I have long been an advocate for real estate agents who take their own photography and virtual tours to educate themselves about the process. Finally there is an eBook that deals directly with real estate photography and tells it all in very easy to understand terms. The Author – Larry Lohrman is an real estate enthusiast who has his own weblog that I feel should be a must read. He like all of us is not 100% right all the time but he does know photography and real estate and I suggest you at least visit his site. I am sure if you contacted him directly he would give a great discount for multiple orders.
You can order this eBook for $15 USD (about 17 AUD) by clicking here. I ordered my copy and it is around 70 pages and a great read and I picked up some great tips. I think this is a must have for any agency that takes its own photography.
I am a strong believer that the future is all about content and presentation of your vendors listings to separate yourself from your competition.
Below is a table of contents of the eBook
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Why did I Write this Book?
Who is This Book Written for?
What do You Need to Know?
Chapter 1 Photography For Real Estate
What is Real Estate Photography?
Why are Good Real Estate Photos Important?
Where and How are Real Estate Photos Used?
How do You Learn Good Interior Photography?
The Front Exterior Shot is the Most Important
Chapter 2 10 Essentials of Real Estate
1-Understand the Purpose of Each Photo
2-Use a Wide-angle Lens to Shoot Rooms
3-Simplify Images
4-The Primary Exterior Shot is THE Most Important Photo
5-Render Interiors Light and Bright
6-Render All Vertical Lines Vertical
7-Straight Lines Must Appear Straight
8-Don’t Let Burned Out Windows Distract
9-Remove Color Casts
10– Use Only Horizontal Mode Photos for Real Estate Websites
Moving Beyond These Rules
Chapter 3 Choosing a Real Estate Camera
Why a Wide-angle Lens is Essential
Compact Point-an-Shoot or DSLR?
What About Megapixels?
Can I Get Wide-angle Shots on My Compact Digital Camera?
Digital SLRs and the Crop Factor
Recommended Cameras and Lenses for Interior Photography
Chapter 4 Lighting
How to Get Good Interior photos
Why use External Flash?
What Flash Should You Get?
How Should You use External Flash?
Using Multiple Flash Units and Continuous Lighting
How do I Work with Only Natural Light?
How do I Avoid (or Fix) the “burned out window” Problem?
How do I Handle Color Casts and White Balance?
Why are the exterior Shots of a Home so Important?
What are Some Guidelines for Photographing Exteriors
Case Study 1—Shooting a Contemporary Lake View Home
Case Study 2—Shooting a View Home on Acreage
Chapter 5 Shooting Exteriors
Why are the exterior Shots of a Home so Important?
What are Some Guidelines for Photographing Exteriors
Case Study 1—Shooting a Contemporary Lake View Home
Case Study 2—Shooting a View Home on Acreage
Chapter 6 Shooting Interiors
Guidelines for Photographing Interiors
Case Study 1—Shooting with Natural Light Only
Case Study 2—Shooting with an External Flash
Chapter 7 Photo Software
Guidelines for Photographing Interiors
Case Study 1—Shooting with Natural Light Only
Case Study 2—Shooting with an External Flash
What Software Am I Going to Need?
What Software Should I Use to Manage and Organize My Shots
Why Should I Use an Image Editor?
What Image Editor Should I Use?
What About the Ethics of Modifying Photos?
Chapter 8 Fixing Common Problems
Using Image Editors
How to Tune-up Exposure
How to Straighten Falling Walls
How to Get Natural Looking Color
How to Increase Saturation
How to Fix Curved Walls (Barrel Distortion)
How to Remove Distracting Elements
How to Deal with “burned-out” windows
How to Bring Back Sharpness to Your Photos
Chapter 9 Virtual Tours
What is a Virtual Tour?
Why Use a Virtual Tour?
What are the Common Features of a Virtual Tour?
Panoramas
Creating Flash Slide Shows with Lightroom
CDs and DVDs as Buyer and Seller Gifts
How Do You Create a DVD Slide Show of Your Photos?
How Do You Create a DVD Slide Show of Your Photos?
Chapter 10 Trends in Real Estate Photography
The Need for Speed!
Web Advertising
The Use of Video
The Use of Virtual Tours is Surprisingly Low
Increasing Use of Flash Slide Shows
Competition in Real Estate Photography