It was from word of mouth again. I didn't post any ads, this was the 4th time I was refered by my previous customers to take a real estate shoot.
Out of curiosity, I checked out what it's called "Professional Grade Home Photos" from the largest Home Marketting Consultants, Grapevine (in another phrase, sell by your own). This service is only included in their most expensive listing package. And it costs almost $800 !!
Let's take a look at what so called "professional Grade" service offers. It says "Nine (9) photos of your home taken with a professional grade SLR digital camera with a wide-angle lens, bounce flash and diffuser." It's funny. First of all, it didn't mention the qualification of the photographer. It could be an 8 year old boy or girl, as long as he/she uses "a professional grade SLR...." We all know (ok, serious photographers know) the most important element of photography is the part 6 inch behind the camera. In other words, the photographer. There is no double everyone can take pictures but if you charge people a heft amount of money, it's gotta be an experienced and qualified photographer.
Secondly, what qualifies as "professional grade", there is no definition in the world. I saw people took amazing pictures using point and shoot Sony or Olympus cameras. I saw gabage from Nikon D3x as well.
Third, bounce flash and diffuser won't always work. It depends on the size of the room, the type of surface(ceiling and wall) and how furniture is arranged, etc. The best way to lighten the house is tone enhancement (similar to HDR) but not in a sereal way.
Funny that I only charge $50 for as many pictures as you want. I usually spend about 4 hours for each shooting from the field trip to post processing. This is lower than what you will get paid working for flipping burgers...
Ok. Let's take a look at what I used. My equipment includes Nikon D700, Nikon 16-35mm VR and Manfrotto tripod. There was no flash or bounce card. What I asked the owner to do was to: 1) keep things clean and simple (note: unless you have a big home or a certain style you would like to show, always keep it clean); 2) turn on all the lights and open up curtain to let natural lights in. I usually take 5 pictures with 1 stop apart. However, I only use one of them with the best lighting. When the owner specifically asked me to ensure both indoor and outdoor are visible (such as the first picture), I use 2 pictures to merge together. Another important part is that the owner spends way more longer time than I do in the house. So every time I finish one room, I always review with the owner to see if he/she agrees with the angle. Since I have the 16-35mm lens on a full frame camera, usually owners are quite surprised and happy to see how big their houses look like. And of course, until I post-process all pictures, they are even happier to see how bright it is.
Another recent shot in June
Thanks for reading.
The End.
Out of curiosity, I checked out what it's called "Professional Grade Home Photos" from the largest Home Marketting Consultants, Grapevine (in another phrase, sell by your own). This service is only included in their most expensive listing package. And it costs almost $800 !!
Let's take a look at what so called "professional Grade" service offers. It says "Nine (9) photos of your home taken with a professional grade SLR digital camera with a wide-angle lens, bounce flash and diffuser." It's funny. First of all, it didn't mention the qualification of the photographer. It could be an 8 year old boy or girl, as long as he/she uses "a professional grade SLR...." We all know (ok, serious photographers know) the most important element of photography is the part 6 inch behind the camera. In other words, the photographer. There is no double everyone can take pictures but if you charge people a heft amount of money, it's gotta be an experienced and qualified photographer.
Secondly, what qualifies as "professional grade", there is no definition in the world. I saw people took amazing pictures using point and shoot Sony or Olympus cameras. I saw gabage from Nikon D3x as well.
Third, bounce flash and diffuser won't always work. It depends on the size of the room, the type of surface(ceiling and wall) and how furniture is arranged, etc. The best way to lighten the house is tone enhancement (similar to HDR) but not in a sereal way.
Funny that I only charge $50 for as many pictures as you want. I usually spend about 4 hours for each shooting from the field trip to post processing. This is lower than what you will get paid working for flipping burgers...
Ok. Let's take a look at what I used. My equipment includes Nikon D700, Nikon 16-35mm VR and Manfrotto tripod. There was no flash or bounce card. What I asked the owner to do was to: 1) keep things clean and simple (note: unless you have a big home or a certain style you would like to show, always keep it clean); 2) turn on all the lights and open up curtain to let natural lights in. I usually take 5 pictures with 1 stop apart. However, I only use one of them with the best lighting. When the owner specifically asked me to ensure both indoor and outdoor are visible (such as the first picture), I use 2 pictures to merge together. Another important part is that the owner spends way more longer time than I do in the house. So every time I finish one room, I always review with the owner to see if he/she agrees with the angle. Since I have the 16-35mm lens on a full frame camera, usually owners are quite surprised and happy to see how big their houses look like. And of course, until I post-process all pictures, they are even happier to see how bright it is.
Another recent shot in June
Thanks for reading.
The End.
