12 Ways to Make Your Shots Shine

How to Deliver Better Photos without Breaking the Bank

AZR January 2010

Arizona REALTOR® Archives
2003 - 2010

Arizona REALTOR® Publication Information

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Read the related story You Can Take Great Listing Photos!

Watch out for windows. Nearly everyone AAR spoke to for this article mentioned the problems posed by including windows in the shot. Either you have the camera expose for the view outside, and the room is dark. Or you expose for the inside, and the windows are blown out (too bright). Bedatsky’s advice? “Take your back, put it to the window and your room will come out much brighter, much nicer.” If you have to point towards the window, get the camera to focus on the wall and thus expose for the inside. Then head outside to get a shot of the view.

Select the first image with care. “Choosing the first photo is a huge part of the listing,” says Pellerin. “You only have that one chance to draw someone in. There has to be something that lets their imagination start ticking [so that] they can picture themselves in the home.”

Get height on the exterior shot. “When shooting exteriors, put your camera on a tripod and extend the legs to their maximum height,” suggests Smith. “Set the time delay on the camera for 5 seconds, focus the image and push the button. Then get the camera on its tripod up over your head as high as you can hold it for the shot.” It takes some practice, but you’ll have a nice view of the home and its setting.

Frame it. “Step back behind a tree and frame the picture with the tree—a few branches at the top and the trunk on the left,” suggest Pellerin. “Or find the one plant in the front yard and get it in the very edge of the photo.”

Show the details. “Real estate agents tend to shoot a room and a bed and another room and another bed,” says Bedatsky. “Instead focus on details—fixtures, crown molding, handles, trim, jetted tubs, secondary bar sinks, under-cabinet lighting, window coverings. What is left when a person moves out? Not just four empty rooms. When you have nothing left to shoot, show the details.”

Highlight the neighborhood. Take pictures of the nearby park, school, shopping area and other neighborhood amenities. “We had a listing a few years ago in Dove Mountain, and I took some photos of the golf course,” explains Smith. “That ended up attracting a buyer.”

Use the bathroom mirror. Too many bathroom shots end up showcasing the toilet. Instead, try using a tripod and natural light to shoot into the mirror without getting the bright burst from the flash. “You can capture the vanity plus what is reflected in the mirror, such as a walk-in shower or closet,” says Smith. Use the time delay on the shutter so that you can duck out of the room.

Create a twinkling pool. “If there’s no water feature that’s moving the water, I’ll get down, splash the water and quickly take a photo,” says Perina. “It makes the water twinkle.”

Old listing photos do not die. The Internet makes it possible for searchers to find photographs from previous times the home was listed. If you have great listing photographs, consider watermarking them with your name and/or website so that they keep marketing for you.

Don’t overdo it in the editing software. You should not remove any element that you could not remove in person (for example, taking out a hose is fine; taking out the fire hydrant out front or cemetery next door is not). Similarly, don’t oversaturate the colors or exaggerate the room sizes. “You want to create a realistic image of the house,” explains Smith. “You don’t want [potential buyers] to have major disappointment when they walk in the house.”

Share non-home shots too. Pellerin enjoys photographing monsoon storms and posts the results on his website. Those lightning-crackling photographs show a different side of Arizona to potential relocation clients and deliver local traffic as well.

Review what not to do. Check out www.lovelylisting.com for some of the worst listing photos around. See the monster house plant whose tentacles trail through the living room and down the hall! Marvel at the panties hanging from the curtain rod! Is that a hot tub in the living room? Awesome!

AZGRI NAR RALLiNOW