A back yard can be an important feature for some homes for many reasons: 1) a premium may have been paid for a view lot; 2) a premium may have been paid for the size; or 3) the owner may have invested a lot of money and wants to recoup it from a buyer who equally values the work done.
This article seeks to discuss some of the considerations when taking photos of the back yard. Please note that California weather does not allow for the kind of seasonal variation that occurs in other parts of the country, so keep that in mind also. It may be important to take photos months before a home is listed so that the brochure shows the yard in all its spring glory rather than late in the fall when leaves are gone.
Here are some general tips:
- In this writer's opinion, the MOST important aspect to taking good back yard pictures is finding the right location to take the photo. Yards are not like interiors with walls. Generally speaking, you have a lot more space to play with, and can position yourself easily in any location on the clock face, or in the middle.
- Because you are outdoors, you have greater flexibility in height. Use a ladder if you need to do so! Stand on the wall. Or, climb a tree if necessary. You can use a pole camera too, but I cover that topic elsewhere. All of the photos in this article are taken by hand/tripod.
- Flexibility in height can also mean going LOW. In a room, you can't be below the table height, but you can go that low outside and it will still look OK.
- Use your flash if necessary. If you waited until late in the day to catch the back yard in total shade, then pop the flash to bring out the colors.
- Finally, COMPOSITION matters a LOT in outdoor photos. You can stand ANYWHERE (not just a doorway), so walk around the yard for 5 minutes looking at what you can get from each angle. Don't just take the picture so that you're done. THINK IT THROUGH. What are you trying to SAY about the yard? What are its features?
OK, enough talk. Let's take a look at four photos. I really liked my exercise that I used on the Family Room page, so I thought I would duplicate it here. I am going to show you four photographs. Look at the photos and think about what you like and don't like about them. Jot down some thoughts. Then, when you scroll to the bottom, you will see my analysis of what I thought I did right and wrong about each photograph.
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MY COMMENTS
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Photo 1 - This home was pretty close to its back yard neighbor. If I had taken the photo from the other end, the entire home behind it would have been visible. In addition, most of the colorful flowers werr on this end and would have been tiny if I had taken it the other direction. I had to wait 45 minutes to take this photo. I had the camera set up on the tripod, but the sun was too high and putting very sharp hot spots on the fence and yard. So I waited for the sun to be obscured by the home AND for some clouds to come in front of it. With my luck in getting the clouds to shield the sun, I hurriedly took the photos.
This was a good example of using your flash outside. Because everything was in shadows except the bushes over the fence, I used my flash to "pop" the colors of the flowers and plants. It gave a very nice look to it. The photo is basically unretouched except for the hint of blue that I added to the water just to give it a pool-like look.
Also, note the chair. There was no chair in that location until I put it there. It provides an excellent reference object so people know how big the yard is.
The next photo was very important for the homeowner who had invested quite a bit of money in the back yard. I chose my location carefully to bring out the color of the tiles. I opened the umbrella to add a festive look. The big leaves were just a lucky bonus. Also, I took the cover off the BBQ. In general, if you leave covers like that on, they take away all the shape/curve definitions and it makes it look like a big black blob. Take off the covers and it will look like you're ready for cooking. (Maybe I should have thrown a steak on!)
Of all of the four pictures, this one was the most difficult position to select. I took photos from two other positions and was dissatisfied because the ocean and pool were not as featured. In the end, I had to ask the neighbor if I could shoot the photo standing on a ladder looking over the fence. I was VERY satisfied with the end result (Dear Readers, you didn't see how inferior the other photos were.). That said, if I had more time, I would have tied a string to the palm branch and pulled it back to show more of the pool. PLUS, when I sharpened the image in Photoshop, I would have left the palm tree leaves unsharpened. In general, if you have really strong leaf lines due to long narrow leaves iwth waxy coatings, sharpening them will make look a bit unnatural. I don't make that mistake any more.
The last of the four photographs was taken only a few feet off the ground at the far end of the yard. Why? This yard was one of the largest in the neighborhood, and the goal was to show off how big it was. (And, one of the neighbors bought the home!) By getting low to the ground and having the reference furniture, the photo conveys a grand size, even though the yard has not had a lot of improvment. With the sun to my back, the sky looked fantastic, especially with the puffy clouds. You might shy away from cloudy days, but clouds are a lot of fun in photos. If you're really clever, you can even make silly shapes out of them or write hidden initials for the homeowner's children. (I didn't do that in these photos, but you get the idea.)
I hope you found these photos to be of help. Feel free to share any comments.
Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate Agent
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