Photography Outpost

Suffice to say — you got lots of choices when it come a to camera.  You can buy a cheap point and shoot for less than $100, or you can spend more than $10,000 on an elaborate system.  While all this equipment has its place, for real estate photography, the first thing you MUST control is how wide you can go.

The number one problem with real estate photos is often related to how wide the camera can shoot.  If your lens keeps you “zoomed” into the scene, you will wind up with pictures like the above.   This should be a picture of a living area, but, because the lens would not “zoom out”, the fireplace becomes the focal point.  Which isn’t bad, if you are playing up the fireplace — but it stinks if you were trying to take a picture of a family room.

Lens “widths” are measured in mm (millimeters).  Basically, the higher the number, the more you can zoom in.  Conversely, the lower the number, the more you can “fit” into the picture, given the same distance to your subject.

Most professionals are using lenses that will allow them to go as wide as 16 – 17 mm, but are usually shooting at about 20 mm.   Reliable gear that will allow you to go this wide is about a $1000 investment used, and $1500 new.

If a few hundred dollars is more your speed, you can do better.  What you are looking for in a point and shoot is a lens that will zoom out to an “equivalent” 24mm.  The equivalent is important — don’t be fooled by really low mm numbers on compact  point and shoots, as that number needs to be converted to take into account the size of the sensor.  (Techie talk could follow, but we will save those details for another time.)

Several camera manufacturers have point and shoots that fit the bill, including Sony, Canon, and Samsung.  All are great choices, but one I think is especially nice is the Panasonic Lumix FX700.

This camera has one of best lens makers in the world behind it in Leica, so expect excellent image quality.  There are some other nice features as well, such as adjustable white balance and HD video, that we will discuss in future posts.

Street retail is about $399 (most compacts that will go to 24mm will sell for $300 – $500). Expect this camera to be readily available on the internet, local big box stores, and likely from your neighborhood camera merchant.

Link to AMAZON, here.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX700 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black)

….. start in the camera…….

….. but are “made” on the computer.

If you are serious about taking better pictures, embrace the fact that you will have to spend a little time with them in what we call “post processing”.  It’s a fancy name for playing with your pictures in editing software.  And it will make all the difference in the world.

You’ve got lots of choices — your camera probably came with an editing suite, for instance.  If you use a Mac, iPhoto will do much of what you need.  Adobe makes some great products — Elements, Lightroom, and the granddaddy of them all, Photoshop.

If you don’t know what to use, we will talk a little bit about your choices in a future post.   But if you’re already in the market, I suggest you check out www.academicsuperstore.com — its a great place to shop for your software needs.  For the best savings, you will need a child — as the name suggests, the company’s core audience is the educational market.  If you have kids, though, you are most likely eligible for some of their fantastic discounts.  You may have to send them some paperwork to set up an account, but its time well spent.

If you think its time to buy, I suggest you check them out.

Looking for a new home is a visual experience.  While there are all sorts of interesting ways to market a new listing, your potential customers will always expect to see some pictures.  So you’re gonna need a camera.

Before we talk about what you need, though, let’s first look at how to buy.

Although it might seem counterintuitive in the age of superstores and Google shopping, I make ALL my major gear purchases at the my local camera shop.  They offer advantages aplenty:

• A huge selection of gear that I can play with before buying;
• Expert advise from actual photographers;
• Walk in service for when things go wrong.

About the only consistent drawback is cost.  No surprise, but things are usually a little pricier at the local shop.  Now, in my mind, it makes sense to pay a little extra for the service and convenience.  But you don’t have to pay a fortune for those benefits, either.

So I have a little strategy I employ when its time for a new toy piece of highly necessary camera equipment:

1. I decide what I need.  I almost never “shop” for new gear without research.
2. I head over to B & H Photo.  B & H is one of the oldest, and most respected, photo houses in New York.  They’ve been selling mail order almost as long as Sears, and they offer great prices and service.
3. I look up the item I’m interested in, and print off a copy of the B & H listing.  This goes with me to the store.
4. Over at the local shop, I check out the gear I’m interested in, making sure it meets my needs.  If all looks good, I compare the store price to the B & H cost.  If B & H is cheaper……….
5. I show the sheet to the salesperson, and ask, “Hey, can you help me out on the price?”

I have never failed to save a little money this way.  They almost always can do something.  Bear in mind that I don’t necessarily ask them to match the price, although they sometimes will.  Remember, they are running a business (just like you), and they need to make a little money to keep the lights on.

So, if you like local service, check our your local camera merchant.  Give my “method” a try.  And let me know how it goes in the comments.

Someone asked me a few months ago “What’s the largest trade association of professional photographers in the US.” I figured the answer was one of those obscure groups of commercial shutterbugs only known to its reclusive membership, with names like the PPA, WPPA, NPPA — great, but largely unknown, organizations.

Boy, was I wrong. By a long shot.

The answer is the NAR — The National Association of Realtors.

Now, follow the logic for a minute. Every realtor who lists a property must make pictures of that property. Those pictures are reproduced for COMMERCIAL advertising purposes in a variety of media — web, paper, flyers, magazines — you name it. You work on tight deadlines, and poor product may mean a house doesn’t sell — and that the realtor doesn’t get paid. To me, that sounds like a professional photographer. The average realtor might be a “part time” shooter, but the vast majority of commercial photography work is done by part-timers today anyway.

Type “wedding photographer” into Craigslist for proof.

With a NAR membership of over a million, that makes for a lot of photographers. But here’s the hard part. If the NAR is indeed the largest group of shooting pros out there, they may also be, collectively, the worst. No offense intended, but spend five minutes on your local MLS, and you won’t confuse much of what you see with last month’s cover of Arch Digest.

Now, if you are a realtor, you may be taking fantastic photos right now — there are many realtors who are. But, frankly, in today’s climate, you can’t afford NOT to be taking great photos, or videos, or whatever’s “next”. If you think you could use a little help — well, that’s where this site comes in.

At L-Ville, we are going to focus on helping real estate professionals make better use of the media tools available to them. Pictures, video, door hangers, YouTube — you name it, we’ll tackle it. We’ll also talk about when to turn to other pros for help. Sometimes, it’s important to hire someone who specializes in this sort of thing. But not every time — that’s not timely, practical, or profitable.

So, without further ado — let’s begin.