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Taking Photographs
How to Prepare Photographs for Selling
your Real Estate Property
Chapter 5
We
all know that a picture says a thousand words. Displaying good quality images on
your Aorata Web page for “selling your real estate property” is important in
achieving a successful sale.
To display a photograph on your Aorata Web page you will first need to get a
digital image on to your computers hard drive. However, you DO NOT need to use a
digital camera to get digital images on your computers hard drive. A film camera
can be used.
This chapter covers practical advice, tips and tricks for getting good quality
photographs of your property.
Topics include:
- Tips on how to take good photographs
- How to transfer digital images to your computers hard drive
- How to resize digital images on your hard drive
- How to use the Aorata Online Web page builder to upload your images from
your hard drive to your Web page
- How to digitally enhance and transform an ordinary photograph into a
better photograph by using computer software - for Advanced Users
Step 1: How to take good photographs
What sort of camera should I use?
Most people have access to at least one camera. If you have a choice between
using a film camera and a digital camera it is generally quicker and easier to
use a digital camera. However, if you don't have the use of a digital camera you
can still take high quality film photographs and scan them into digital images
for displaying on your computer. (More on that later).
If you have a choice, choose the best camera that you have:
- Digital Camera with External Hot Shoe Flash (Best)
- Digital Camera with built in flash
- SLR Film Camera with External Hot Shoe Flash
- SLR Film Camera with built in flash
- Point and Shoot Film Camera with built in Flash
- Disposable Film Camera with Built in Flash (Worst)
External Hot Shoe Flash
If you have a camera with an external "Hot Shoe" flash then use
the External Flash instead of the camera's in-built flash because it will be
more powerful. The better external flashes have tilt heads that can be swivelled
up and down. The main benefit of an angled External Flash is that it bounces the
flash off the ceiling at an angle. This diffuses the light into the room to
produce professional looking photographs.
If you have external flash with a swivel head, ensure that you make use of the
swivel head and angle the flash at a 50-60 degree angle.
Prior Preparation of the Scene
A little bit of prior preparation goes a long way to getting better photographs.
Ensure that the room or exterior features to be photographed are clean, tidy and
clutter free. Do not take photographs that include pets because some potential
buyers do not like dogs, cats etc.
Composition and Time
You can display up to 20 images on your Aorata for sale Web page. You will need
to take both outside and inside photographs.
Show off your best features. Ideas for photographs of your property:
- Photo 1 - Photograph of the outside of your Property, usually the view
from the street
- Photo 2 - Photograph of the garden or any unique feature such as a
swimming pool or water view
- Photo 3 - Photograph of your Living Room
- Photo 4 - Photograph of your Kitchen
- Photo 5 - Photograph of your Master bedroom
If there is a feature you would prefer not to highlight (eg an old kitchen)
choose another room or exterior feature that you believe will be important to
potential buyers.
Exterior Photographs
It is highly recommended that you shoot your outside photographs on a bright,
sunny day. A bright sunny day will give you plenty of light and hopefully a blue
sky that always looks more appealing to buyers than a dark grey sky. Determine
the best time of the day to shoot your outside images. Ideally the sun should be
behind you and the building or object being photographed should not be covered
in major shadows.
Common Problems with Exterior Photographs and how to can avoid them
| Image taken directly into the sun |
Solution: - Wait for the sun to
move behind you or, if this is not possible, to your side. Sometimes a
passing cloud can be used to diffuse bright sunlight. |
| Building hidden by dark shadows |
Solution: - Wait for
the sun to move behind you or if this is not possible to your side. |
| Cluttered photographs |
Solution: - Remove clutter from
the scene. For example, remove cars from the driveway of the property
being sold. Cars in the photograph clutter the picture and can distract
the buyer’s attention. |
| Image is out of focus |
Solution: - Modern point and
shoot cameras have “auto focus”. However, best results are obtained
if you keep the camera still. Hold the camera steady while taking the
photograph. If you have difficulty holding the camera steady bracing
your body against a tree or place the camera on a fence, post, or use a
tripod. |
Interior photographs
To avoid dark photographs when taking photographs inside you need to ensure that
there is enough light in the room. If your camera has a built-in flash, make
sure it is turned on and that it fires when you take your photographs. If you
have an external hot shoe flash, use it instead.
To get more light into your inside photographs, turn on the room lights. If your
camera has a zoom lens, ensure that it is zoomed all the way out so that more of
the image can be captured by the photograph. This is also makes the room look
bigger.
