Best Real Estate Photography Tips On The Web Follow-Up With Commenters
After getting SO MANY great responses to our last Real Estate Photography article, we decided to do another, featuring YOU! The amazing people who commented on our previous post. I'm so excited to bring you Realtor & Real Estate Agent opinion's from Texas, NewYork, California, Utah and Michigan.
Question #1: How are you currently taking photos of homes (for MLS, Marketing, etc.)?
Kathleen (Kat) Palmiotti
NY State Licensed Real Estate Agent, CBR
Better Homes & Gardens Rand Realty
A: I take pictures myself, using a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 with wide angle lens.
Jim Beitz
Utah Hassle Free Group
Keller Williams Success Realty
A: I take photos for all of our team listings. I use a Canon EOS Rebel XSi and the built in flash.
Lee Jinks
Association Executive
Greater McAllen Association of Realtors
A: I shoot exterior, interior and aerial photos for agents who use them for the MLS and marketing.
Jackie Connelly-Fornuff
NYS Licensed Real Estate Salesperson
Century 21 AA Realty
www.LongIslandRealEstateLady.com
A: I take them and I use a Canon DSLR with a wide angle lens. I try to take the photos without a flash since a flash can be more harsh than natural lighting. I do make sure my photos are not blurry, too dark or too light. It is a work in progress. I do have photography experience but photographing homes is different.
John Juarez, Realtor
GRI,SRES,PMN,e-Pro,CDPE
The Medford Team - Prudential California Realty
A: Our team uses a professional photographer. Our MLS allows for 30 photos max. We try to have 30 but not all houses can give us 30 worthwhile poses.
Mike Mitchell
Realtor ®, Notary
Real Living Kee Realty
A: With my digital camera. A Sony Cybershot 16.1 megapixels.
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Question #2: What tips would you give to other Real Estate Agents trying to do Real Estate Photography on a budget?
Kat Palmiotti: Read up on tips regarding lighting, decluttering for a shot and ensure you know things not to do (no one needs a picture of an open toilet). Take the pictures from a still position - if you have a tripod, great but if not, hold the camera steady or put it on a hard surface. Nothing worse than blurry shots. Keep yourself out of the picture - be careful around mirrors.
Jim Beitz: First tip is stop using your phone. If you cannot afford a better camera hire someone to do it. Second is make sure you size your own photos before you upload them. Our MLS automatically sizes improperly sized photos and sometimes that means they get stretched or squished - you want neither to happen to yours.
Lee Jinks: This question usually means, “How can agents get by with as little money as possible?” I need to explain my stance on the issue before giving a direct answer.
It’s the agent’s duty to market the property to the best of his ability. To fulfill this duty, quality marketing photos should be used on every listing. So the agent has two options, (1) hire a professional photographer or (2) learn to take photos like a professional photographer.
Option one can be expensive, but consider this. There are many potential vital tasks that need to be completed to prepare a home for sale. The home might need to be decluttered, staged, painted or repairs made. Each of these items is taken care of by the seller. Professional photos should be in the same category. The agent should educate the seller on why marketing photos are so important and then provide a list of professional photographers for the seller to call if he chooses. This way more listings get professional quality photos. Additionally it’s the least expensive option when addressed in this manner.
Option two is best for those who have a passion for photography and there have been plenty of agents who have taken this route. Learning about photography is more important that the equipment used. One can learn the basics of photography from a number of websites, but one of my favorites is http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/. I recently rediscovered another site that allows one to experiment with different camera setting to see how it affects the photos: http://camerasim.com/. Hands-on-learning is always the most effective. Then the quintessential site on real estate photography is http://photographyforrealestate.net/. Photography for Real Estate has a number of blogs and articles geared towards the professional real estate photographer. There are several eBooks that will explain the process of achieving professional quality photos from start to finish. Additionally I would suggest joining the PFRE group on Flickr to polish one’s skills.
Now the answer you really wanted from this question. If the agent doesn’t want to become a professional real estate photographer, but does want to improve his photography skills, start with the Photography for Real Estate site and the Tips and Techniques for Better Real Estate Photography group on ActiveRain: http://activerain.com/groups/realestatephotography
Jackie Connelly-Fornuff: Make sure you take clear photos, not blurry, not dark or too light and do not upload them sideways. Buy a dedicated flash if you have a DSLR. I bought mine on Ebay and got a great deal. I paid less than $80.
