QUOTE (BenSanderson @ Nov 8 2010, 06:04 AM) Hi Jarrett,
Here is the ultimate key to better real estate photography - a good wide angle lens!
When I first started advertising my first Rent To Own property, I was using a standard digital point and shoot. Outside shots were fine, but most of the indoor shots were cramped and would only show about half of the room, usually one lonely corner. Bathrooms were practically out of the question.
Once I learned about the advantages of a wide angle lens I picked one up immediately (as well as a decent digital SLR camera - a good used one is only about $300 - $500) and the improvement was like night and day. Now I could show 75% - 90% of every room or space within the house. Bathrooms looked like bathrooms and all the shots felt like you were standing there, in the room.
My Sigma wide angle lens cost me about $900. Yep, I thought it was pretty expensive too. But after I started using it I noticed an immediate increase in the number of people coming through my property, and many of them started to remark how nice the house looked in the photos I had posted in my online advertising. Seven RTOs later, and this lens has paid for itself many, many times over.
Here`s another tip - if you have access to some photo enhancing software (there are even free online services), learn to use it to put the finishing touches on your photos. Of course, you shouldn`t lie about what the house is in your enhancements, just try to represent your property in the best possible light. Typically, I would boost the colour saturation, straighten out overly-angled perspective lines and clone out unwanted toys/clutter that might have been in the shot at the time. My before and after shots looked like entirely different houses.
But seriously consider a wide angle lens, maybe even borrowing one if you`re only filling one property every so often. Good luck!
Excellent post by Ben.
Carla`s book has everything you need and more in order to shoot beautiful RE photos.
You can take decent photos with a point and shoot camera, but need to know how to operate manual mode, i.e. ISO, aperture settings.
But the good wide angle lens is the key. If you have a good digital SLR camera you can rent the lens for a day, before deciding to buy one.