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Read the related story 12 Ways to Make Your Shots Shine
With today’s homebuyers starting their search online, the importance of curb appeal has been trumped by the importance of pixel appeal. If you’ve wondered why you should spend the extra time, effort and money on better listing photos, here are four reasons:
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Attract more buyers. Great photographs may not sell the house, but they do attract more potential buyers. “They’re looking at 500, 600, 700 images until one catches their eye, then they stop and look at the details,” says Dave Smith who manages photography and website operations for his wife, Barbara Lasky, an agent at Long Realty Co. in Marana. “This is a buyer’s first point of contact and makes the biggest impression.”
Impress your listing clients. Matthew Bedatsky, a professional real estate photographer and video tour creator in Flagstaff, often hears from home sellers frustrated with the poor quality of photos offered by their agents. When you market your listings with attractive photographs, when you sell the $200,000 properties like they’re million dollar homes, your clients remember it.
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Wow your buyers. If a client (or even a serious Internet lead) expresses interest in a listing that has little to no photography, offer to photograph the home for them. “Say, ‘Gosh, that listing only has 4 photographs, but I see that you’re really interested. Would you like me to get more photos for you?’” advises Matthew Pellerin with Realty Executives in Phoenix.
Market your business. Quality photography isn’t just a service you offer current clients. It can be an important part of your marketing strategy. “The first batch of flyers goes to all the neighbors, which is a lot of free advertising,” says Lasky. Potential sellers in the area also see your listings online as they scout the market. As Pellerin notes, “You never know what client is around the corner looking at your work.”
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PHOTOS: View great listing photo samples from the pros quoted in this article here.
Easy Ways to Improve Your Photographs
You don’t have to become a professional photographer to improve your real estate photos. In fact, you don’t even have to invest in costly equipment or software. Here are some easy-to-follow tips for perking up your photographs today:
Stage the home. Just as we dress up before a professional photograph, the home should look its very best for the shoot. “If it’s occupied, have the owners leave and rearrange things,” suggests Smith. “We’ll spend hours at a listing getting things off the fridge, off the counters, moving furniture.” Kim Perina, a real estate photographer in Scottsdale, has developed a list of things homeowners or agents can do to prepare the home, including hiding dog bowls, sweeping patios and trimming shrubs near the door.
Light it up. Before taking a shot, turn on all of the lights and lamps in the home, recommends Perina. You’re aiming for a warm, inviting glow. Take pictures with your back to the light sources. To avoid unpleasant shadows, try not to use the camera’s built-in flash. “Shoot with a tripod,” suggests Smith. “Even with a point-and-shoot, you can slow that shutter way down on a tripod and pull in the natural light.”
Smith recommends paying attention to lighting at different times of day as well as the direction the home faces. The kitchen may be bright in the morning, but dark in the afternoon. The sky may show up white behind the house at mid-day but brilliantly blue a few hours later. Generally speaking, early morning and late afternoon light are considered the best times to take pictures.
Try a new angle. Don’t just walk through the house and shoot all of the photographs from a standing position. Kneel down, sit down or (carefully) climb on a counter. Generally, a lower vantage point is better inside. Outside, you’ll want to get the camera up higher and put the house slightly off center in the image to show depth. “Everyone’s tired of that image that looks like it was taken from the car,” says Pellerin. Whether you’re snapping from up high or down low, be sure to keep the camera level or the lines in the image will not be straight, warns Perina.
Take a lot of pictures, then edit. You’re not paying for film, so shoot generously. Try out different settings on your camera from the same vantage point. Snap a room from each corner. Play around until you get the shot you want. Smith and Lasky generally take between 200 and 300 images at a home. From there, pare it down to the very best. Perina recommends 10 to 15 shots for a smaller house, 20 to 30 for a bigger one. At a minimum, you’ll want a shot of every room plus the front and backyard.
Calling in a Professional
Not everyone has the artistic eye, interest or time to take good photographs, upload them and run them through editing software. In that case, it may be time to call in a professional—or even a talented amateur. To find a quality photographer, look at portfolios online, ask other agents you know and scout great images on the MLS.
Don’t assume that a low listing price means the house doesn’t merit a professional. “Sometimes the cheaper houses are the ones that really warrant photography,” says Bedatsky. Prices and packages can vary significantly, from $50 for a “foreclosure special” with 10 basic photographs to several hundred for a detailed shoot. Some photographers also offer virtual tours for an additional fee. “Ask your local provider for multiple package deals or foreclosure packages,” Bedatsky recommends. “We have one we call the seller appeasement package.”
Equipment You’ll Need
CAMERA
A simple point-and-shoot digital camera can do just about everything you need for listing photos, especially if you find one with a wider angle lens than the average camera. Prices average $200-400, depending on the features you want. Agents passionate about photography and eager to experiment are happier with a “pro-sumer” level digital SLR. Smith shoots with a Nikon D300, Lasky uses a Nikon D40 and Pellerin prefers his Canon 10D. There are several DSLR versions under $1,000. Consider buying a used camera to save more.
LENSES
The lens that came with your camera is sufficient for most things. If you want to invest in an additional lens for real estate shots, make it a wide angle lens. It will allow you to capture more room in the same shot—just be especially careful to keep the camera level to avoid distortion. Lasky and Smith shoot their listings together. He uses a wide angle lens (10-24) and focuses on exteriors, landscaping and smaller rooms. She shoots with a standard 18-55 lens and concentrates on the architectural details of the home.
LIGHTING
Forget lugging around extra lights and umbrellas. Bring a tripod instead and use natural light to get the shots. When that won’t cut it, use the flash on your camera and soften the effects during the editing process. “I don’t bring any lights, just a large attachment flash in addition to the one on the camera,” says Pellerin. “I use what’s available to me in the client’s home, moving lamps to the left and right behind my camera.”
SOFTWARE
Don’t skip this step. To make your photos pop, you need to optimize them with photo-editing software. You can invest in software, such as Photoshop Elements (under $100), or use one of the free online editors (Aviary.com or Picnik.com, to name just two). With these programs, you’ll be able to resize your photos for print (300 DPI or higher) or Web (small file size for fast loading), crop as needed and adjust brightness, contrast and color. To see before-and-after shots, visit Smith's website, www.ReImagingLab.com, which also includes phootgraphy tips.
OTHER
An inexpensive tripod or monopod (less than $30) opens up the world of natural light photography for point-and-shoot or DSLR cameras. A high-capacity memory card (such as 8G) can be yours for less than $20, allowing you to take loads of high-resolution photos in one go.
“I really think that with Photoshop Elements, a pocket camera and an imagination, you can do wonders,” says Pellerin.
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