Aerial Drone Photography for Real Estate Update

Well, we sure thought the FAA was finally going to have rules in place by the end of 2015… I was disappointed to hear this week from a local attorney, versed in the laws effecting commercial aerial photography, that we probably won’t see rules in place until 2017. There is a current exemption one can obtain, but you MUST have a real pilots license to be eligible. This counts me out.

I flew my little DJI Phantom for just a year before things started heating up in the media, so she’s been grounded since last fall and she is now up for sale. By the time the FAA has all its rules in place, this will be outdated equipment.

It is sad because an aerial view of a home can be so terrific – setting up a better since of place.

IMPORTANT for those of you who are hiring commercial aerial photographers or if you are doing it yourself as an agent; as soon as you are using the images to sell a property you are in violation of the current laws – unless you or the photographer has the actual 336 Exemption.

Incase a drone does damage to a property, the owner of the drone will be liable, but if it goes to a civil suit – they will most likely go after whoever hired the photography company. So, be aware; check if your photographer has the 333 Exemption and if your insurance policy will cover you in the event of an accident.

I found a great panorama stitching program for partial panos.

I recently found a better program for creating my partial panoramas that I use in my virtual tours – PanoramaStudio 2 Pro from tshsoft. Tobias Huellmandel, the owner/developer started in 2001 with a simple editing tool. He released the first PanoramaStudio version for Windows in 2004 and to my delight released a Mac version in August of 2011. Of course, it took me this long to realize there was a Mac version – I checked for it early last year. Huellmandal plans to launch an updated version “with a further improved image alignment algorithm and a better vignetting and lens distortion correction in the single row mode (and some other features).”

It is quite an intuitive program, which I really appreciate.

The first window opens where one can chose what kind of panorama you wish to produce.

Then one selects the photos to stitch.

Stitch It! – Actually in this program its “Align”

You will notice that it automatically corrected the light balance in the room – I just pulled these photos from iPhoto without doing any corrections.

What I really like is it that the field of view (fov) data is available for me to use when I upload to my tour platform : Tourbuzz.

From this window I pull the Horizontal (HFOV) and the Vertical (VFOV) and add it to my title. My photo title would be something like “2 Story Living Room (fov213.75×54.25)”. Tourbuzz can then translate that information to make the partial panoramic pan correctly when one views the tour.

Get that shower glass clean for photography….OK, and showing the home for sale.

Do you have soap scum on the glass in a shower? Have you had a hard time cleaning it off with various cleaners? Here is a tip on how get great results with a little elbow grease.

1. Get a package of 0000 or 00000 steel wool.

2. May sure the glass is dry.

3. Start in a corner and rub with the steel wool.

4. As the steel wool gets clogged with soap scum, unroll it to expose another section.

5. Continue until you have wiped down the whole shower.

6. Rinse, then clean using your favorite glass cleaning method.

Sparkle and Shine.

How to find accurate information when looking for a home in the Denver Area

Are you frustrated with such websites as Zillow and Trulia because the information is not accurate and up to date?

Go to the local Multiple Listing Service (mls) public website. In Denver it’s http://www.REColorado.com. You will get the most accurate and up to date information on homes that are for sale in Metro Denver area and beyond.

On the home page you can type in a neighborhood, address or mls number – click on search and voila you will get the accurate information, photos and virtual tours when available.

Note: if the listing does not currently show photos, it could be because the photos usually take a day to get on the public site. So, I recommend going back the next day to check it out.

Happy Shopping!

Preparing a home for a photo shoot

In the 7 years I have been photographing homes for sale, I have moved many trash cans, tissue boxes and numerous other items. So, with the suggestion of another photographer across the country, I put together a handout to send to home owners. Once a homeowner has this in hand, the house is usually in photo ready shape for me when I arrive.

Feel free to use my suggestions to create your own handout.

Virtual Tour of an 11,000+ Square Foot Home

Wow, this home was so much fun and a challenge to photograph in the late summer of 2010. I did have to go back the next morning to capture the sun on the front of the home and it was well worth it for the result.

Click on any of the photos to see the tour.

