Author: Claire Wright

Things to Consider in Hiring a Pro Real Estate Photographer

Being in the real estate industry can be challenging. The industry can be tough and competitive. There are quotas to reach and sales to make. Time is always of the essence and first impressions are essential.

If you’re a broker or running a real estate business, you know for a fact that pictures are your best allies. These can help you create a good impression or just help you in selling properties fast. To achieve this, you need to invest in the services of a professional real estate photographer.

Here are factors that you need to consider when looking for a photographer to help you in your real estate business:

• Experience. Look for someone who is familiar with real estate. Although different photography works are similar on most levels, there are certain things that an experienced real estate photographer knows. This includes shooting interiors and capturing the best photographs of a commercial or residential space. There are also certain editing and photography techniques that only experienced real estate photographers are familiar. With this knowledge in the industry, they are also able to deliver the kind of images that clients and buyers actually want. You’ll save more time when you hire an experienced photographer.

• Portfolio. You don’t want to miss asking for a solid portfolio from any photographer. Ask for portfolios from potential candidates to make sure that they can walk their talk. This allows you to check their work and ensure that they can produce the kind of images that you are looking for. Look for a photographer whose style matches with your business and the kind of clients that you take. A portfolio can tell you a lot about a photographer’s skills and what to expect from them. It can also help filter choices according to you project’s needs.

• Film-making skills. Make sure that you hire someone who can be flexible in doing stills and videos, especially if both are things that you need in the business. Both are usually needed in order to make listings stand out from the rest. A real estate photographer who can bounce between the two will help you in drawing in more viewers and more clients. This should be something that you need to ask upfront. This skill can cost you more but it’ll be worth it down the road.

• Pricing. This is a consideration that you wouldn’t want to miss. You wouldn’t want to spend money on work that’s subpar. Most often, than not, the cheapest photographer cannot provide you with the type of quality that you need. Do not always go for the lowest price that you get. Make sure that you invest and pay for what the image is worth. It is often the service and the output that you’re paying for when hiring a photographer. Ensure that the price is fair for both your business and the photographer.

• Turnaround time. A fast turnaround time will help you achieve your goals. Since the real estate industry is fast-paced, you need to look for a photographer who can deliver the finished photos in a timely manner. This makes sure that you can quickly post your listings and make a sale right away. A 24- to 48-hour turnaround time is usually the standard when it comes to real estate photos. Make sure that your photographer can provide you with quality photos at this set time or even earlier.

• Professionalism. Of course, you’d want to work with a professional photographer who delivers. You have to remember that the output is an extension of your name and brand. Hire a photographer who shows up on time during photo shoots and conducts themselves professionally in front of clients. Your photographer also needs to understand your business and make sure that he/she communicates this through photography. A professional photographer can be a dream to work with and this prevents any issues that you may encounter in the future.

March 8, 2019
Real Estate Tips and Tricks: How to Capture a Beautiful Shot Using Your Android Phone

Smartphone photography is becoming predominant no matter what field you are in. These pocket devices are now packed with great features that allow anyone to become photographers even without spending on expensive gears. Smartphones are now powerful enough to take amazing photos. These can even be used in real estate photography.

The real estate industry is big on photography. Photos and videos are used for sales and marketing. If you’re in real estate and you want to sell properties effectively, you need to have great photos on your listings. Instead of investing in expensive photography gear or paying someone else for photos, you can use your own smartphone to take photos. You just need to know the tips and tricks to hack your Android phone for real estate photography.

Basics of photography

Make sure that you are familiar with the basic photography first. This will be your guide to taking strong images for real estate. No matter what kind of gear you’re using, the rules of photography are pretty much the same.

Here are some basics that you need to be familiar with when shooting with a mobile phone:

Lighting. No matter what your subject is when you’re shooting, it’s best to shoot with a good lighting situation. This can be especially beneficial when you’re shooting an interior in a project. Make sure that you shoot when there is light so you wouldn’t have to go through the pains of editing the photo. Shoot in the early morning or late afternoon when the natural light is diffused and soft. If you’re taking a photo of a room, ensure that the blinds and curtains are open and all the lights are turned on.

Strong subject. You need to make sure that your subject or main focus stands out in the photo. It needs to be the most pronounced in your image. Viewers should be able to tell what your subject is. In case of real estate images, capture as much as you can of the room.