Common Problems with Interior Photographs and how to avoid them
| Photograph Comes out Too Dark |
Solution: - use a
camera with a flash and turn it on for inside photographs. Turn on room
lights for additional light. |
| Flash Back |
Watch out for "flash
back". While it always recommended that you use your flash when
shooting inside, some photographs may have a problem with "flash
back" off reflective objects. Basically the flash bounces off a
reflective object eg a mirror and bounces back into the camera. The end
result is a white flash-back mark on your photograph.
Solutions: - try taking the photograph with the flash on but from
a slightly different angle that will avoid the flash bouncing back off
the reflective object directly into the lens. If it is not possible to
reposition the angle of the camera then turn the flash off. The flash
back problem can often occur in bathrooms that are small and feature
white walls, shining tap ware and mirrors. |
| Bright Sunlight streaming through
windows |
Inside photographs that include a window
can be a problem on a bright sunlight day. The bright sunlight coming
from the window can result in a photograph that is dark except for the
sun-lit window.
Solution: - combine the use of a flash and a slightly overcast
day or a different time of the day to take the photograph. Or draw the
curtains to block out the extra sunlight. |
General Photography Tips for Better Pictures
Shoot Photographs at Different Angles
For each of your scenes, take the photograph from choice of different angles and
then pick the photograph that shows your subject off the best. For example, if
your living room has four corners you can usually take a photograph in each of
the four corners. The same usually applies to photographs of the outside of your
property. The choices are usually a photograph straight on, a photograph from
the left or a photograph from the right.
Shoot Some Photographs From a Height
Most photographs are taken while standing with the camera held to the eye. The
end result is a photograph with a view at eye level. You should also try taking
photographs at a height with a 45 degree angle looking down. Views from a height
are often more appealing. Simply get a small stepladder and take the photograph
from a greater height and with your camera angled down. This technique can work
well inside and give a more professional presentation. If you have time, you can
take photographs at eye level and another set from a height and then decide
which ones you like best.
Turn Date Stamp Off
If you are using a camera that can insert the date on the picture, make sure
this is turned off so the date is not stamped over your photographs.
Bathroom with Spa Bath
If your property for sale has a spa bath you might want to take a photograph of
the bathroom. You can make your photograph look more professional by filling up
the spa bath and turning on the bubbling water. The photograph will look more
inviting than an empty spa bath.
Open Fireplace
If you have a room with an open fireplace, consider lighting the fire to create
that inviting and cosy image.
Take a Variety of Photographs and then Choose the Best
Shoot a full roll of film if you are using a film camera or take 20-50 digital
photographs if you are using a digital camera and then pick the best photographs. If
you take a good number of shots, at least some will turn out to be great
photographs.
Step 2: How to get digital images on to your computer’s hard drive
Option 1:
Convert the negatives from a standard 35mm film to a CD-ROM.
Use a regular 35 mm film camera to take photographs of your property for sale.
Go to your local Photo Lab and get your film developed. For an extra few
dollars, most Photo Labs can produce a CD-ROM with your photographs in a digital
format. Tell the Photo Lab that the digital images are to be used for the
Internet and that you only want the image size to be 680 x 480 and in the JPG
File format. Also ask the operator if each image can be no larger than 200
Kbytes.
Insert the CD-ROM into your computers CD drive and copy the images to your hard
drive. You now have digital photos on your computer.
Option 2:
Get your Photo Lab to Scan 6 x 4 Prints on to a CD-ROM
If you have existing 6 x 4 photographs you can go to your Photo Lab and get them
to scan your prints and produce a CD-ROM. The Photo Lab will charge a small fee
for doing this. Tell the Photo Lab that the digital images will be used for the
Internet and that you only want the image size to be 680 x 480 and in the JPG
File format. Also ask the operator if each image can be no larger than 200
Kbytes.
Insert the CD-ROM into your computers CD drive and copy the images to your hard
drive. You now have digital photos on your computer.
Option 3:
Use a Digital Camera to shoot digital photographs. Download these digital images
to your computer’s hard drive.
Step 3: How to resize digital images on your hard drive
Make sure your Digital Images are the Correct File Type and File Size
Digital images vary in file type and size. To display your digital images on
your Aorata Web page the file type must be in either a JPG or GIF file format
and the file size of each image must be smaller than 200 Kbytes.
