Photographing Exteriors - The twilight zone

Night shots are tricky business. First make sure every window you can see from outside has a light on in that room. Turn on all exterior lights as well. Now to get that gorgeous glow in the sky, a tripod is most definitely needed. As far as the camera... It really depends on the camera you're using, Some cameras have a "Night Mode" feature. Set your camera to a self timer mode if it has one so there is no human contact when the camera takes the picture. This will eliminate vibrations. The longer the shutter stays open, the more light you collect, thus giving you that beautiful Twilight Glow.
We find that dusk is the best time to start preparing. Prepare your angles ahead of time because there is a small window of oppertunity to get "the twilight shots" Without camera stabilization your picture will be blurred.

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Photographing Interiors - Let there be light!

When you're photographing the interior of a home, the more light the better!
Open curtains/blinds and turn on lights and lamps in every room, it gives a nice warm tone and makes for a much better picture.
If you want to avoid overexposed sun glares that end up on walls, floors, and furniture, try photographing when the sun's rays are overhead instead of coming in through the windows.

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Photographing Interiors - Aim high

If you're using an external flash, try aiming the flash toward the ceiling. This technique should give your room a warm tone. Depending on how big your room is, make sure the farthest area from the camera is well lit. Most of the time additional lighting can improve the shot.But If you're aiming your flash directly at the room the brightness will reduce color, warmth, and could over expose your shot.

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Photographing Interiors - Who let the dogs in?

Although pets are loveable animals, and considered family, It's a safer bet to keep them, and their things out of the shot. Toys, food, and water bowls- Anything that suggests you have a pet in the house...make it disappear. Potential buyers could be allergic, or assume there will be smells or damages that they would rather not deal with.

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Photographing Interiors - Still as a photograph

Whenever shooting interiors especially with low light, Always bring a tripod to ensure better lighting, and a sharper image. Make sure nothing in your shot is moving, Mainly Ceiling Fans.

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Photographing Interiors - Less is more

When shooting a house try and minimize the amount of "stuff" in your shot.
Knick knacks, Portable appliances, Magazines, Throw covers, baby toys, excersize equipment, fans. etc...
The camera might not see what these things are, so they will be nothing more than busy clutter to the picture viewers. If it's unidentifiable, than it's unnecessary for the picture.

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Photographing Interiors - How low can you go?

Did you know that by simply lowering your perspective the room will appear much larger?
This technique is called a low angle shot. The purpose of the low angle shot is to give the camera the submissive point of view (looking up).
Here’s a quick reference for framing shots appropriately.
Wide angles show everything but nothing in particular, mediums and close-ups lose the background but reveal better detail.
A low angle shot is when you’re looking up at your subject from a submissive standpoint.
A high angle shot makes the subject look small and more vulnerable.

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Photographing Interiors - Mi casa es su casa

Remember to remove personal belongings like photographs. The goal is to have potential buyers envision themselves living in the house you're selling. Seeing other peoples personal belongings could interfere with that process. Take magnets off of the refrigerator, Remove the trashcan, try to make it as generic as possible.

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Photographing Exteriors - House of the rising sun

If you're trying to take an exterior shot of the house, but the sun is blinding your shot; just grab a book or folder and use it as a shield for the lens. This should either eliminate or at least minimize the sun glare depending on where the sun is positioned. Remember always keep the shield above, or on the sides of the lens to reduce the risk of seeing it in your shot.

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Photographing Exteriors - Car not included

When photographing the front of the house make sure all vehicles/trailers are not parked in the driveway. First impressions are everything and a house with really great curb appeal will lose its magic if there are distracting cars blocking the view. If the car is inoperable, pop it in nuetral, and pull it back a few feet and see if that helps, but be prepared to push it back up when your done. If moving it isn't possible try to take a shot from an angle that will make the vehicle less noticeable.

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Photographing Interiors - Frame it up

Here's how to make the shot look great. Focus on the center of the top, bottom, left and right of the shot. Don't focus too much on what's going on in the middle or the corners of the frame. Your job is to make sure you frame the picture so that everything is lined up properly. For example, in the picture below we end on the two couches, and a little above the windows, and tapestry. This picture suggest that we're not selling furniture in this room, we're selling the room itself. thats why it's ok to shoot above the couches to reveal more room space. there is nothing of interest before the couches, only above them. There is nothing of interest beyond the windows, and tapestry but sometimes it's good to shoot a little past our above ending objects just so the shot doesn't seem so compacted. Sell the room, not the furniture.

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Photographing Interiors - Behind the couch 1

You should never photograph the back of a couch, but should you have to, you can still make the shot look appealing. If you roll your mouse over the image you will see the top back of a couch on the lower third of the frame. Even though the picture still looks appealing, The couch does not work well with this shot. The plant on the left side is in the true foreground of the shot, which means the closest to the frame. In this case the plant is intended to be seen as the closest object to the camera. If you feature the back of the couch, not only is it upstaging the plant, but it's now the main subject in the foreground area. If the plant was not staged there, then the couch could definitely work in this shot.

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Photographing Interiors - Behind the couch 2

This shot puts everything in the background. The rug is considered part of the floor, it does not count as a foreground subject. If you roll over the image you will see how the back of the couch works well with this image. But remember just because you can doesn't mean you should. Try to avoid the backs of couches as much as possible.

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Photographing Interiors - Go wide!

Room size is a very important factor when reviewing a home. Thats why you should get as far back as you can to take your shot. You can always zoom in if you need to. If you have the capability to change lenses; you can get the best of both worlds (wide and detail) with a wide angle, or fisheye lens. If you want to go cheaper you can get a fisheye adapter for your lens.

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