Composition. How you compose your image will make or break you. Knowing the basic composition techniques will help you up your game and improve your overall photography. No matter what gear you’re using, if you don’t know how to compose your photo, then you wouldn’t get the results that you want. The most common technique is the rule of thirds. This is where you will divide the frame into nine rectangles and place the most important element along where the lines intersect. Putting your subject off center will create a more interesting composition. Other composition strategies are symmetry, leading lines, frame within a frame, and diagonals and triangles among many others. With composition, you have to train your eye to look at the scene from a different perspective and find out what makes it interesting.

Apps for real estate photography

If you’re shooting with an Android phone, there are a few apps that can help you up your game and improve your photos. Just having a few reliable apps under your sleeves can help you in taking better images and help you in editing your photos afterward.

1. Snapseed. This software is made by Google’s subsidiary. Snapseed can be a great starter editing app for those who are new to photography and post-processing. Its user interface is simple. It has the basic editing features, such as rotate, crop, brush, white balance, rotate, text, select, transform, and curve. You can easily make adjustments and edit your photo to make it look even better.

2. Diptic. When you need to create collages for a listing, you can use Diptic. This app has an easy-to-use design so you can quickly create a collage of the photos you’ve taken. It has 179 different layouts and filters that you can use in editing your work. Just select the layout that you prefer and add the photographs that you want to use. You can use Diptic collages in creating before and after images of a property or make a collage for a presentation.

3. 360 Panorama. This app is a favorite among many smartphone photographers. It provides you with creative features to create more interesting photos. You can use the app in photographing panoramic sceneries. Apply this in real estate by capturing the exterior of the property to show the curb appeal. You can also use this app to capture the entire room.

4. LightTrac. Because lighting is essential in real estate photography, you need to know where the sun is when you’re out for a shoot. This app is helpful when you need to take outdoor photos. To use the app, just put your location information and the app will calculate the position of the sun based on your location. LightTrac will also give you information regarding the moonrise, sunrise, and sunset.

Tips for using a smartphone

Once you know the basics of photography and have downloaded the needed apps in improving your images, make sure that you keep practicing to improve your photos.

Here are other tips that you could use when photographing with your Android phone:

a) Take multiple images. Even professional photographers don’t get the best image with their first shot. Take multiple photos of your intended subject and never settle for the first photo. You might get the best photo on your fourth try.

b) Try various angles. Whatever you’re photographing, experiment with different angles to find one that’s most appealing. If you’re shooting a room, try shooting from all four corners with a high angle.

c) Edit your work. The above-mentioned apps will help you in editing your work. Apply filters and editing features effectively to create better images. However, it’s best to not over-edit. Make sure that everything still looks realistic instead of over-processed.

March 8, 2019
How to Buy and Save Money on Your First Home Plus Top 12 Good Read Articles
Buying a home is one of your biggest financial decisions as an adult. This is probably among the major decisions that anyone can make no matter what your status is. If this will be your first home, you need to be smart about it and make sure that doing so won’t burn a hole in your pocket. There will be quite a lot of considerations that you have to take, as well

Find a suitable location.

Your location is an important factor that you need to choose before you finally purchase a home. Your location will affect the price of the home. Properties in big cities like Los Angeles and New York are pretty pricey. But when you go a few minutes out of the city, you can find more affordable homes. Just keep in mind that each location has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. In addition to that, you need to find one where you can see yourself living for a long time. Do you want to live near your workplace? Are you looking for a house that’s close to a good school district? You need to think hard about this as you’d want to live and keep the home for not less than seven years at least. You’ll be spending thousands of dollars on a home and getting out of it will be just as costly.

Set a budget.

Find out how much you are able to afford. Make sure that you know the price range of the homes in your location of choice. This will vary depending on the size of the house and the type of property. Check with different property listings online so you are able to have a glimpse of the cost of different homes. Setting a budget for your home will also guide you on what you can and cannot afford. You have to be realistic about your budget and your income. You wouldn’t want to put all your money in your home. Make sure that you set a reasonable amount for a house that you’ll live in a good number of years.

Save for a downpayment and boost your credit score.

Once you’ve identified how much you’re able to afford, work your way into saving for down payment and improving your credit score. Many younger buyers are often plagued with credit score problems. Make sure that you boost your credit ratings while you are saving for a big down payment on your dream home. Your score will affect your mortgage. A bigger credit score will ensure that you get the best interest rates, as well. Set aside enough money for your home’s down payment. Ensuring that you can provide at least 20% of the home price as down payment will also give you better mortgage terms.

Shop for a loan.

Take the time to look around for a good home loan. You need to check the different financing options that are available to you as a first-time buyer. Check rates from different lenders so you can get the best rates. Look for the best loan type with the best payment options. Most home buyers go for the typical 30-year loan. But, there are different mortgages that you can check if you want to pay off the house faster and save on interest.

