Clean your house and get the driveway swept because your real estate photographer is coming to town. When you visit real estate web pages, the majority of photos, unless they are million-dollar mansions, make great homes look like they have a lot to be desired. Please come visit our humble cave dwelling they seem to say. Unless you have vampire-ish tendencies, you’re probably not going to be drawn to them. 

When my friend Joe Sillaman got into real estate, he said I should shoot house photos as a side gig. When he started getting listings, he got me involved. The main goal when shooting houses is to make them look bright and inviting. My first shoot went off well but the second, as my perspective was off, was a faceplant-fail. I got caught up in the geometry of the house and that didn’t translate into photos that make you understand the living room layout. I didn’t blame the company for hiring someone else to reshoot it but I never wanted that to happen again. I’ve been on the upside of the learning curve since. 

I’ve picked up a few things along the way that seem minor but make a difference. Clear out any excess that you can in the room. Turn on all light fixtures and turn ceiling fans off (ignore the 2 photos with fans on (thanks)). One that’s easily neglected, put the toilet seat down (leave a little mystery (that’s good relationship advice right there, a little mystery keeps things interesting, wink wink)). Use a wide-angle lens, not fisheye because fisheye distorts the walls and the actual shape of the room. Finally, make the room look as spacious as possible without lying to the potential homeowner.

Before I close this entry, the two real estate agents that I have shot with the most, and I highly recommend, are Joe Sillaman and Leane Horton. I’m not here to steer you wrong, they’re both superb agents. For the record, that’d be terrible of me to point you in the wrong direction, ‘Here’s someone who is a bear to work with, they’ll make your life miserable as long as your home buying or selling experience takes.’ I’m pro agents that are honest and knowledgeable i.e. Joe and Leane. I’ll leave you on that positive note.

Stay bright and Funky!

Dear Reader, that catchy closing line is under construction as it’s the slogan for the laundry detergent that I bought that smells like fresh kitty litter or it may endure the test of time, stay tuned, dun dun dun!