Frequently Asked Questions - Real Estate Photography
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Why don't I take the pictures myself?
What is documentary photography?
Why would you suggest a dawn or dusk visit to the site?
What about staging a property prior to the shoot?
What if I want something a little more complicated or special?
Why don't I take the pictures myself?
Your time is valuable and perhaps best directed at marketing and selling a property. I specialize in photography and have studied and developed my skills over 40 years. I have a design background in architecture. I have a wide range of professional equipment for photographic capture, supplementary lighting and digital editing. For special images I can combine my artistic and technical skills to produce something you may not be able to.
Most consumer cameras and smart phones use JPEG files which is a compressed and destructive file format. I shoot RAW images which simply capture all the available data in the scene with the original data always available to go back to. The editing is done by the photographer and it is non-destructive, meaning I can go back and rework an image without losing data. JPEGS have processing applied by the camera guessing what you want. If you edit the photograph yourself, the file compresses and throws data away each time you open and close it for an edit.
What is documentary photography?
A realistic capture of the scene presented 'as is' so as not to mislead the viewer. Dramatic light is generally avoided and digital editing is limited to slight enhancement of exposure, contrast, colour, sharpening, etc. The scene is not altered by cloning or masking.
High Dynamic Range. The dynamic range of a scene may exceed the capability of the camera sensor to capture both highlight and shadow areas. For example, a dimly lit room with uncovered windows reveals a bright, overcast, exterior scene. A single automatic exposure would try to balance the outside scene with the room interior. The result is an overly bright scene with a room darker than would appear to the eye. In order to capture both the room and the outdoor scene in one photograph, several varied exposures taken on a tripod are required. Sophisticated software then blends the multiple exposures together to illustrate detail within the room while balanced with the outdoor scene. The result is the client has a balanced photo of the whole scene. There are no deep shadows, blown out highlights or a fake sky pasted within the window frame.
I take multiple exposures of every image I capture during a real estate shoot. I examine each series of images before I begin editing and those that require the HDR technique are first blended together to produce a single image suitable for processing.
Why would you suggest a dawn or dusk visit to the site?
For special properties, dusk or dawn images can set them apart from the thousands of other listings. The magical light at this time allows a photographer to combine the dawn or dusk light with all the ambient lighting of the home to create truly stunning images.
What about staging a property prior to the shoot?
Package prices do not include staging by Presentation Photo. If you are not using the services of a professional stager, please provide the client with the following tip sheet: Staging
What if I want something a little more complicated or special?
Contact Paul Holland directly to discuss exactly what your requirements are. Please note that any changes to packages offered will likely incur additional costs. Artistically enhancing, blending and layering images can be time consuming. Whatever your vision, clear quotes will be provided.
Thank you for your interest
Presentation Photo
Passionate and Professional