging programs though
This is awesome, so helpful thank you! Question: If you have flat lighting on a cloud cover day; glare through windows. How are you setting up the camera to compensate for this?
So glad this was helpful for you!! Settings don't really change based on the sun for our real estate work :) we leave it all pretty much the same. The only time we might adjust from regular settings is if the sun is blaring at the white siding of a house, even the darkest frame in a 5 bracket at 0.0 exposure comp might not be enough, so I might bring exposure comp down to -1.0 for those exteriors. Hopefully, I answered your question haha.
For the glare on windows, are you talking about interior lights reflecting onto windows?
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
Would love to see your editing process! Interesting you choose to do 5 exposure blending over flambient
Flambient takes far more time than standard HDR. For architecture work we use flash :)
@@AllisonMediaColooking far superior too. Better quali = more money = less shoots
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
Great video. Quick and easy to follow.
Personally I shoot a bit higher.
Canon 850D + Manfrotto tripod
2 sec delay with shutter button.
Apeture Priority @ F8
AWB
ISO on auto (Set to max 400)
5-6 brackets (3 exposing for interior. 3 exposing for exterior)
1 camera mounted flash shot.
From all the images I may only use 4 including the flash and merge in Luminar Neo. By far the best HDR merging software.
What is the camera mounted flash shot used for in the blend?
@@AllisonMediaCo I find that the single flash helps to reduce shadows, colour cast, dark corners, and brings back original colour of walls. It also helps with window pulls depending if there is something decent to view. I find with HDR it loses some colour so the flash helps.
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
Do you have a video that shows you going through the camera settings?
Great video! I am a real estate agent but my prior business was photography so I shot/video and drone my own listings and listings for agent friends. I am really interested to try your technique of -1.7 exposure compensation and the 5 meter focus at f/10. I use the 5 shot HDR, batch process in Luminar NEO with 2 of my made up presets. Out of 50 shots I usually only have to adjust 5 or 6 with minor tweaks. I shoot on a Canon 5D Mark IV and R6 with a 16-35mm lens interiors at 16mm for sure.
Awesome John! So glad you enjoyed this video. Let me know when you try our settings out! I've never used Luminar NEO to edit (I also outsource everything now anyway) but man, to get it close enough to only adjust 5 or 6 photos is sweet. Your process looks seamless already!
@@AllisonMediaCo If I were just doing RE photography, I am sure I would outsource. I will let you know about the settings.
hey.. excellent video i love it! do you have a step by step video on how to edit these brackets? Havent checked your channel yet.
Also, FYI you need to clean your videocamera sensor bc theres a dust spot right in the middle-upper side.
Yeah. Noticed the dust after, it was on the lens lol. We might make a video on editing later. That video I'd have to put a lot of time in because no one goes in-depth on youtube about how to actually edit real estate, they glaze over a lot of the rules because it would be a lot of work to make a video like that.
@@AllisonMediaCoThanks for replying! keep great videos coming!
You got it my friend! More videos will be coming. Currently swamped with client work but we'll get to it :)
Good job! I’d be curious to see your editing process. I recently switched to outsourcing my editing but if you have a quick and effective way I’d love to learn it.
We outsource our work & recommend everyone do the same, but I am thinking of making a video of how to edit a real estate photo. It is a super long process to get something great though
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
Great video. Thanks from Spain. Do you always use all your 5 pictures for editing? Waiting for an editing workflow video. New subscriber.
Editing workflow video is a tank to create. I want to be sure we're doing it write and not missing anything because I don't want to create useless content. I want to cover all the bases. No we definitely don't use all 5 images in editing, just the brackets that make the most sense for that specific image
@@AllisonMediaCo Thanks!
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
Great video! Both comprehensive and succinct at the same time. There are two things, though, that I would appreciate clarification on if possible.
1. Sorry if this is a really stupid, beginner question, but I've been using autofocus almost exclusively so far so I kind of am a beginner in this way. When you say manual focus at 5 meters, do mean setting the focus dial on the lens itself to that number? If so, unless I'm reading it wrong, that distance is way outside of my lens's range (also a Tamron, but a 15-30mm for Nikon). It only goes from .28 to 1 (and then infinity).