Negotiate.

Negotiation can make a difference when you’re buying a home for the first time. Being comfortable and good at negotiations will help you save big on this major purchase. Your goal is to agree with a seller on a good price. Make sure that you don’t offer a really low price as this can offend the seller. Another option is to ask your lender to cover the closing fees of your purchase so you can save a couple of hundred dollars.

Top 12 Good Read Articles to Read Before Buying Your First Home:

In random order:
1. 5 Steps to Buying a Home That Won’t Bust Your Budget by Dave Ramsey | Post Link
2. 8 Financial Tips for Buying Your First Home by Kumiko | Post Link
3. How Much Should I Save For a Down Payment? by Brian O’Connell | Post Link
4. How to Buy a House with Bad Credit in 6 Steps by thelendersnetwork.com | Post Link
5. Home Loan Tips for First-Time Home Buyers by creditrepair.com | Post Link
6. Negotiations You Might Have to Make When Buying a House by Courtney Price Davis | Post Link
7. 10 Negotiation tips for buyers by Glenn and Ben Gohlke | Post Link
8. Tips for First-Time Home Buyers Nerdwallet| Post Link
9. First-time Homebuyer Trend for 2018: Advice for Savvy Families by hometrek.org | Post Link
10. Top 10 Things First-Time Home Buyers Should Know in 2018 by Brandon Cornett | Post Link
11. 25 Tips for First-Time Home Buyers by Emily Starbuck Crone | Post Link
12. How To Buy Your First Home: A No Nonsense Step-by-Step Guide by Jon Gorey | Post Link
March 8, 2019
What is the Best Lens to Use for Real Estate Photography?

When it comes to real estate photography, having the right gears make a huge difference in the quality of output that you deliver. The right camera and the right lenses, along with other accessories, are necessary tools to help you get started in the industry. Altogether, they create the perfect image with the quality that your clients would want.

Of course, post-processing is a different story. But, having the right tools will allow you to venture into this industry.

Cover the bases

Make sure that you got the bases covered. You can start off with real estate photography even at the lowest possible cost. Get an affordable DSLR or mirrorless camera that allows you to change lenses and manually control settings. Don’t ever toy around with the idea of using a point-and-shoot camera. This is your primary gear and you need to invest a little bit on a good performing camera body.

Aside from the camera, you would need at least one flash. Lighting is of utmost importance in real estate photography. Dark interiors are usually the main concerns for real estate photo shoots. You cannot afford not having a flash when doing interior shots. Eventually, you might need more flashes and even continuous light sources especially when you’re dealing with bigger spaces.

A sturdy tripod will be your best friend during your photo shoots. Make sure that it is able to carry the weight of your camera body, lens, and flash. Those with bubble levels will even be more useful to you as you try to level and adjust every shot that you take.

Best lenses for real estate photography

Another gear that you need to invest in is your lens. The best optics often deliver the best images. This is what you need in order to get satisfied clients. Although you can work with just one camera lens, it would be best to have different lenses depending on the location of your shoot.

Here are some of the lenses that you will need when starting out in real estate photography:

• Kit lens. Most DSLRs come with a kit lens when purchased. Although this is not wide enough for interiors, you can use this in shooting exteriors. This can be a handy extra lens whenever you need to shoot some details on a property or in an interior.

• Wide-angle lens. The wide-angle lens that you’ll need will depend on the kind of camera body that you have. Make sure that you know your camera well enough. If you have a cropped camera body, then Nikon’s 12-24mm or Canon’s 10-22mm will do the trick. Tamron’s 10-24mm and Tokina’s 12-28mm are also great options if you are on a budget. For those with full-frame bodies, the Nikon 16-35mm and the Canon 16-35mm lenses are great options. Other alternatives are the Tokina 17-35mm and Tamron’s 15-30mm lenses.If you have a mirrorless camera, the Fujifilm XF 10-24mm lens and the Olympus 7-14mm work. An inexpensive option is the Rokinon 12mm lens. It’s best to keep in mind though that you don’t have to go super wide. This can also affect the image and you might end up with distorted photos. Your foreground will unrealistically dominate your image and your background might disappear in a distance. It still boils down to taste and how realistic the image looks like.

• Tilt-shift lens. This special lens can be an exciting gear to play around with. It creates a different miniature look to your subjects. The tilt-shift lens can be used in different types of photography. You can use it for portraits, wedding, and cityscapes. For real estate photography, you can use a tilt-shift lens for creating creative compositions. This also keeps verticals straight, which is very important in real estate photography. This can be done in properties with tall ceilings or when you’re photographing the exterior of a home. Canon and Nikon have their respective tilt-shift lenses. Canon has the 17mm and the 24mm tilt-shift lenses while Nikon has the 19mm and 24mm lenses. An inexpensive alternative is Rokinon’s 24mm tilt-shift lens.

