Photo Tip – Take Those Magnets and Pictures Off the Fridge

Lots of clutter in a room can distract the viewer of your real estate pictures. One place that seems to get very cluttered in many homes – which we seem to miss – is the front and side of the refrigerator.  I recommend taking the time to remove anything on the fridge that will be in your pictures. Look at the difference.

 

 This photo was on the mls…what a beautiful kitchen other than that very clutter fridge.

 I also almost always remove the paper towel holder and the soap dispensers that are on the kitchen counter. Those items are fine when showing the home, but can sometimes really clutter the photograph.

Photo Tip – Lightening Shadows and Darkening Highlights Can Improve a Photo

When you are out photographing a home usually one side of the home has more sunlight on it than does another side. We try to take the front photos when the sun is on them, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. Here in Colorado the clouds tend to move in sometime in the afternoon. So, I usually schedule to photograph in the mornings.

You can easily use Photoshop Elements (I currently use version 7) to lighten the shadow areas and darken some of the highlight areas. Which helps me go from this:

 to this:

Photo Tip – What’s in a Lens?

I find that it is important to have a good quality lens for shooting real estate photography. The number of mega pixels is not as important when doing photos for the web (including virtual tours). More mega pixels are only important if you are going to be doing large photographic prints.

That said, I want show you what different lens do for a still shot. I am going to show you a sample of the same shot, from the same location in a room with three different lens.

This first shot is using a good quality point and shot camera at the widest setting:

Photo Tip – Photographing the Front of a Home

Monday I had a 2 hour window of opportunity to do a photoshoot and while doing it I was thinking about the front door shot of a home.

The front door is the entry to the home so, when photographing the front of the home do include the front door. Try to diminish the presence of the garage door, if at all possible. Just a slight adjustment in location can make a much better front photo.

 From this straight on view to…

 This view not only gives a bit more dimension to the photo, it does make the garage door less important and the front door more important.

Should you need a professional to photograph your properties check out my website www.grapeimaging.com

Photo Tip – Sometimes… the time of day does matter

Recently I was asked to do a Spring reshoot of my winter shots. A great idea, however, the homeowner wanted me there around 6:30 a.m. because they said the light is so great at that hour. The mountain views are great at that time of day. What I learned is; that it may be a great time to sit on your deck with coffee in hand and watch the light change. But, it is really not a great time for real estate photography. Here is what the mountains looked like (and this is after I tweaked the photos in Photoshop Elements 7.0). The shadows are very dark and the sky to the West is not very blue (Colorado blue) at that hour of the morning.

Photo Tip – Some Real Estate Photography Don’ts

The purpose of pictures of real estate for sale is to show off the space that is being sold. So, I suggest you avoid some of these poor photos that actually appeared in listings:

 

  

The above left image only tells us that there are beautiful hardwood floors in one room.  The other shows a nice curving staircase, but we don’t know how it relates to the rest of the space in the home.

 The photo on the left might work as an artful images, but does not reveal the room.  As for the picture on the right, what can I say?

Should you need a professional to photograph your properties check out my website www.grapeimaging.com

Photo Tip – Photograph on a Sunny Day if Possible

In Colorado we have so much sun that it is best to photograph on a sunny day. Even though the photo on the lower left does not look bad, the one on the right looks so much better.

Of course, this time of year if your properties are still on the market from winter, it’s time to go back and reshoot the outside shots. Especially, now while it is so very green.

Should you need a professional to photograph your properties check out my website www.grapeimaging.com