Meeting the Challenge

Picture Quality: What Pros Do

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:19:08 -0400

The one thing that professional photographers do (or should) with real estate photographs is to recreate what the human eye sees.

Picture Quality

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:20:40 -0400

Real estate photography is a question of quality, and according to some studies, a question of quantity as well.

In a photographer’s real estate blog I read recently (sorry, I don’t recall which one), the photographer posed the following question... Why do real estate agents go to a professional to get their business photo (head shot) made and then turn around and have an amateur make their real estate photographs?

Of course, the amateur making those photographs is usually the agent. None-the-less, it is a good question to ponder. The answer to the first part of the question... why use a professional photographer for the head shot ... is that the agent wants to look his or her best in the photograph. The answer to the second part ... why do they take the house pictures themselves ... is that they want to save money.

Is that a wise choice? I don’t know the answer as it will vary according to circumstances. Of course, I have my own opinion, which is that where the value of the house being marketed is significant, the agent should use a professional to make those pictures. If it were my house that the agent was selling, I would want the pictures of the house to present the house in the best possible light ... just as the agent wants in their head shot.

Studies have shown that better quality photographs, compared to poor quality photographs, produce better results whether the product is hand lotion, cars, or houses. For real estate, better results equals more online views, particularly for additional property information; more open house visits; and more interest from other agents who are looking to identify houses their buyer would be interested in.

In an unrelated but applicable study, the Wall Street Journal reported that researchers found over 70% of people making hotel reservations online based their decision to stay at one hotel vs another solely on the impression that they got of the property from the pictures that they saw of the hotel. Why? Because people are too impatient to read all of the detailed information. Instead, they make their assessment on the visual information in front of them. They only read the detail if they are deciding between two equally attractive options.

Whether they are looking for a car, a hotel or a house, photographs are your opportunity to catch buyer’s attention. Quality counts. So, next time you have a new listing... weigh that information against possible cost savings and then decide which is the better option.

Next blog entry, we will explore this subject a bit further and also begin to look at how the number of pictures can help or hurt as well.

Your time is valuable

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 00:47:45 -0400

This blog entry is supposed to be about the value of an agent’s time. However, I am not sure I can deliver on that promise, at least in the way you might have thought. What I want to say is that your time is too valuable to spend it on photographing your listings when you have so many other things that are also important and need to be done.

A local agent and I were discussing the difference between the quality of photography that the agent could take and the quality that I provide. I compared his efforts, as a photographer, to that of a home owner trying to sell his own house. Just as I was about to say, that just as a real estate agent can provide better home selling expertise, I can provide better photography, when he said it for me. He understood my point immediately. Both can do the job. One just does it a whole lot better than the other.

Whether you should take your own photographs comes down to a three principal points. The first consideration is cost of the photographer vs the commission that the house will generate.

If the house is a low-value selling price (e.g, under $150,000 to $200,000), it may well be more effective for the agent to make their own photographs of the property. However, that presumes that the photographs will not be so dark or bright or off-center, or too small to be counter productive. They still need to have a certain level of quality if buyers are not going to be turned off by them.

However, once the price starts to move higher, then an agent should consider hiring a professional photographer to take those property pictures for them. A higher sales commission will support the cost. Also, sellers and buyers of more expensive homes are more sophisticated. That sophistication means that they are going to want to see a professional product, including photographs that are of professional quality.

The second consideration is the impact that picture quality can have on buyers and sellers both. Poor quality pictures can do more to turn the potential buyer away from a listing than anything else during the buyer’s house search. (See the sidebar on the right.) Take a moment, and think about it. When you are looking through the MLS for houses to show a client... which houses are you drawn to? The ones with one or two pictures? The ones where the pictures are dark? Or, the ones where there are a number of well done, attractive pictures showing a bright, interesting house? I am willing to bet it is the latter. And, if it is, why would you want to present your listings any other way?