Once you have all the necessary tools in starting real estate photography, the next challenge would be mastering all of your equipment. It will definitely take a lot of practice and experiment in order to get used to this industry. But, it’s going to be worth it once you achieve the results that you want.

March 8, 2019
What Do You Need for Real Estate Photography?

Getting started with real estate photography can be challenging for a newbie photographer. The industry can be competitive and there’s a huge pressure in selling properties real fast through amazing photos. However, there are a lot of opportunities with being a real estate photographer. It always pays to be knowledgeable in this industry in order to book clients who are willing and able to pay for your services.

What is real estate photography?

Before you get started, you have to know first what this type of photography is and how it works.
Real estate photography is a kind of photography that deals with architecture, be it residential or commercial. This also covers both interior and exterior shots of the properties. Most often, these photos are used for listings or for marketing purposes.

You also need to understand the difference between different types of architectural photography so that you are able to identify the needed styles and methods to use in order to achieve a certain look.

Components of good real estate photography

There are various parts that all contribute to making an amazing property photo. All these aspects are necessary in order to orchestrate and be able to produce images that the clients actually want. These photos will help in selling properties:

1. The right gear. Having the needed equipment will help you get started with the industry. You need to have at least the basic gears covered. These are a DSLR or a manual digital camera of your choice, a wide angle lens, a remote shutter, and a tripod with a leveler. Other accessories that you might need during a shoot are extra batteries and memory cards.

2. Lighting. Having the best light during a photo shoot will make a difference in how your photos will turn out. Soft and natural light is always best. However, you don’t always get that kind of set up every time. You need to learn how to adjust with the setting and use flash or continuous lighting in order to illuminate the dark areas in your image.

3. Aperture and shutter speed. Just like lighting, you need to have your aperture and shutter speed adjusted depending on the kind of setting that you have. Larger apertures are perfect for focusing on interesting features

4. Proper staging. Real estate photography also needs to be orchestrated in order to achieve the perfect image. Instead of directing, you stage the interiors and make the space look more appealing. You can plump the cushion or arrange the pieces of furniture inside. You can also encourage the clients to stage the property before you come in.

5. Creative angle. When shooting objects or architecture, taking the photo straight on won’t work. Oftentimes, you need to take a different look at the space, especially when the shape or layout is unusual. A 45-degree angle is typically one of the secrets to taking flattering images.

6. Editing. Lastly, post-production of your images allows you to remove unwanted objects and adjust the lighting and color. This ensures that the images are at its best and that you are able the deliver images that sell the property right away.

Basics of photography

Aside from setting up the elements that make up a good real estate image, it still boils down to understanding the best practices and the basics of photography.

Setting the camera correctly. Choose the correct settings every time you have a shoot. To do so, you need to consider the location and the lighting. Set the file numbering and the photo quality accordingly. You may want to set your camera in stills only live view. Set it in manual mode so you are able to control its shutter speed and aperture.

Understand the basics of real estate photography. When doing a shoot, it is essential to prep the property. You might need to turn on all the lights or clean out the spaces from personal belongings. Staging is important in order to set a look that you want.

Know what your clients’ want. It is important to understand the goals of your clients before every shoot. Although you want to follow the set rules of, you need to follow the taste and preferences of your clients. You have to deliver the kind of images that they want. However, you might also want to explain to them what makes a better photo. Another thing is that you also need to ask for their inputs about which parts of the property they want to highlight.

March 8, 2019
How to Edit RAW Real Estate Photographs Using Lightroom

Understanding the editing process is necessary for every photographer, especially if you’re in the business of real estate. You need to know the methods of post-processing so you are familiar with the necessary steps that you have to take in order to achieve the output that you need. From the photo shoot down to the post-processing, a professional photographer should know the methods involved in order to produce quality photos that will sell properties right away.

Shooting RAW

For photographers, shooting RAW is a must. Unlike JPEG, the RAW file format captures all the image data that can be captured by the sensor. JPEG, on the other hand, has compressed information. With RAW, you are able to correct problems that you potentially could not with JPEG and create high-quality images.

In shooting real estate RAW, you get to record higher levels of brightness which can be necessary for interiors. It is easy to correct exposures, which will be done through Adobe Lightroom. You can also do non-destructive editing with RAW which allows you to adjust without affecting the original data.

