Some Real Estate Photography Tips

It has been my pleasure recently to be doing more and more property searches for home buyers. Naturally, selecting the right property often begins with taking a look at the photos that the listing agent has shot and placed in the Multiple Listing System. Like everybody else in this highly visual age, I am swayed by appearance.

It is astonishing how bad some of these photos are.

Taking great photos today is not nearly as complex as it was in years past when you shot everything on film and had to worry about film speed, aperture settings, flash settings, shutter speeds, focus, depth of field, developing and all the other things that plagued film-based photography.

Today, with the advent of digital photography, taking good pictures is almost as easy as point-and-shoot.

Nevertheless, I'm seeing some really horrible photography in the MLS and on flyers and other kinds of advertising.

So, I thought I'd make a few suggestions that might improve the presentation of properties and help you sell them faster and perhaps for more money.

1. Use A Flash. Almost every modern digital camera today comes with a little flash built right into the camera. If you are inside a building, use it. Flash lets you overcome being backlighted when you are shooting back toward a window or other strong source of light. It also helps to eliminate shadows; eliminating shadows makes the room look larger. If you have a more powerful strobe light, aim it upward and let the light bounce off the ceiling and flood the room evenly -- that's what the pros do!

2. Avoid Silhouettes. Silhouettes happen when you have to shoot into the sun. Your camera's built-in light meter is overpowered by the sunlight and it underexposes what you want to take a picture of -- like the exterior front of the house. This is very common with properties that face north and have the sun behind them all day in the winter months. To overcome this problem, you have to move in real close to the building so that the sun does not enter your camera lense. The meter will then expose the building properly. Of course, you will only get part of the house in the photo, so take a few extra shots and insert them into the MLS so people get a good idea of what the exterior looks like. Or, wait for the sun to set and take an exciting nighttime shot of the property with all the lights on inside the house and around the swimming pool -- very artistic, and it sells!

3. Tidy Up Before Shooting. You aren't going to believe this, but lately I've seen kitchen photos in the MLS in which it is clear the seller hasn't washed the dishes in days. Or made the beds. Or cleaned the bathtub. Ugh! I'm not saying you as the agent or photographer has to do this kind of heavy lifting, but you might want to delay the photo shoot until somebody else does. Remember, you're there to try to make the place look good. And for heaven's sake, close the lid on the toilet.

4. Move The Cars And Boats. You are there to take a photo of the house, not the '93 Buick in the driveway. A car is in front of the house. That means it is in the foreground. Things in the foreground of a photo look larger than things in the background. So, if the car is in front of the house you're actually taking a photo of a great big car and a little tiny house. I'm sure that's not what you had in mind. Simple solution. Move the car and then take the photo. Same holds true with boats on trailers.

5. Don't Skimp. My final suggestion is to not skimp on photography. It amazes me how many agents take one photo and that's it -- especially if they are listing a short sale or foreclosure. You can put many photos in the MLS system, and we live in a visual age. It should not matter if you are listing a million dollar mansion or a more humble home, the seller deserves your best effort. After all, you took the listing -- and it is your professional reputation that is at stake in your marketing effort.

If you really are one of those people who just can't seem to take a good photo, call one of the real estate photography services. They'll send a professional photographer to the house, take the pictures properly, edit them, make a video for MLS and send it back to you ready to be inserted. The cost is very reasonable and you don't have to lift a finger, or press a shutter as the case may be.

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