You, as a listing agent, are competing with other, experienced agents to get each new listing. Some, you get based on friends, word of mouth, and/or reputation. Some, you get because you project a higher selling price. But, for a lot of them, you compete head to head, based on what you show the homeowner you will do to sell their house (particularly if the other agents don’t do it). In turn, the homeowner wants to see a professional who will do a professional’s job for them. Imagine how much more positive impact you will have if you can say you will use a professional photographer to photograph their home and can demonstrate it with samples from other listings of yours. Imagine the negative impact it will have if you show them pictures that are dark, crooked, and off color. Which agent will have the edge, the one with the professional photographer? Or, the one who doesn’t use one?

The third and final point requires that you ask yourself, “Where is my time best spent?” Being a photographer? Or, being a real estate agent? Taking photographs? Or, looking for new clients, keeping abreast of the latest business trends, techniques, and laws? Trying to make your photographs look professional? Or, solidifying your personal brand as a professional real estate agent? My bet would be on the latter. You are better off perfecting and continuing to perfect your skills and reputation as an agent, not as a photographer.

We will continue to talk more about picture quality and its importance in future blog entries.

Available Services

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 22:27:41 -0400

Most professional photographers, specializing in real estate photography, will offer the following services, all designed to enhance the presentation of the property:

★ Interior and Exterior Photography (this is the obvious one... a “duh” moment, if you will. But, if I left it out, you would laugh at me probably.) The photographs I prepare are provided to my customers in two versions: one set, optimized for print and the second set optimized for the MLS.
★ Virtual Tours: some form of virtual tour, where the viewer can navigate from room within the house, and/or traverse a room via a panoramic image. The pan may encompass part of or the entire interior or exterior, in a 360° view. I use Real TOURVision as the virtual tour engine for tours I prepare but will also provide images and/or technical support for other’s.
★ Slide Shows: These can be done in one of two ways. Either as a traditional slide show, utilizing still shots from the shoot or as a video of stills. In a traditional slide show, the stills are shown, one after another with some type of transition effect between shots. In a video slide show, there is an additional effect. Usually, there is some form of pan within each still shot: inside out, outside in, left to right, up and down, etc.
★ Custom CDs and DVDs: The photographer will prepare a CD or DVD reflecting the still photos and video shot at the property. The shots can be presented as still images, video, or slide shows. Additional material, such as flyers, MLS information, agent information, etc., can be included on the CD/DVD at agent discretion.
★ Printed materials: A variety of printed materials can be prepared for the agent. These materials will include selected images from the shoot, selected MLS information, and other information that the agent wishes to include. The printed materials can be used as handouts at the agents front-yard sign, at open houses, mailed to prospective buyer’s or used to help sell the agent’s services to prospective sellers. The printed materials can range from simple one-page flyers, to tri-fold brochures, or even small booklets.
★ Other material that can be provided by the photographer can include web sites, signs which sit atop the agent’s sign and providing guidance on how or where to obtain more information (such as from a telephone service or a web site). Some photographers can also provide links to other real estate sites, such as REALTOR.COM where the agent does may or may not otherwise have access. Also, audio narration, floor plans, and other support materials may be provided by the photographer.

Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive listing of all services offered by any one photographer. And, as one might expect, there is usually a cost associated with each additional service. That also will vary by photographer.

As with any business decision, your needs will vary according to the needs and value of each individual property that you list. The extent to which you avail yourself of these services should be weighed against the expected return of a sale and against the value of your time, should you choose to produce something similar for yourself, rather than have a photographer, or some other person, do them for you.

Next week, we will try to look at your time and how valuable it is to you.

Your Limited Resources

Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:48:23 -0400

Without a doubt, every one of you, real estate agents all, believe that you can sell the right home to the right buyer. If you didn’t, you would not be in the business that you are. You know that are three keys to a sale. A motivated seller. A motivated buyer. And, the means to bring them together.

The means to bringing them together is having the right sales materials to accompany your sales efforts. The right sales materials include statistics and information about the home and the neighborhood around the home; information about the city, schools, and other pertinent facts for new arrivals, and information about the home itself.

Putting together those materials takes time and effort. You have to also study and learn about your market as well as your profession. You learn the ways in which you can legally represent your seller, present a property for sale, etc. You also take the time to learn about the neighborhood, nearby schools, amenities, etc. that will all help the buyer to accept the area. You also learn about the house, its good points and bad points, and what they mean to the buyer and seller.

