Carson's Blog

How Blogging Can Benefit You...

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:22:21 -0500

I found this on WellcomeMat.com the other day and really enjoyed it. It's from the Long Island Tech Fair and was moderated by Rudy at Trulia (Sellsius at the time) Thought you might enjoy it too.

Panel:
Dan Green - BringtheBlog.com
Christing Forgione - NYHouses4sale.com
Linda Davis - ctrerelocation.com
Joseph Ferrara - blog.Sellisusrealestate.com

Description: Hear from successful bloggers on how a blog has helped them in their business and how it can benefit you in yours. Find out what resources are available to start your blog. Hear how a well-written blog with good content will attract repeat visitors. See how a blog can help establish you as your market area expert. - WellcomeMat.com http://www.wellcomemat.com/video/63B31D9D61

Real Estate Photography in Houston

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:11:14 -0500

Hi. I just launched my new portfolio site for real estate photography. I have been tweaking my techniques for over 2 years now, and am getting closer to a winning formula, but every home and situation is different. I have found that using natural light in the evening is my favorite way to shoot interiors. When I shoot daytime photos, it requires bringing along powerful strobes to get the lighting balanced...and even if it is done correctly, flashes can sometimes give a cold look to an otherwise beautiful home.

This is all a matter of preference, but in marketing a house, I think evening interiors give a warmer, more inviting look to a home. There is something different about viewing a home in the evening. It's cozy, candles are lit, shadows are realistic, fire is going, and the list goes on and on.

Check out my photos at Texas Real Estate Photography dot com and tell me what you think!

Tools to Help You Find The Perfect Real Estate Domain Name

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:23:31 -0600

For help finding an original, descriptive, and memorable domain name for your real estate site, here are some great tools that will make your search more efficient. Here is one of the six invaluable tools I recommend:

Bust-A-Name: This is my favorite place to search for an available domain... because the results are instantaneous. I use the "quick domain check" tool on the top right. The availability of the typed name is updated on every keystroke. This is much faster than waiting for a page to load every time. Plus it saves you the 5 seconds of anticipation before the big let-down: "HOMES4U.COM" is already taken! You can also add words to a list and let Bust-A-Name find all of the available combinations. This is great for finding descriptive domains.

More domain name finding tools at Real Estate Remix...

The Ruthless Rules of Real Estate Social Media #1

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 16:14:06 -0600

Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Activerain, Whoa there. Before you start spewing your offerings all over the place, take a moment to think about what you really plan to reap from your social media efforts. More sales? Name recognition? Expert status? Referrals? All of the above? Be aware that using social media as a marketing tool is a long-term strategy, and if wielded properly with patience and careful thought, can bring you all of these and more in the future. In this article, I will touch on the most basic principal of social networking: Knowing your audience.

Points covered in the article:

The Social Media Realm Consists Of Real Human Beings.

These People Are Desperately Looking For Attention.

So How Do You Get Them To Pay Attention To You?

Read More on Social Networking for Real Estate at Real Estate Remix...

The Real Estate Marketing Machine: Blogs, RSS, XML, Social Networking, and Endless Nerdyness.

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:09:57 -0500

The Machine is Us/ing Us, produced by Dr. Michael Wesch of the Digital Ethnography Working Group at Kansas State University, elegantly explains the idea behind Web 2.0 and it's impact on us. If you haven't checked out some of the other fascinating projects by this group of undergraduates, it's worth a look.

Watch the video here... if you can keep up.

The Real Estate Marketing Machine

The Brand-Name Professional: Naming Your Real Estate Business.

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:22:58 -0500

A great name will set the pace of your real estate business, and excite you enough to say it often and with confidence. Choosing the wrong name will ensure a future of drawn-out explanations, excuses, timidness and boring conversations. Take the time up front to find the perfect match so you can save yourself the upset of re-naming your company in the future. I can't think of anything worse than having to re-brand, but if your name isn't working for you like it should, you might want to start thinking about it. So consider the possibilities and pitfalls of naming, and use the right tools to make the best of your brainstorming:

Step 1: Step Outside Of Your Little World
Step 2: Step Outside of Your Little Town
Step 3: Step Out of the Crowd
Step 4: Step Into The Spotlight
Step 5: The Toughest Step: Domain Names

Read more on real estate naming at Real Estate Remix:

Branding Your Real Estate Business

My Real Estate Photo Fetish.

