Real Estate Photograhy

<p>Sorry if this is in the wrong thread....i have no idea where to ask this question.</p>

<p>I I have just been approached by a friend that does Real Estate and is needing a photographer.<br>

Has anyone done this and do you have any input that would help . She knows I don't have any experience in this field and is wanting me to try it out. <br>

I 'm willing to try it out and i love a new challenge. Just wondering if anyone has any tips :) that is willing to share.<br>

Please</p>

<p>I do it but it's not something that is instantly learned. I practiced on my own home for a while before taking on a job. Real estate photography requires specific equipment. You need a wide angle zoom, typically at least 17mm on full frame or 10mm on crop sensor cameras. You need a sturdy tripod that can go reasonably high if the home has high ceilings. You need a remote shutter release or you will have to use the self-timer, which is slower. You may need a polarizer filter. You need software that can fix perspective issues.</p>

<p>Once you have all that, you need an eye for detail. You need to be able to look around a room and figure out what might look out of place or be distracting. My first job, I spent a lot of time moving things out of the bathroom. I didn't notice that the toilet paper was unrolled halfway to the floor. I have never made that mistake again. Shades have to be checked - open or closed will make a difference in how they look. Unless the house is staged, a lot of stuff has to be taken out of the room being photographed or put into cabinets.</p>

<p>You need to understand the lighting. If there's a big budget, you can haul in a lot of lights, but that's not usually the case until you get to multi-million dollar homes. Instead, you may have to use HDR to balance lighting. You need to watch for mixed lighting with sunlight through the windows and lights that are necessary inside. Do you want warm lighting or cool lighting? It makes a difference. Look at local listings and see how they are being photographed. Your photos will compete with them and it's important not to be off in lighting look.</p>

<p>The camera has to be on the tripod and adjusted as carefully as possible for perspective. You don't want to be shooting up, you want to be at the midpoint, but there is inevitably going to be some distortion in some shots that you need to correct in software. Minimizing that work is worth taking the time. If you're going to do HDR, use a remote and use the bracketing function on your camera. Use a small aperture, at least f8, maybe f11, and focus slightly into the room. </p>

<p>Try to find the view into rooms that makes them look the most spacious and the most bright. Nobody wants to sell a home using photos that make rooms look small and dark. Look for views that show any detail or special features. If there are walk-in closets, shoot them. Take shots from multiple locations in the room. Best is when you can shoot into a room from outside of it, you can capture more.<br>

<br />Bathrooms are really tricky, they are usually too small to get good shots, they may not have any windows, and the mirrors and glass pose problems. The polarizer may be useful in here. Don't be in your own photos with a lot of mirrors, that is pretty common if you aren't paying attention.</p>

<p>In post-processing, it's really important to make the lighting look similar from room to room. Without a big budget, it's not going to be perfect but try to keep the tones similar. If every room is painted white, the color of the walls (and ceilings) in the photos may be different from photo to photo because of lighting and you need to adjust to keep it even from photo to photo.</p>

<p>Outside shots may require shooting from across a street. I shoot in a city with lots of parked cars and have a guide to street cleaning days because there won't be cars in front on those days. If you're in a suburb or rural area, that's probably not an issue. I have arrived early and parked in front of a home to block people from parking, then move the car and shoot when the time comes.</p>

<p>Most homes have a printed sheet or brochure plus online photos. Make sure you provide web-ready and print-ready photos to the agent.</p>

<p>Pricing is a whole other issue. I price based on asking price of the home, it's a model the agents understand and it's never a problem. Having a per-room price, which some photographers do, doesn't work if you're shooting a condo in a high end neighborhood one day and a mansion in a run-down area the next. </p>

<p>There's probably more, if I think of anything, I will post another comment.</p>

Mr. Spirer know more about this than I do. But, when I watch HGTV I notice the bland flat lighting they have on the "before" shots and the dynamic accent lighting they have of the "after" shots. What a difference the lighting itself makes. Take a look at these photos:<P>

 

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<img src="http://jdainis.com/piano1.jpg"><P>.<P>

 

<img src="http://jdainis.com/piano1a.jpg"><P></center>

 

The first shot was taken with flat natural lighting from a large window. The second was taken with the window covered, the lamp to the right turned on and a small light behind the chair on the left. Lamps are often place behind chairs, sofas, etc. to help separate them from the walls. I see that a lot on HGTV in "after" shots. It certainly looks much better with better lighting.

<p>All I can add to this discussion is that houses look most beautiful on a clear evening, just as the light starts to fade, with interior lights turned on. At least that's how it's done these days in my city. If you want examples, let me know. If you're going to do it that way, make sure all the lights are the same temperature (preferably slightly warm - change them to incandescent if you can).</p>

<p>Print what Jeff wrote and read it well. Practice and try different things on your own home. While I haven't done any "official" real estate photography, I've done a little and have looked at a large number of houses for sale. Check out the ones in your area (realtor.com is a good place to look) and figure out how to do yours better. Judging from most I've seen around here, it shouldn't be tough for a good photographer to do a better job of making houses look inviting. One thing I consider important is to make sure the photos showcase the house, not the current owner's stuff. I've seen pictures here that had so much stuff in the shot, you couldn't see the shape of the room.</p>

<p>The caliber of real estate offered for sale will often dictate the expected technical and artistic result.</p>

<p>Photographing real estate is very nuanced in terms of the price / quality expectation, so communication before any work is done is really key. I usually only do it as part of a lifestyle shoot or bigger campaign and at that level, the budgets are usually in the $1,800-$3,000 per day range and having the rooms prepped and propped is easily taken care of.</p>

<p>Not that I work in this area but the mid to lower end is where it is perhaps a bit tougher. The reason is that at this point, the agent could have been getting good enough photos from their own DSLR, in camera HDR and panoramic images from their phone but want something considerably better and are willing to pay for it...to a point. The balance you need to then strike is getting images that make it worth to do and that satisfy the client's product and budget needs.<br /> <br /> So it is easy to come up with a little better images than the agent / iPhone combo but what about a lot better and can you do it and not end up making $10 an hour because you need to spend a lot more time on it to get it right than a seasoned real estate shooter?<br /> <br /> Why is she wanting you to do it specifically if she knows you have no experience is the 1st thing I would ask?<br /> Could that be......price or even free?</p>

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<p>One thing I consider important is to make sure the photos showcase the house, not the current owner's stuff</p>

</blockquote>

<p> <br>

This is an important point. I photographed a condo a while back, just before the San Francisco real estate boom went nuts. It was filled with stuff and there weren't enough closets to put it away. It was like a knick-knack shop. I took the photos, the condo went on, and got no traffic. Three months later, I was asked to shoot it again. This time it was empty. I didn't mind, I got two jobs out of it. The condo was empty this time, it got tremendous traffic, and sold in the first week well over asking price. My photos were pretty much the same except that you could see what the space looked like.<br>

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I always ask the agent if it's empty, lived in, or staged. Staged is best, stagers know how to make a place look inviting without being cluttered. They put in fake computers and TVs so there aren't wires running everywhere. If it's lived in, I explain to the agent that I'm not moving furniture, valuables, etc., and that I would like the agent or owner to be there, preferably the agent.</p>