That is a lot to learn. But, that isn’t all. You are also faced with the choice of having to learn how to advertise your properties and your self. Also, how to effect that advertising effort, turning the desire to advertise in to buyer-attracting materials. So, you are forced to learn photography, graphics design, and perhaps internet design and programming skills.

Then, on top of having to learn all that, as if time were not all ready limited enough, you have to make an effort to take those pictures, prepare flyers, and other marketing materials that you make available to potential sellers and buyers.

In the end, it all boils down to one set of issues. What do you have the time to do. What do you do well. And, where is your time best spent financially. These are the same issues that a home owner faces when he/she is deciding between selling a house themselves or selling a house with the help of a real estate agent.

Next week, we will discuss the services that you can buy and how using someone for those services can help you focus your efforts where the return is greater.

Putting your best foot forward (pt 3)

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 22:11:05 -0400

In the previous entry, we talked about the importance of quality photography in attracting the interest of potential buyers. It would be simple if that were all there were to it. But, quality photography is important to listing agents for another reason.

The quality, or lack there of, of the photography that an agent uses in marketing a house reflects back on the agent when they are approaching potential sellers in an effort to obtain new listings. That quality is evident in the materials that are presented directly to the potential seller both as sales literature and as an example of the type of marketing that is done by the agent for houses that they list.

But, it isn’t just the material that you show to a potential seller that will get their attention, though that is certainly an important part of it. The quality of the listings that you have now will also be open to examination by potential sellers as well. The savvy seller, being internet aware, will most likely do a preliminary search of potential agents via the internet and from friend recommendations. The better your existing listings look, the better your chance of capturing their interest in your ability to sell their home.

By way of example, imagine that you are looking to buy new furniture for your home. By chance, you just happened to have received two sales brochures in the mail. The first is from the QUICK furniture dealer just down the street and the second from the CARES dealer a few blocks away. You look in both brochures, hoping to find furniture that interests you. The QUICK brochure has some furniture prices which are pretty good, but the brochure is dark and it is hard to see what the furniture looks like because the photography quality is not very good.

Unlike its competitor, the CARES brochure is bright, photographs are well lit, and you can see the furniture, in detail. You know what you are looking at in it. Guess which dealer you will go to first. I am willing to bet that it will be CARES. Interested home sellers are no different. They look for the realtor that can present them with the best looking sales package. Why? Because they want results... or at least the appearance of results when they list with a realtor. A good looking sales package represents an agent that cares about their listings and about results -- sales. And, that is most likely the type of sales package that will attract attention from the right buyers as well.

In that light, the Realtor’s Guide to Using Photos In Real Estate Marketing. published by PhotographyForRealEstate.net, offers some valuable suggestions on photography and real estate. I recommend it for your reading.

Putting your best foot forward (pt 2)

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:02:41 -0400

Last entry, we talked about the importance of putting your best foot forward by using quality photography in your real estate listings and in your personal marketing. Given the difficult real estate market that we are experiencing, agents look for ways to keep their costs down and quality photography may not seem all that important.

Locally, there is a small number of agents that have professional quality photographs in their listings. The majority have average photographs which show a house but do nothing to engage the viewer with the photograph or the property represented. Unfortunately, there are also a number of agents that utilize photographs that do them and their listings a disservice.

Given that less than professional-quality photography seems to be an accepted in the local market (it isn’t in other large markets where many new buyers are coming from), an agent has to wonder why they should spend more money for something that seems so unimportant.

It is a natural question. The simple answer is that buyers respond positively to listings with good photography. Once they have selected the area and price range of homes that they want to look at on the internet, they start looking at individual listings. Or, rather, they start looking at the pictures of individual listings. If they do not like what they see, they go on to the next listing. If they do like what they see in the picture, they look at the details and the pictures of the house and property.

At that point, even if the details are to their liking, if the pictures fail to engage their interest, or worse, turn them off to the prospect of looking at the house, they go on to the next listing.

You will never know that you lost their interest because they won’t tell you. And, probably, they won’t tell you that you captured their interest, if you did, because they won’t realize how important their impressions were as a result of the pictures.

