FSBO (DYI) Photography

I received a few emails about photography from owners who want to try it for themselves rather than using a pro photographer. So I'm going to post some basics (not in any particular order) and hope it helps some of you. Photography is about light. Time of day: Be aware of the best time of day to shoot your property. It maybe counter intuitive, but DO NOT shoot when the sun is blasting into your... [more]

I received a few emails about photography from owners who want to try it for themselves rather than using a pro photographer. So I'm going to post some basics (not in any particular order) and hope it helps some of you. Photography is about light. Time of day: Be aware of the best time of day to shoot your property. It maybe counter intuitive, but DO NOT shoot when the sun is blasting into your space. More than likely, you'll get what's referred to as "lens flare", glares, or refractions/reflections. Rather, wait until you still have good light but not direct as described above. You'll be able to show the "sunny" exposure without the glare. http://www.vlpnyc.com/album/architectureandrealestate?p=1#10 The "Magic Hour": Photographers love the dusk/sunset hours. It provides for dramatic shots with great hues of yellow/orange/red/reflections of other buildings, sunsets over water, etc... Again, if you have a property where your friends say "That's an amazing sunset", you should capture a photo of it. This is a photo for a commercial client, but I think you'll see what I mean. http://www.vlpnyc.com/album/architectureandrealestate?p=1#19 Different times, different shots: If you have great views of the city skyline (or any other view that shows well at night), take two shots. One during the day and one at night. If you have a million dollar view, show it off. Not enough people do this imo. Angles & Lines: Architectural photography is also about angles & lines. Setup the shot so lines flow smoothly and not in a way that's conflicting with each other. Compose the frame so lines (ceilings, walls, floors, etc...) terminate near the corners of the photo. http://www.vlpnyc.com/album/architectureandrealestate?p=1#1 Equipment: DSLR: If you have one, rent a wide angle lens. Use a lens around 12-16mm focal length. Wider, and you'll get too much "barrel distortion" and end up with shots where buyers say, "This is MUCH smaller than the photos". Go over 16mm and you may not be able to show the space effectively. I will leave the full frame vs. crop sensor subject as it's beyond the scope of this writing. Point & Shoot (P&S): There are some P&S cameras now that have wide angle capabilities. If you don't want to spend the money on a DSLR + lenses, this is a viable option. It's not the best, but still much better than a cell phone pic. Tripod: Get one and use it. Very inexpensive and every photographer should have one at some point. Other: Staging: DEFINITELY clean up the space before shooting. Tuck in electrical cords, get rid of the baby toys, tidy up desktop, etc... If you have to decide between Felix Unger, or Oscar Madison, go with Felix. Register a domain and create a website for your listing: Relatively cheap and you have much more control over how your photos look. When you upload an image on the net, websites use an image compression algorithm to reduce the file size. This inevitably leads to a loss of quality. If you get your own site, photos will generally look much better. Bottom line: This is by no means a complete guide, but rather some basics to point you in the right direction. Photos aren't deal breakers, but good photos will get buyers to show up to your OH before they go see a listing with poor photos. Good luck and cheers. vlpnyc.com [less]