There are a ton of benefits to shooting RAW and it’s always the pro-choice whenever you’re out for a shoot.

Editing Exteriors on Adobe Lightroom

Once you have your photos shot on RAW, you need to go over them for retouching so these are ready for client’s use. When editing, Adobe Lightroom is often the most trusted software. It allows you to make adjustments and apply color presets on your images.

Adjust the exposure. Check the exposure of your photos. If it’s underexposed, try to recover the exposure by dragging the exposure bar. Adjust the exposure accordingly depending on what the image needs. You can also adjust the contrast in order to add a little punch to your image.

Change the highlights and shadows. Move the highlights bar to the left in order to remove the hotspots in exposure. If there are dark areas in the photo, up the shadows bar in order bring in the details to the photo. Ensure that you fine-tune the highlights and shadows as you seem fit.

Set the whites and blacks. Hold the Alt key on Windows or the Option key on Mac while dragging the Whites slider to the right in order to expand the brightest whites. The screen will turn black and you will have to continue dragging until you see dots of whites. Hold down the same key for the Blacks slider while you’re dragging it. This turns the screen white. Continue dragging the slider to the left until the black areas in the photo start to appear. This adds a punch back to the image.

Move the clarity. Add a little bit of clarity to the image by moving the clarity slider. This adds a little blow to the mid-range tones without affecting the highlights and shadows.

Adjust the temperature. Once you have a good overall exposure on your photo, check the temperature of your photo. If you think adding a cool tone to the image is important, drag the temperature slider to the left until you’re satisfied.

De-saturate the correct colors. Scroll down to the HSL/Color/B&W tab and click on the saturation option. To choose a specific color that you want to de-saturate or over-saturate without affecting the rest of the image, click on the small clicker box, pick the area that you want to de-saturate and drag the mouse down.

Define your skies. If your image is shot outdoors and you have a washed out sky, what you can do is click on Luminance and drag the Blue slider to the left in order to bring the color out.

Control the detail. Adjust the amount of sharpening by moving the sliders around. Add a little bit of radius just to put in some details on the photo. With masking, hold the Alt or the Option key down while dragging the slider to the right. This adds a little sharpening to the image.

Do a little noise reduction. If you’ve upped the shadows, you may need to increase the luminance a little bit. This removes the grain that your image has from sharpening.

Click on the lens correction. On the Lightroom, there are options for lens correction. Tick all the options or boxes under lens correction and click vertical adjustments. The boxes are: enable profile correction, remove chromatic aberrations, and constraint crop. This adjusts your image immediately. You can readjust the vertical corrections by increasing the vertical correction to bring out the edges of the building or home. Check the verticals to ensure that they are aligned properly.

Editing Interiors on Adobe Lightroom

Editing interior photos can be quite different from editing exterior shots. Often, you get slightly underexposed images because you’re working indoors.

Adjust exposure. With these shots, adjust the exposure slider to the right and add a little contrast to the image by dragging the slider to the right. Adjust depending on the needs of your image.

Modify the highlights and shadows. Since you have light coming from the windows, you may want to pull down the highlights a bit to the left. Bring up the shadows bar in order to level out the darker areas of the photos.
Raise the whites and blacks. Hold down the Alt key if you’re on Windows or the Option key if you’re on Mac, and drag the Whites slider to the right until you see specs of white on the black screen. For your blacks, hold the same keys and drag the slider to the left until you see a couple of specs of black show up.

Adjust the warmth of your photo. If your photo looks too warm, move the temperature slider to the left to make it a tad bit cooler. Adjust this depending on your preference. You can also adjust the tint as to the left as needed to remove the magenta tint to the image.

Move the clarity, vibrance, and saturation. Add a little clarity to your photo by moving the slider to the right. You can opt to bring up the vibrance more in order to bring more color to the photo. Increasing the saturation will also bring the color to the greens and the oranges to your interior photos.

Play with the tone curve. If your image looks a little bit flat, bring the medium tone curve into your photo to see what it does. Usually doing so adds a punch back to your photos.

De-saturate some of the colors. This step will depend on your personal taste. However, desaturating the oranges and yellows will add a bit of a cool tone to the photo.

Adjust the sharpening and noise reduction. Move the sharpening amount slider depending on your preference and adjust the masking accordingly. Set the noise reduction depending on how far you dragged up your shadows to get your image sharp.

Lens correction. The last step is to tick all the options under lens correction and click the vertical correction button. This aligns the edges properly and automatically.

Author:
Claire Wright, a savvy tech nerd and self-taught photographer who lives in Seattle and working at one of the best real estate photography companies called HD Estates.

March 8, 2019