We all know that there are some terrible real estate photographs out there. It’s been noted in many posts throughout the internet. What I want to focus on is how an agent can improve their photographs.
I see three levels of possible improvement:
- Basic Techniques
- Intermediate Techniques
- Just Hire a Professional
1. Basic techniques include putting your camera on a tripod. Not only does this keep the camera steady so you can use longer exposures (and not use flash), but it slows you down so you can look more closely at what you are taking a picture of and ask yourself if it’s the best shot.
Almost as important is using a basic leveling device. I use the sliding part of a combination square that includes a level. It has the ability to level the camera horizontally as well as vertically. Leveling your camera keeps all the lines in the picture straight up-and-down and improves the perspective of the image.
2. Intermediate techniques would include moving up to a Digital SLR (DSLR) with a wider range of lenses. Small point-and-shoot cameras have a max wide angle at about 22-30 mm. This isn’t enough to get decent shots of small spaces like bathrooms. Most DSLR models have an imaging sensor that is smaller than a standard 35mm film frame. Because of this a lens made for 35mm film won’t give the same angle-of-view on most DSLR’s. There are many lenses now made for the small format sensors so be sure you know what you have and what you are buying.
After a DSLR would be off-camera flashes. You could get one or multiple and position them around the room to better illuminate the space.
Then there is always software. Taking multiple exposures and merging them together in a photo-editing package can produce some truly nice results.
3. Just hire a professional. This is where I come in. I bring the first two levels and then some to the table. I throw in powerful studio-flash units when needed, light modification devices and advanced Photoshop techniques. Of course I have a full-frame DSLR and special lenses that can shift the image in my camera up or down depending on the situation. This is especially handy for exteriors of tall buildings or getting interesting down-angles in a room without having to compromise the vertical lines in the image.
The first level is very cheap and easy to attain and anyone can do that. The second level takes a little more cash and does have a steeper learning curve. The third level is going to be more expensive, but you can focus on selling rather than photography.
Scott Chytil http://www.chytilphoto.com