2. Possibly another really stupid question, but if Aperture Priority is supposed to give you the ideal base exposure (for the middle of the bracketed sequence), what is the need for the negative exposure compensation?
Thanks!
Glad you liked this video!
1. Focus dial to 5m yes. Its a digital reading for us, theres no window on the top of our lens that shows us the distance, it shows up in our viewfinder, thats how it shows up at 5m. If you find autofocus works for you ... stick to it!! I just know for a fact 5m at manual focus will get me perfect focus every single time. I'm relying on myself... not the camera :)
2. Aperture priority mode is just so I never have to adjust my settings ... shutter speed is auto based on exposure comp... aperture stays the same ... iso stays the same. The need for -1.7 exposure comp is because in MY opinion ... having it any higher than -1.7 makes way too bright of images ... anything lower than -1.7 I find they aren't bright enough. It is just a sweet spot for me :)
@@AllisonMediaCo Thank you! Just to quickly elaborate on the focus issue, and it's an important point, no, autofocus is NOT working for me. That's why I asked. It's by far the most difficult aspect of real estate photography for me and what really slows me down. I had noticed in the past some really soft shots, so I switched my settings to Focus Priority, not Release Priority. That prevents shots with bad focus, but often that's because it does NOT achieve focus with autofocus so I have to switch to manual focus, find some object in the room, and then manually focus on that. Which seriously disrupts my workflow and makes it impossible to complete the shoot within anything even close to 18 minutes!
So, I was hoping that the 5m trick could be the answer I've been looking for, but my lens apparently doesn't even offer that option. I wonder why your Tamron does but mine doesn't. Maybe time for a new lens? I don't know -- I have to figure this out. Thanks again.
Any chance to do an editing video to show how you take your bracketed photos to the beautiful final results?
I'm planning on it! It would be a long very in-depth video because every video about HDR editing on CZcams is very "skimmed-over" and not in-depth of what to actually do.
That would be awesome and much appreciated by many viewers.@@AllisonMediaCo
Great video. But the real question is where did you buy that sweater from? Please send me that way. Thanks!
Abercrombie & Fitch !!
Good Tips. What is the purpose of shooting at -1.7 EV?
i shoot at iso 320 F8, but just changed my settings to f10 at 5m to give it a try.
It's interesting to see how many different ways / settings are used for real estate photography. I just saw video that said 3 brackets at 0 Exposure comp and 6.3 was the best. I've been shooting real estate for about 8 years now. I think i've tried just about all the settings haha.. -1.7 at f/10 sounds like you'd be taking longer exposures than needed, but maybe only in darker homes, which i see a lot of. I've tried the 3 bracket, 5 bracket and even 7 bracket.. can't really decide if the higher bracket number helps for dynamic range. Currently I'm at 3 bracket (auto), 2stops apart, 100iso outside, 320iso inside at f5.6-6.3, Exposure Comp 0.. seems to work well, except doesn't always pull the windows when it's a darker home. I've never used AP but might give it a try to see how it works. For reference, i'm using a Sony A7R5. Not because the camera matters, but because dynamic range does.
Haha yeah everyone uses different settings - to each their own :) I just found that -1.7 5 brackets 2 stops apart works perfect for us
@@AllisonMediaCo For sure, and i didn't mean anything negative.. it's good that photographers see there are many ways of getting to the same result. Whatever works, works. :)
@@JeffYoungbloodPhoto I totally didn't think you meant anything negative! Whatever people find that works, they should just do that :)
Dual native ISO on the a7iv is 100 and 400. Might as well shoot 400 instead of 320.
Doesn’t Dual native only comes into play when shooting different colour profiles on LOG, slog 3 is iso 800 and 3200, s-cinetone is 125 and 500, correct me if I’m wrong … but does native iso ever some into play for RAW photos?