A Tool for Enhancing the Pole Pixie for Your Point & Shoot – The Pixie Click

If you are using a point and shoot camera on your Pole Pixie and want a great way to click off a number of pictures easily. It’s time to check out the Pixie Click http://polepixie.com/pixie-click-remote-trigger.cfm

As you may or may not know there are currently no remote radio triggers for point and shoot cameras. So, to use the Pole Pixie one has to set the timer on the camera, click the shutter release and raise the pole up and shot. Each time bringing the camera back down and setting it up again. The advantage of the Pixie Click is that allows you to shoot a whole raft of photos shifting the camera around without bringing the pole down each time. And out of all of those photos usually one will work best for your job.

Though the Pixie Click is not designed for a DSLR, I was initially hoping that I could use this new product with my DSLR, but neither of my cameras fit. And after using this device with a point and shot camera I realized the whole system would be too heavy with a DSLR camera. And it would be especially heavy with a wide angle lens attached.

So, I tried the Pixie Click with my point and shoot Nikon camera. It did take a while to set up the camera within the Pixie Click frame – which the instructions say it will. But, once I got it all set up I had a great time trying it out. The instructions are clear to understand with photos illustrating the setup. It also is definitely easier to set up the second time since all of my settings remained in place and all I had to do was attach the camera and I was ready to go.

Once I was all set up, I had a good time testing it out. Here I shot from the middle of the street. One is an example of a missed shot the other a good shot. During this round I shot about 10 photos in the matter of a minute.

I then decided I needed to go in closer to see how the house would look and again I took around 10 shots in the matter of a minute. Here are two of my results, one not so good and one good.

Then I just tried photographing down the street and this was the result.

So, if you are using your point and shoot camera for some of your exterior shots and already either have or are looking at purchasing the Pole Pixie, I recommend the additional investment in the Pixie Click to give you a full system for shooting those high shots.

Photo Tip for Shooting 16′ Above Ground with Pole Pixie

What a cool tool! I discovered this on the www.realestatephotography.com website a few weeks ago.  It’s relatively inexpensive and easy to transport. All you need is a strong extending painting pole.

It can seem a little unwieldy with the camera attached, but with a little practice it’s easy to maneuver. I think the key is to keep the bottom of the pole on the ground as you raise the camera into the air. The website www.polepixie.com has some helpful hints and lots of warnings about how to handle the whole unit so that one does not lose an expensive camera.

I have a heavy duty pole (get brand) that allows me to keep the pole pixie adapter, a tilting mount and the protective plate attached as one unit which I can just pop it off the pole and place in my car. This is great because I think it can be time consuming to realign the camera with the arrow on the bottom of the plate each time.

Once you have managed to attach everything and practice raising it in the air you can then start shooting. Unless you wish to invest in a small TV ($$) and attach it with cords to your camera, so that you can see a live feed – it’s really blind shooting. I kind of like the trial and error method using my camera’s 12 second timer. So far on the 3 properties I shot, it took me 5-10 tries to get the right angle and a focused shot. Not bad.

What a difference it made on this property. I was at the very edge of at 10+ foot drop off and well below the front door of this condo. Here is what it looked like shooting from 5’4” above ground.

Here is what it looked like from 16’ in the air.

I then used the straightening (skew) feature in Photoshop Elements to get the final angles correct.

Here’s another property that was not as dramatic, but notice how the porch looks much better as do the trees in the back of the home.

If you are shooting properties and don’t care to invest in a 15’ tripod or big rig you need to haul on a trailer hitch, I suggest trying the pole pixie and using a heavy duty paint pole that you can pop off the end.

Virtual Tours with a New Look

I have just started using a new tour company so that I can now brand the tours for my clients. Still working out some of the bugs and getting used to a new way of doing things. I thought I should post the first three here and as for some feedback on how they look and work for you. The company is working on how the stills pan in and out which I should probably be able to change within the next month. I am still working on the partial panoramics to get them to move the way I want. It’s a learning curve.

Click on the photos below to take you to the tour.

Photo Tip on Choosing a Camera for Real Estate Photography

I discovered a good blog for Real Estate photography that has been around a lot longer than I.

I am not a real techie when it comes to cameras. My Digital SLR Olympus cameras work for me. I can’t, off the top of my head tell you what lenses I use. I am visual and have to look through the lens to know if it is going to work for what I am trying to accomplish. So, if you are in need of a new camera to use for real estate photography, I suggest you go to this page: http://photographyforrealestate.net/cameras/. They also have suggestions for smaller, less expensive cameras and suggested lenses.