John Juarez: Use a decent camera and make sure you have a wide-angle lens. Not so wide that the photos are distorted but wide enough to do justice to small bathrooms and kitchens. Another idea is to employ a pro to take a few really good pix even if it is not the max for the mls. A few good photos are probably better the a bunch of average-to-poor photos.
Mike Mitchell Read Active Rain blogs on photography and staging tips! Take lots of pictures with different lighting and angles, then you can go back and pick and choose the best ones on your computer.
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Question #3: How have your photography skills evolved since you started working in real estate?
Kat Palmiotti: It hasn't been that long, so I don't think they evolved too much, although by using other people's crummy photos, I know what not to do.
Jim Beitz: Actually if I could make a living behind my camera I would so real estate is simply a new subject for me.
Lee Jinks: 1985 – 1999: Polaroid 2000-2003: Moved to digital (Sony Mavica) eventually adding a wide angle adapter lens. 2003: Began development of a pole aerial photography (PAP) system, a method of taking photos from an elevated vantage point thereby creating a unique look to all my front view listing photos. 2004: Purchased a high end compact camera, wide angle adapter, tripod and single off camera flash. 2009: Purchased my first DSLR. Today I have half dozen flash units, two DSLR’s, a high end compact camera, tripod with geared head, several light stands, umbrellas, wireless remote units, a 30ft PAP rig with wireless remote video viewfinder and a 9ft PAP rig, and there’s more. You aren’t going to show any of this to my wife, are you?
As you can see there’s now thousands of dollars of equipment, but more importantly I have several hard copy books on architectural photography and several eBooks on real estate photography. I’m a long time member of the PFRE group on Flickr. I’ve spent countless hours compiling real estate photography blogs, articles and tutorials for the Tips and Techniques for Better Real Estate Photography group which have been indexed for easy access through a table of contents. Needless to say, real estate photography has become a huge passion of mine. I have written a number of blogs and tutorials about real estate photography and have even taught several photography classes for the real estate agent.
Jackie Connelly-Fornuff: I’ve done research online and have learned to shoot at different angles and levels so I plenty of photos to choose from. I learned more about lighting and since I have a DSLR I have learned to adjust my aperture and ISO settings for different lighting situations. I take better photos now than a year ago but I’m always looking to do better.
John Juarez:I have recognized some of the things that I did not do well…lighting, composition…and made some improvements. I used to use software to stitch together pano photos but that was very time consuming and the results were not always worthy. Best lesson I learned was that professionals do a better job and are worth the price.
Mike Mitchell: My skills have definitely improved with experience, like anything else.
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Question #4: If not already, do you foresee yourself using a professional real estate photographer in the future? Under what circumstances would you hire a professional?
Kat Palmiotti: Yes, I believe I would. I would hire one if the one were particularly challenging to photograph myself.
Jim Beitz: Our office has worked out a deal with a local tour company - photography is included. Once the team hits the proper listing number they'll be doing all our photos.
Lee Jinks: I always use a professional photographer (me). I have the number of another professional real estate photographer in my area that I often call and give out when I’m not available for a shoot. All listings should have professional quality photos.
Jackie Connelly-Fornuff: I would hire a professional photographer if I had a luxury home listing or if the home is just so large that my equipment will not do.
John Juarez: Using a pro now.
Mike Mitchell: I have, on high end listings where I have to hire a virtual tour company, they also take stills and I use those.
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Question #5: How important is photography in Real Estate 1-10? (1 not at all, 10 extremely important)
Kat Palmiotti: 1,000,000,0000 etc.
Jim Beitz: 10 - everybody shops online first. If your photos suck you are doing your client a disservice and not properly representing their property.
Lee Jinks: 11! The listing photos are the first showing. These photos determine if there will be a second showing.
When a buyer’s agent provides a list of homes to consider, every home on that list is in the buyer’s price range, is in the right areas and school zones, have the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms, on and on. The only thing left for the buyer to decide if they want to set an appointment is the photos. And buyers these days can make that decision in seconds. The photo MUST attract the buyer’s attention.
Jackie Connelly-Fornuff: 10! You have to think if it were your home you would want the best photos possible so do that for your clients.
John Juarez: TEN. Everyone shops on the internet and the first impression is made by photos. If there no photo, buyers will skip the listing (malpractice on the agent’s part, in my opinion). If the photos are poor the house does not make the quality impression that we desire. Photos should be very good without crossing over to the point of misrepresenting the basic appearance of the property.
Mike Mitchell Absolutely a 10.
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Thank you so much to everyone that participated! You guys were so great to work with & we look forward to seeing you all succeed in 2013!
Cheers,
Resortified
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