@@AllisonMediaCo There is dual native ISO for the different video profiles, yes. But there is also dual native ISO for still photos. 100 and 400. I've actually seen where 320 is the worst ISO on the a7iv but I read that on the internet so...
Haha shoot ... maybe I shouldn't photograph at 320 ISO, I will try 400 and see if it is any cleaner. Appreciate the comment!! Any other videos you think I should go over?
Awsome! Can you make one on editing?
Yes for sure!! The market is insane where we are so we are so busy, not enough time in the day to film a CZcams video but we will soon :)
Please make another tutorial video on real estate videos!
This one is next! Excited to make that video :)
damn your photos are looking so much better than mine and im using an 16-35 g master lens in combination with an ad 200 flash
Practice practice practice. Keep switching up your process, put down the flash and do brackets, then pick flash back up and see the difference. Try everything ... learn what works for you and your style!
@@AllisonMediaCo Thank you, When i am doing HDR im doing it manually with 3 different pics in Lightroom. Never heard of bracketing before
how do you guys virtually stage the empty rooms and add appliances in post?
Search up a tutorial on how to virtually stage :)
Hi there - I’m assuming you use flash at f10?
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
I did my first real estate photo shoot with the 24-70, but my lens was wrong for the job. Now I want to buy a wide angle lens. I'm torn between 12mm Laowa and 16-28 Sigma. It feels like 16mm isn't enough. I'm curious about your thoughts on this matter. Thank you very much for the content.
Not sure about the Laowa... I'd suggest the 16-28. 16mm is more than enough, I used to shoot with a 14mm and the photos look super un-natural. We shoot with a 17mm now. Laowa lenses might not have great quality compared to a Sigma
@@AllisonMediaCo thanks 🙏🏻
I'm confused, why woulndt you set your bracket at 0.0 on the multi meter? then the bracket will get -2 exposures anyway...
Because 0.0 produces too bright of images at the height of the brackets, and not dark enough at the low end of the brackets :) Thats why I stop down the base to -1.7 so the dark brackets are as dark as I need, and the brightest photos are as bright as I need.
I’m a newby what’s multimetering
Easy object to shoot... White walls and celling, lot of light, no yellow light, no window pulls. How long time take you to shoot furnitured home with mixed lighting and som window pulls ? This is more when most of us need to do
Pretty much the same amount of time if no one is home! Maybe 5 minutes more. We shoot just as many photos for unfurnished vacant properties as we do for a regular house full of different wall colours, colour temps due to lamps and other lighting. If the client wants to virtual stage, we want them to have the option to choose the photo they use. A furnished, lived-in home may take a little more editing, but we outsource all of our editing.
What do you mean by 5 brackets 2 stops apart?
If you need a professional photo editing. Please leave us your email
The one thing I’m wondering is if it’s volume based? If you can just clarify that in your next video that would be great thanks 😂
LOL dude I even took out a bunch of me repeating it haha. Idk why I just kept repeating it over and over
@@AllisonMediaCo haha don’t sweat it bro the video was still great.
goat
That’s all you bro
Hey man can you make a video on how to get clients
Yeah I will for sure put that on the list of videos to make!
@@AllisonMediaCo do you currently have enough clients for your business?
Yes and no … yes because we’re doing awesome as a business and no because we’re always looking to scale :)
Nice presentation. I want to share some information about your channel and videos.
Thank you!
@@AllisonMediaCo i notice your video is not SEO optimize if you want i can show you
ISO is subjective (320 is odd) - but you need to check what the 2 native ISO's are on your specific camera. For instance my camera has a native of 400 and 800 - meaning there is no difference in quality between the 2 (except for the amount of light). I think the A7 IV is 100 and 400. I know the client will never know ( and neither will the mls).
I think the A7IV is 400iso base ... the difference will be incredibly minimal and the naked eye probably would never notice haha. But yes we've now switched to 400 iso as we got this comment many times! Cheers.
@@AllisonMediaCo Totally agree with you. No one will notice. Just thought 320 was an odd choice!!!
