If you are a real estate professional, and you are not interested in hiring a professional photographer, that is no excuse to have flat, lifeless photos of your properties. There are a couple of easy things that you can do to take much better pictures!
First and foremost, buy a digital SLR camera. I, personally, love Nikon products. For what you are doing, you can purchase a D40 - you can find it on line usually for under $400. This camera is only 6.1 MP, but that is plenty when you are taking photos for web applications. Be sure that you take the time to learn all of the ins and outs of the camera. With a digital SLR, you will have much more creative control when it comes time to click those pictures.
Remember, you are not taking snapshots (or, at least, you shouldn't be). You are trying to sell this house over the Internet with these pictures. Sure, you are trying to shoot realistic pictures, however, this is no excuse to take ordinary flat pictures.
The second most important thing to consider is lighting. The pop-up flash is simply not going to cut it. In order to take beautiful, creative (Architectural Digest type) pictures, you have to be able to control the lighting. If possible, invest in a couple of stand mounted strobes. One with an umbrella, and one with a softbox on it.
Now that you know what tools you need, be sure to learn how to properly use them. Get you hands on a couple of good books (your local library has a great selection) that will teach you the ins and outs of manual photography - Shutter Speed, Aperture, etc...and be sure to get one that explains how to properly use lighting.
With these two tools, you can truly begin to take meaningful pictures that show depth and will distinguish your properties. Besides, it will also impress your clients! How professional will your new listing think you are when you show up with a quality camera and a couple of strobes to photo their house?
One last bit if advice....Practice, practice, practice....Take photos of the inside of your house with your new equipment. Try out the things that you learn in the books! Also, you will need a good image editor. Photoshop is great but expensive. An alternative (free) is GIMP. You can search for my blog on GIMP to learn a little bit more of what GIMP is all about!
Thanks,
Jeff Gettings
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