Real Estate Photo - C&C Please

Just starting to get into photographing homes (interior & ext) and would like to share one that to took this weekend.

i waited until dusk and feel i got pretty good light. I took out lots of undesirable stuff in Photoshop like air conditioning units, vents, and even a big whits bench.

I have not gotten into lighting yet as that seems to be something i need to learn if I want to get serious about this kind of photography.

I used a D300 with 12-24 set at f10 1/40sec ISO 200

Any help with what would make a better photo would be great.



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Thanks...

Rich

http://www.richbaum.smugmug.com

Rich - I'm in real estate and have to shoot alot of homes. The 12-24mm is a perfect lens for this use. The photo looks fine but I would have a couple of suggestions. If you have a flash you may want to try a little fill flash to see if that helps a little with the shadows. Something else to try that gives you a really great looking photo is to place your camera on a tripod, turn all of the inside and outside lights on for the house, and when it just gets dark shoot a time exposure. The lights on the house just give you a pretty cool image.

Steve
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'If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.'

The dash of sun on the house isn't helping the photograph. Immediatley after sundown is a good time when the house is in complete shade or, as the previous poster suggested, turn on the indoor lights and photograph 1/2 hour after sundown (you want the sky blue, so some ambient).

j.

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'The soul never thinks without an image.' - Aristotle

Technically, the picture is fine. It is the subject that bothers me. Where I live this could be the back of a water treatment facility, with its institutional look. If this is indeed a home it needs a lived in look, such as furniture around the pool/waterfall/filter bed? As the previous poster said about lighting I would agree, turn it on and take picture a little later in the day. I can't help but think there is another shoe to be dropped with the cropping of the right side. What happens to that redwood wall, where does it go? Does the front of the structure look more inviting? A difficult assignment, good luck.
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Jordan

Seems like a strange angle to shoot that particular house from. Where's the other side?

A real estate photo should accentuate some feature. Here you have a strange angle on the house which tells me little of its character and possibly a very nice pool that looks like a fountain. Or maybe it is a fountain. I can't tell.

Don't misunderstand. As a picture, I like it. By I would not be tempted to buy the property from anything the picture is showing.

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'There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.' -Ansel Adams

I don't do real estate photography, so take this for what it's worth...

The vertical lines need a parallax fix (Photoshop), and subjects in the foreground (wall, grass) seem larger-than-life. I suspect, due to the perspective and the wide-angle lens.

Any chance of a slightly higher perspective (6-12")? There seems to be detail in the concrete & pool design, but we're looking across the top so it's lost. Any option to back up and use a longer lens? That'd help put the wall and grass in perspective. Also, where's the right end of the house?

I like the suggestion of turning on interior (and exterior) lights and shooting a longer shot after dusk. Don't forget the pool lights, and maybe open the grill lid and light the burners to get a glow off the lid. Heck, throw in some models with a bit of motion blur standing around the grill, sipping wine, lounging in outdoor furniture - this place could use some life.

If you do shoot at dusk, plan to take a lot of shots as the light changes, checking the histogram and tweaking all the while. Shoot for about an hour if you can, adjusting and shooting every couple minutes - pitch dark won't give a good shot, but an hour after dusk you can still get deep color in the sky. Clouds add a nice touch if you're lucky.

Cheers,
Richard

Needs some brightening in the shadows.

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Sky is Falling... Thats the Truth....

When you post on the web it is best to convert the image to sRGB. Most web browsers are not color profile aware and Adobe RGB looks dull.

I assume from your question that you want to improve on this particular image so I will comment only on how I would approach it.

The image already looks much better in a color aware viewer. I like the light in the image. But I would further try to enhance the contrast between the blue sky and the warm sunlight on the building. I would try to darken the blue in the sky (like increase saturation, lower brightness and adjust hue about +4) I would further intensify the orange (warm light on the facade and the warm part of the sky). I think this would be a good start. I would then also consider dodging and burning to improve the mood. Without actually doing it i can't give any specific detail. Just play around with the image and trust you instincts and eye.
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Kind regards
Kaj
http://www.pbase.com/kaj_e
WSSA member

Proparoo said:

Any help with what would make a better photo would be great.

Click to expand...

Nice pic but I can't see it fulfilling the primary purpose -- helping to sell the place.

Someone mentioned it looked like a water treatment facility -- the outside steps also give this property an extremely industrial look. Not good for selling homes!

It seems that the property has a nice back yard -- you might want to think about shooting the front side of the property (which I assume looks more homely) and the back yard. I don't think the rear of the building is a good selling feature.

If this is for selling the house then you shouldn't remove permanent fixtures like A/C compressors.