I know this because research by the NAR and other leading real estate industry organizations and press has shown that pictures are among the most important factors in obtaining buyer interest in a specific listing. I also know this from personal experience. Realtors have told me that pictures were instrumental in getting eventual buyers to look at specific properties, and in one case, one of the key reasons why they bought the property.

Quality photography is not only important in terms of marketing a listing, it is also important as a part of the agent’s own, personal branding. We will talk about that and also about the “Realtor’s Guide to Using Photos In Real Estate Marketing” in the next blog entry.

Putting the best foot forward (pt 1)

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:59:51 -0400

The old cliche of getting your foot in the door harkens back to the days of the door to door salesman’s trick of getting his foot between the door and the door frame in order to be able to continue his sales pitch to the “lady of the house.”

Modern salesmanship is not a lot different. Whether one is selling a product such as a vacuum cleaner, a computer, services as a photographer, or even one’s ability to sell a house, we are all trying to do one thing: get our foot in the door and keep it there.

There is no fancy trick to it. You simply put your best foot forward and then keep it there as long as possible. Hopefully, this will result in a favorable impression and you will earn the sale. For me, that is getting a new client. For an agent, in the context of this blog post, it is getting that new listing.

What does putting your best foot forward mean? To me, it means showing the prospective client that I offer a quality product for a fair price. My product is photography, service and allied products such as flyers, custom CDs, etc. Among other things, for a real estate agent, it means that the agent can demonstrate the ability to market the home in a manner consistent with the price that the homeowner expects to sell the house.

In short, you have to show that you can put together a marketing package that represents the house well and is, from your perspective, reasonably priced. Then, when you get the listing, you have to deliver on that promise by keeping your best foot forward, as it were.

Because you are the listing agent, you have to depend on your marketing concepts to do two things. First, you have to be able to attract the attention of buyer’s agents. Second, you have to attract buyers who do their own home searches. In both instances, much of what you do is indirect marketing where you rely on visual and written materials to attract interest. Using the MLS, flyers, ads, and open houses, among other approaches, you try to reach people who should be interested in the home and then interest them enough to contact you and to come and see the house.

And, no matter how well you do your marketing, and how well you prepare your materials, if the pictures you put into the MLS, on that flyer, in that ad, etc., are not at least good, your chances of attracting a buyer are nil. And, your foot is no longer in that door.

Next entry, we will extend this discussion a bit further to talk about the importance of good photographs as a part of your marketing strategy.

Picturing the Empty House

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:46:35 -0400

An empty house is one of the more difficult types of properties to photograph because there is no obvious point of interest in a picture of the interior other than the walls or a window or door. And, let’s face it, doors and windows are usually not exciting.

In addition, since many rooms are not well lit without the addition of lamps, that makes the job of photographing one more difficult. Window light, not mitigated by lamps, is harsh, particularly against the darker shadows that most rooms have. making that worse, the flat light given off by a camera’s flash, tends to make an empty room look stark. Also, because of the bright window light, the camera is often fooled into “thinking” that the room is brightly lit. This leaves you with a picture of a dark room punctuated by bright blotches where the windows are located. Such pictures give a very unappealing feel to the house.

Another problem is that most realtor’s use cameras that do not have a wide enough angle of view in the pictures that they produce. So, instead of seeing most of the room, a picture usually shows two walls only. If it shows three walls, there is usually a door frame, in the picture, obstructing part of the view. It doesn’t make for the most attractive picture. In fact, a shot like that can actually give the room a smaller feel, which can be a negative point in the buyer’s mind.

Avoiding these problems by not showing interior shots in your listings is problematic as well as it can leave the potential buyer wondering what problems you are avoiding showing when you omit the picture.

I cannot work miracles though I wish that I could when it comes to making an empty house look great. But, I can make it look better. Experience and the equipment that I carry go a long way toward improving the situation where a house is empty. I carry a variety of lenses and lighting, and other equipment which help to make up for an empty room. And, while I cannot create a point of interest in an empty room, I can keep it from looking small and dark with bright blotches.

