How Far Will You Go For The Perfect Listing Picture?
When it comes to the adage “a picture’s worth a thousand words,” Luxury Home Experts change it to “a picture can be worth a million words.”
When presenting a luxury listing, you want more than one picture. You also want the right photos, shot in the right way, by the right person: an experienced pro who knows how to photograph high-end properties. With more and more people starting their search on the internet, your photos must be flawless.
Don’t Skimp on Photography.
Don’t spare the expense; hire the best real estate professional photographer in your area. Here’s why:
Potential buyers will often eliminate your listing from consideration immediately, based on poor photography. If you have to skimp on marketing your listing, professional photography is not the place to do it.
You will not get results if you shoot photos with an ordinary point-and-shoot camera. However, some agents still use such photos. An inferior camera will give you pictures of dark rooms with big blinding spots where the windows are. This is not acceptable. For the absolute best effects, hire someone who knows how to operate a sophisticated camera with a wide-angle lens and high resolution, and one who especially understands the dynamics of light.
A professional photographer (and sometimes a talented agent) can work a camera so you not only see a room’s interior, but also the scene outside the window. That requires equalizing the interior and exterior light with a manually operated camera and usually one or more external flashes. You simply can’t do that with your automated point-and-shoot camera.
Another process that allows for fantastic depiction of a room and the exterior views is High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. This method can eliminate the need for a high-powered flash to light up a large room. The photographer takes up to nine photos of the same shot, each at a different shutter speed. This is also referred to as bracketing. Many high-end cameras are programmed to take the nine shots automatically.
Once the photos are downloaded to a computer, the best elements of the nine photos will create one perfect shot for each scene. This method is a little labor-intensive and requires a professional but, the results are stunning.
Take Photos at Optimum Times.
It’s usually impossible to photograph a whole house in one “sitting” because the sun lies in different positions in the sky at certain times of the day. You never want the sun shining at the camera when shooting. The photographer (either you or a professional photographer) should look around the property and come up with a photo plan that answers the question, “At what time do I need to come here to photograph which side?” It might be necessary to shoot the front elevation in the morning and the back in the afternoon.
A good photo plan also includes knowing the best time of the day and season of the year for shooting quality photographs. In our Cape Cod market, we have a difficult time taking exterior photos in the autumn. As we get into the early fall months of September and October—no matter what time of day—we can never get a good shot of houses, especially if trees are present. The front exteriors of the homes always look dark because the sun is low and the shadows are long.
On the other hand, if your yard has no trees, wonderful shots are possible in autumn because the light is a golden hue and the sky a vivid blue. In your area, fall might be the best season for shooting. Be aware and act accordingly.
I do take some of my own photos, especially exteriors. Many professionals are daring but I will take the door off of a helicopter and hang out, set up scaffolding and ladders in the ocean or rent a bucket lift as shown in my video blog this month. It is windy along the ocean and very exciting to be thirty feet in the air in the teeth of a sea breeze. Note: This is best done before lunch!
I would love to hear of any photo adventures you have had to get the perfect shot of a luxury listing.
Please share them in the comments!
2 Comments
Judy Medeiros
04/03/2012Jack,
I enjoy reading your blog as well as your books. I am breaking into the luxury market in Westchester and Dutchess counties in New York. I come from the Madison Avenue world and know oh so well what a photograph can do.
In the past I owned the most upscale bed and breakfast on the east coast. Great photography, direct mail, PR and promotion allowed me to have a very profitable business. I have hired a photographer to go up in a small plane to photograph my property. Did not like the job she did. Did not use her photos. Hired another photographer who happened to be a pilot as well. He did a brilliant job.
Paid twice, worth every penny.
I would do the same thing for a listing without even thinking twice. It is amazing that sellers don’t realize their properties require professional photos and neither do most realtors. Even for multi million dollar listings.
Hope to meet you one day.
Judy Medeiros
Jack Cotton
04/03/2012Thanks Judy,
I appreciate your comments. I am ok with shooting for a plane for context but prefer the bucket for getting just the right elevation. If you get my book, it comes wiht a complementary phone consultation. in any event, stay in touch and all best.