Q&A from a Professional
Photographer
Now - instead of me
writing endless copy (which, most of you know that I love to do!), I thought
I'd do a Q&A with Natasha on how to circumvent the most common problems
that sellers and realtors face when taking photos.
Light Issues
What do most bad real estate photos have in common?
Lighting is often the
biggest issue when taking interior pictures. Most of the time the room will
look really bright and washed out followed by a series of dark shadows.
Sometimes those shadows hide important detail or space that is important to
showcase the home at its best!
Can you talk about improving the light in a photo?
You can improve lighting
in a room by turning on all the lights in the room. Open all the blinds and
pull back curtains to allow the most amount of natural light as possible. The
window itself will look washed out, but it should provide the best lighting
situation for the interior.
Flash on or off?
To flash or not to flash!
This is the big question, isn't it? Your best bet is to do BOTH! Having options
when you get back to the office is always smart. So try taking pictures with
and without the flash.
However, when you are
taking pictures indoors WITHOUT the flash, it would be a good idea to use a
tripod. They make several small tripods for point and shoot cameras these days,
some that can even sit on furniture. If a tripod is not an option or you're
stuck without one, then sit the camera on a flat, sturdy surface (desk,
counter, dresser), keeping the camera as steady as possible, press the button.
Wide Angle Issues
For realtors, it's important to get as much
information in a room about a photo - but the result is often distorted. Can you give some reasons why this happens
and how they can improve these shots?
Point-and-shoot cameras
are wide angle lenses, which is optimal when taking interior photographs. But
the camera is not the issue here, you are! Don't worry, I'm going to tell you
how to fix it. Take several steps backwards. Still have more room behind you?
Take more steps backwards until you back into a wall! By doing this you are
capturing the most amount space in the room on the camera. If it still looks
distorted, then the room is too small for the camera. The only other option you
have is to invest in a very expensive camera with a super-wide angle! e
Can you talk about some of the other things that
you do as a professional photographer - that go beyond the reach of the good
but amateur photographer - that help real estate photos?
One of the biggest no-nos
I see in a lot of photography, not just real estate, but general portrait
photographs too, is when people place the object or subject in the middle of
the picture, leaving too much space above or below. When looking through the
lens, glance at all four corners of the viewer to make sure you aren't cutting
off doors or floors. In real estate photography, always try to include the
floor, wall and ceiling of a room, and if you have to cut something off due to
lack of space, point the lens down and cut off the ceiling.
If you would like to
contact Natasha, here is her information:
Natasha Beccaria
Photography
Sayville, New York
NatashaBeccaria.com
(631) 965-6671
[email protected]
On another note - I just
signed up for a service that will improve your digital images for a very small
fee. I have a million older pictures
from past clients that I needed some help with, so I decided to give it a
try. So far, two pictures came back much
improved (they were able to fix some glare on walls that I couldn't get rid of
otherwise). MegaFixels