@@ericbarkhurst2951 Yeah I get it. I come from doing flambient style, and all those tutorials say use 320 iso lol. That was the only reason why I ever used that "odd" number :)
@@AllisonMediaCo I say do what works - if the client is happy and the results are working that's really all that matters. I use bracketing and flash as needed. I shoot non brackets and handheld also - all for real estate/rental/architectural/ and interior design. Clients are happy and I get a ton of repeats and referrals.
@@ericbarkhurst2951 Love it man glad to hear you're doing well. if you're successful and happy, what more can you ask for. If it aint broke don't fix it
takes me 90min to 120 min
Yeah, most homes are not 100% prepared, there also mixed lighting colors, window pulls etc it's never 20 min, more like 1 hour att least, pee the results will be low quality.
Don't agree on the trim and handle part, especially when all you're showing is a toilet and a sink. If there was more going around, yes, absolutely, don't include parts of the door, but if it's a "desert room" you"ll want to add a some elements to better fill the shot. Adding a piece of the door and handle (without the trim on the right side) would've worked super fine
Good point! I get it being a “desert” room having really only 2 elements in the shot. But I think the handle and door trim just adds clutter … personal choice though lol.
I laugh a bit because when you did the exterior shot...you kept getting up on your tip toes to look at the view screen....that's....tillable. I'd done the same thing...knowing good and well that I just could have twisted my screen down...but of course, after I was finished with the shoot.
LOL. I guess I could've tilted down but I like to stuff my face in the monitor to see the image the best I can
@@AllisonMediaCo I do the same thing all the time....we're all just creatures of habit.
ball heads suck for RE.
I've never actually used one for RE, but a lot of the big names for RE photography on youtube only use ball heads... not sure why. I'm sure the geared head is just way faster compared to ball head. But I've never A-B tested them.
Ball head is definitely faster, I use one for RE. But gear head is more accurate for nailing verticals in camera@@AllisonMediaCo
It looks like you can watch the other guys video that watched the other guys video that watched the other guys video that watched the other guys video that uses that same tripod head. Cute. I don’t do anything the way you do it, but I would love to see your work. How do I get to see it? Seeing the undersize of countertops is what a girl would do or a child.
auto whitebalance? really?
Click Bait? At 1:50 he says that a Ball Head and a Geared Head are "LITERALLY" the same thing.
😂😂😂. Uhh, NO, THEY ARE NOT. Pull your head out and learn the industry b4 you think you are able to instruct, advice and teach. One thing you were right about, don't park in front of your shoot. Other than that, you can't teach RE Photography in 19 minutes.
horrible
Just terrrible isn't it
@@AllisonMediaCo this is the worst I have seen in a while
How can it be better?
Hate HDR photos for real estate, low effort and something any monkey can do, if you hire an editor, it only makes you replaceable by any other dip that wants to give real estate photography a shot
5 photos is way overkill on editing time man. unless you have a realllyyy dark room space to shoot then hell no. This will essentially create an extra hour of work for you in the editing room
Not really true. 5 brackets gives us the option to choose the best 2-3 images of the 5 brackets to create the image. On a super sunny day our skies aren’t blown out & our shadows aren’t destroyed in the interiors with the 5 brackets. Just trying to capture the most detail, and when we’re editing we just choose the best 3. It’s most optimal to shoot 5 brackets over 3
Tripod Height DOES matter ESPECIALLY in the Kitchen. Seeing the underside of cabinets in not only ugly and unprofessional but shows lack of skill. You're kitchen images are TOO LOW. Should be showing 2-3 ft. of 3rd wall if you are a 3rd wall shooter. You're still an amateur photographer that hasn't shot enough. It's not about volume, it about quality and being efficient. You probably ought to regroup and change the title of your video on what NOT TO DO.
I shoot more cinematography and I have a question, 5 brackets means your shooting a 5 burst shot and then blending them? Or, you are shooting 5 separate takes on each shot at multiple stops?
5 photos each 2 stops apart from each other, blended in photoshop :)