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Wed, 23 May 2007 14:54:40 -0500

I'm more of an exhibitionist:

For your viewing pleasure... Here are the results from a recent photo shoot in Clear Lake- Houston. I discovered a new technique to use for front elevations that really produced great results. In order to distribute the light evenly, I physically "painted" the house with light during the ten second exposure so that every part can be illuminated - including the yard and roof. It also helps eliminate shadows that are caused by trees and bushes. I actually moved the light around and over under-lit areas while the shutter was open.

Here is my process for exteriors in a nutshell:

I use 2 halogen work lights you can find at any hardware store (mine were about $15 each) . I set them up on each side of the house and try to point them so that they spread the light evenly over the house. (you need to remove the metal covering grate-like safety sheild first) I set the camera up on a tripod and close the aperture enough to use a 10 second or longer exposure shutter speed. I use my on-camera light meter and manual settings to set this.

Wait until the sun is completely down - it can be pretty dark at the perfect moment (lasts 5-10 minutes or so) You have to learn to recognize the lighting conditions by looking at the sky and waiting for that deep dark blue. I usually get anxious and shoot too early thinking I will lose the opportunity - that is ok because better safe than sorry. I have about a Gig of memory on my camera card.

Then I set the timer that delays the photo (usually used to give time for the cameraman to jump in the picture) since I dont have a remote shutter switch. This is to reduce camera movement caused from pushing the button. I also use that 10 second delay time to walk over to a light an pick it up (whichever light is dominant - your choice)

I can hear the shutter open up, and I know the picture is being taken now. I use this time to shine the light across the house and sweep side to side and all around to give a little light to every area...even the grass and shrubs which are usually neglected since the light is focused on the house most of the time.

After about ten seconds or so(whatever you set the shutter speed), I can hear the shutter close again. It's finished - so I walk back over to the camera to see the results.

And usually - it's beautiful. I take a few more just be be sure though - and get a few alternate angles. Always shoot in RAW mode. Remember to set your white balance to tungsten even though you are outdoors.

Thanks for reading, I hope this "sheds some light?" on the issue...

Red Hot Real Estate Photos

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 22:48:48 -0500

The title has nothing to do with color temperature.

Thought I would post some recent pictures of a home in Austin I did a couple of weeks ago. This is all natural light except for two little accent lights I put in corners or behind things. If you don't have a light kit, I find that it is best to wait until sundown (or early morning) and use long exposure times. I have a light kit coming so daytime interiors may be possible soon.

Feedback Appreciated

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 23:37:20 -0600

Hello everyone. This may be asking for it, but I am really attempting to improve my real estate photography skills. I am working with a Canon Rebel XT, 11mm Canon lens. I do not use any expensive lights for the interior, only slow shutter speeds and a few photoshop tricks combined with perfect timing at dusk.

I am looking into getting some semi-professional lights for interiors to help improve my photos and make it possible to shoot in the daytime with good results. I thought it would be appropriate to post part of a recent shoot here to get some useful feedback from other real estate photo enthusiasts like myself.

If you have any suggestions/critiques I would love to hear from you. Thanks!

Horrible Real Estate Photography

Carson Coots (Myles Interactive, LLC) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 09:13:42 -0600

I'm not an agent, but it confuses me so much to see and/or hear about listing agents taking bad photos of homes. I worked as a graphic designer for a local real estate company about 2 years ago and I would design hundreds of flyers for many different agents. Some of these photos were absolutely horrible beyond belief. And I have read here about photos with rear-view mirrors and/or trash in the photos. I got really good with photoshop. One time we had to remove an entire painter from an elevation photo, he was in the middle of working and couln't step out of the frame I guess.

I have a question...

Whats up with that? I thought the whole idea was to present the house in it's best light. Is there anything I'm missing that a listing agent does that is more important than uploading photos to MLS and making a flyer? Is it purely because they dont know any better, or is the photo not as important as I thought? Oh yea, and the sign in the front helps but that is easy... It seems to me that the photo is the centerpiece of the listing wherever it is.