As many of you know, on March 26th we went into lock down or, “Stay Home, Stay Healthy. As a result, professional real estate photographers became a non-essential business and cannot currently photograph homes under this order. After the initial lock-down order, the governor’s office eased up on some restrictions and decided to allow brokers to show homes one person at a time and also to take photos of their own listings. Professional photography is still not allowed. In order to help my clients out at this time, I am offering editing services on any photos that a broker takes of their own listings in hopes that together we can provide photos that look as professional as possible. The cost is $3.50/photo.
Yesterday I shot a few photos with my iPhone 8 which doesn’t have the best camera but I was still able to get some decent looking photos after I edited them.
In addition to color balancing, brightening and adding more punch, I am including adding blue skies, fire in fireplaces and grass enhancement when necessary.
Please call or email if you are interested in these services and before you go shoot. These were done on a iPhone but they do require a special app to get the file type I need to work with. I use one called Halide that cost $5.99. If you have a digital SLR, a wide angle lens and a tripod, you will likely get a better result than a mobile device but it depends on your knowledge of the camera and the amount of light in the room
Basic Tips For Getting the Best Photos
Watch your verticals- make sure your photos are straight up and down. Do not shoot down at an angle. This is the most common mistake people make when shooting real estate.
Get as much light into the room as possible- open blinds, turn on lamps and over head lights. It's ideal to work with natural light as much as possible but if you don't have a tripod, you are going to need as much light as you can get so your photos aren't blurry. Avoid flash if possible.
Focus on something midway through the room.
Use a tripod if you can, but if you can't, try to set the camera on something solid so it doesn't move.
Hold the camera at waist level or just slightly above for most rooms. In kitchens you may need to hold the camera higher, you don't want to see the bottom of the kitchen cabinets. Usually a foot or so above the counter height will work.
If using an app like Halide, it's very easy to adjust the exposure in the room by moving your finger up or down on the screen. Try to get a midrange exposure for the whole room so your windows aren't completely blown out and the room is not too dark. If there is a view, make sure you have detail in the windows even if it is light. They can be darkened in post processing. If you are using a camera and don't know how to adjust manually, just do the best you can with the auto setting. If you know how to adjust manually, set your aperture between 5.6-8.0 depending on how deep the room is and how much light you have and adjust your shutter speed accordingly. Make sure your flash is off. If the shutter speed is lower than about 1/30 you should use a tripod or have the camera on a solid surface so it doesn't move.
Please call me with questions. I am happy to help walk you through this.