It’s Your Dime, After All

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:30:46 -0400

You are paying the bill and I respect that. For that reason, I will photograph By MLS rules, I cannot and will not take photographs that materially misrepresent the property. Nor will I edit the photographs in any way if that edit will result in a misrepresentation.

By your direction, as the seller’s representative, I can legitimately avoid photographing parts of the property. There is no requirement, of which I am aware, that requires defects to be photographed.whatever you want me to photograph (see inset on right) and not photograph those parts of the property that you want me to avoid.

If, as a professional photographer, I believe that you would be better served by my not taking a specific photograph, I will politely explain why and try to reach a consensus. If we don’t agree, then I will take the photograph that you want. And, if I have an alternative photograph that I think is better, I will also make that photograph. You get what you wanted originally plus the alternative and can choose which you like better once you have seen both.

As a general rule, I photograph every room in the house, the house exterior, and yard from several angles. I look for interesting points and photograph them as well. Not all turn out as we hope sometimes, but you will always receive a variety of shots from which to choose. A later post will explain this process in more depth.

I generally prefer not to photograph the following spaces:
✦ closets
✦ basements
✦ garages
✦ bathrooms
✦ laundry rooms
✦ attics and other unimproved spaces

I will photograph them if you want; but, I prefer not to for the following reasons:

The typical standard closet, bath, stairway, etc., all share one common trait. Everyone is familiar with what they look like. While they may change color and shape, they are still the same from home to home to home. If they are particularly notable for their unusual features or size, I will gladly photograph them for you. It is that noteworthiness that deserves to be photographed so the the seller can be enticed to see them in person by visiting the home.

Except for stairways, each of these spaces tends to be cluttered as well. Clutter in photographs is counterproductive in that it can produce a negative reaction in the viewer. If the viewer is a prospective buyer, this is not the reaction that you want.

These spaces, because of their shape and size are often awkward to photograph while still maintaining a proper perspective and avoiding distracting items such as door frames. In the case of bathrooms, mirrors can make it particularly difficult to get a natural angle while still avoiding the camera or flash’s reflection in the mirror. For basements, attics and other unimproved spaces, the size, lack of windows and overall lack of lighting present special challenges as well. Because of these lighting issues, these spaces will often look darker in a photograph than they do to the human eye. All of these factors can result in photographs that are unappealing to or create negative perceptions for buyers.

Because photographs of these spaces are more likely result in a negative perceptions, I don’t recommend photographing them. But, as I noted earlier, if the rooms need to be photographed or are noteworthy in some manner, then it will be worthwhile to photograph them. To me, the bottom line is giving you the best value for the time and money you invest in getting the photographs. It is, after all, your dime.

The Simple Task of Taking a Portrait

Mon, 8 Jun 2009 21:33:34 -0400

What could be any more simple than taking a portrait? Quite a lot actually. When shooting a photograph of someone, it is very helpful to know what the purpose and use of the photograph is.

For instance, you might think that taking your portrait is a easy task. All you have to do is to line up where the photographer tells you, stay still for a moment, smile and let the photographer take the picture. Yes, it can be that simple. Unless the use you have in mind is at odds with how you appear. Wearing your clown suit from last Halloween is not really a good idea when you are have your picture made to put on your business card, after all, unless you are truly a clown.

The process of taking someone’s portrait is a bit more difficult. First, the photographer needs to know what you want to do with the photo and how you will use it. Is the picture for a business card, a Christmas card, or a passport, for instance. Will it be used for print, or on the internet are also important because that will dictate how the portrait is prepared and provided to you.

Next, the photographer needs to decide what lighting, background and poses to use, the appropriate lens to use, and how to place the lighting to best flatter you. For your part, use should dictate how you dress, your hair style, and the way you smile.

So, keep all that in mind the next time you ask someone to make your picture. If they do not ask you how you want to use it, be sure and let them know what it is for and how you will use it.

You don’t want to have a business portrait made while you are wearing your best party clothes and you don’t want your best party picture made while wearing your business attire. Unless your business is parties. Then, that party number will be just fine.

Remember, dress for the purpose and let the photographer know what that purpose is.