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Taking Good Real Estate Photos.

This picture was framed well, but a sunny day gave dark shadows on the lawn & house.

Sometimes a cloudy day is better or get the sun shining on the house, not shading it.

If there is a tree or telephone pole directly in front of the house, take a few angle shots so you can at least get the front of the house in the shot.

Take lots of pictures with your digital camers, it is easy to erase them later. Don't erase them on site, because some look better on the computer than they do in the tiny camera viewer. In the first pictue I made the ugly house next door disappear. In the second, I made the telephone pole disappear. In the third the house looks a little bigger from the angle, and the house next door and the telephone pole are less conspicuous.

I will have more on this subject in my next blog.

All the best!

Posted by Kevin O'Shea, White Plains, NY Real Estate on 06/24/2008 01:55 PM

Comments (42)

real estate, pictures, improving, digital

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42 Comments on Taking Good Real Estate Photos.

JUN

2008

Kevin, I use Photoshop to edit my pictues and save them as "Save for web". This allows the pictures to quickly load on the web.

How to take pictures is definitely something that most REALTORS® should learn how to do, unless they want to always hire a photo service. I have seen far too many pictures of a window or a room corner because the person taking the picture had no idea what they wanted to spotlight in the room. Other pictures have odd proportions, weird angles or they are way too dark or over exposed. The very worst are the listings with no pictures at all because the agent is too lazy or is waiting for their service to come and take the pictures.

Buyers want to see pictures and the pictures do heavily influence whether or not they want to see the home. So we have to make every picture count and highlight the best features of each property even on the non-photogenic properties.

I think I may need to buy a bigger maga pixel camera for my pictures.

Leolinda: Thanks, great tips are such a great part of AR.

Andrew: You are so right. There is no reason not to have at least a picture of the front of the house when you input the listing.

Great stuff. More agents need to listen, read and immulate your actions. It's embarassing!

I have a 1 gig devoted to Real Estate. I am trigger happy and explore different angels as well. I also turn the dial and shoot more than a handful of each room, etc. I have not taken any photography classes and have no idea what these functions are but sometimes that turn out real good. I also use picnik.com for additional editing. Jeff Turner posted a blog that includes a step-by-step how to video Editing Photos for your customized ActiveRain blog. It helped me add and delete things with a picture that was real perfect except for one thing. Great post and look forward to reading your next post about photography.

JUN

2008

Kevin, Thanks for the tips. I usually take dozens of pictures and work on them on the computer to see how they turn out.

John: The more pixels the clearer the shot. You don't always have to use it on the highest setting.

Greg: Can you imagine how embarassing it is for the homeowner? Gives us some chuckles though.

Michelle: Michelle, thanks for your comments and the great suggestions.

Bob: Smart way to do it.

JUN

2008

I just purchased a new Canon DSLR with a nice wide angle 17 mm lens so that I can take much better interior photos. The wider angle lens will help when shooting photos of of smaller rooms such as baths and smaller bedrooms.

Yes, can you ask your subscribers what's the best camera and to submit a photo of an interior and exterior so we can judge the wide angle lens and simplicity of use?

Sam: that's a great idea that I was thinking about I have to see if my Fuji DSLR can fit one.

Ronda: When I bought my first digital there was a website that asked you questions and you answered them and it picked a few cameras for you. A contest for this might be a great idea.

JUN

2008

Good tips Kev - taking photos of my listings is one of my favorite things......yet like you we see pics on mls that are ummm geesh........why bother, if you're not putting your listing in the very best 'light'.........then get someone who can ...to do it for you -sometimes people just don't have an eye for it i guess.........or don't notice lighting.....details.......reflections in the mirror......etc..:-)

JUL

2008

Hi Liz,

There was a funny post about a guy who put something on e-bay. His relection could be seen naked in the mirror from where he took the picture of a dining room table. Funny how careful you have to be.

All the best!

OCT

2008

Hello Kevin, thanks for the tips, I will take more pictures on site and will quit deleting them on site, and I will take more angle shots to perhaps get around unwanted objects Thanks Mike

Hi Kevin. Some properties are situated in a way that getting a good frontal picture is almost impossible. However, having said that, when I'm confronted with a difficult "shoot" I will take several pictures with the intent of getting a few that will present the home in it's best possible light. I do work with a phot editor to clean pictures up and size them appropriately.

Hi Kevin, it is so amazing how many agents don't take the time to photograph their listings in the best and most flattering way. The Internet is where most buyers start their search and good photographs very often determine whether they will make that call. Thanks for the advice.

OCT

2008

Hi Mike, thanks for your comment Hi Jon, very true, sometimes a house is more flattering from the back or side. Lourdes, I have seen some really funny pictures on our MLS

NOV

2008

Hey Kevin,

Good tips - by taking lots of pictures, we will surely get something we can use. I like the interesting angles, often a 'front/side shot' shows how big the house is versus the 'straight on' shot'

Take care, Laurie

NOV

2008

NOV

2008

Picassa has a straighten tool that is just great for those shots that seem to be a bit tilted.

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DEC

2008

Kathleen, Thank you.

That is one of the wonderful things about AR, the help all over.

Have a great weekend.

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