How to determine Image File Size
Find the image on your computer’s hard drive using Windows Explorer, or search
for it by using “My Computer”. Select the image and click your right mouse
button and then select “Properties”. A “Properties” window for the image
will appear. Look for the Window Section for “Size” section and read off the
image’s file size.
If the image is less than 200 Kbytes you do not need to re-size your image.
What do you do if you have digital images that are over 200 Kbytes.
If you are using a digital camera you will soon discover that each image will
most likely exceed 200 Kbytes. Some Photo Labs may also supply you with CD's
with digital images that have very large file sizes that exceed 200 Kbytes.
There is a simple solution to digital photo files that are in the wrong file
format or exceed 200 Kbytes.
To reduce the file size of your image you will need to use a photo editing
program to re-size the dimensions of each image and then re-save the image as a
JPG. Most computers will have Microsoft Paint that comes pre-installed with the
Windows operating system (for free).
Open Microsoft Paint.
In Windows XP it can be found under Start -> Programs -> Accessories ->
Paint Once Paint is loaded the next step is to open the image you want to
re-size.
- Select File -> open form the Menu
- From the File of Type Selection Box
- Select "All Files"
- Navigate your PC Hard drive to the location where your image is stored.
- Select the image and click the open button.
Your Image should appear. The next step is to re-size your image.
- Select Stretch / Skew from the Image Menu (shortcut Ctrl + W)
- Enter a 50 into both the horizontal and vertical stretch boxes and click
the O.K button and the image will re-size.
The next step is to Save your re-sized image.
- Select File -> Saves As and enter a new file name. Ensure you save the
file as JPEG in the "Save As Type" selection box.
- Click the Save button to save your re-sized image.
Lastly check the file size of the image to ensure it is under 200 Kbytes. If it
is still too large you will need to repeat the above steps but this time reduce
the size more by choosing 30% instead of 50%.
Note: It is strongly recommended that you do not re-save over an image
because the original will be overwritten. You may want the original image
maintained. Therefore, always save a modified image with a new name.
Note: Always save your photographs in JPG format rather than GIF file
format. When saving your JPG, your Imaging Editor software (e.g photoshop) may
ask you what quality you want to save the JPG. Always choose the highest
quality. When you upload your image the Aorata Online Web Page Builder
automatically compresses the file size of your image, but you cannot upload an
image larger than 200 Kbytes to start with.
Step 4: How to use the Aorata Online Web page builder to upload your images
from your hard drive to your Web page
Firstly you need to have set-up
a 7 Day evaluation account for the Aorata Online Web Page Builder and be logged into
your account.
From the "Upload Images" screen you can Upload up to 20 Images for
display on your Aorata for sale Web page. Decide which is your best image and
upload that image first because it will be positioned at the top of your Aorata
for sale Web page. Images are uploaded one at a time.
How to Upload Your Image
Step 1
Click the [Browse.] button. A "choose file" pop up window appears.
Navigate your computers hard drive to the location where your images are stored
on your hard drive. Select the image you want to and click the Open Button
(Remember to select your best image first). The "choose file" pop up
window closes and the file path of your image appears in the "Browse Image
to Upload" text box.
Step 2
Click the [Upload >>] button to upload the image you have selected. This
will take up to 30 seconds depending on the speed of your Internet connection.
During the upload process you should see the "Upload Status Indicator"
bar moving. If the image is successfully uploaded you will see a "Uploaded
Message" and in the right panel you will see a thumbnail of your image and
the file name listed in the "Uploaded Images" box.
Note: During the upload process DO NOT click on any buttons. Wait until
the "Upload Status Indicator" bar has stopped before uploading another
image or moving to another screen.
Note: If you receive an error message when uploading ensure that your
image is saved in the JPG or GIF image file format and ensure that the image
file size is under 200 Kbytes.
Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each image you want to upload.
Step 5. How to digitally enhance and transform an ordinary photograph into a
better photograph by using computer software - for Advanced Users
This section of the guide is for advanced users who want to improve their
photographs by using computer software that can bed downloaded and installed on
your computer.
Once you have your images in a digital format, you can optionally improve your
images by editing their brightness, colour contrast and sharpness.
Digital photographs often suffer from the problem of being too dark and lacking
sharpness. These two problems can be fixed (or at least improved) by using photo
enhancing software.
Free Photo Enhancing Software
We recommend DCE AutoEnhance as a photo-enhancing tool. Download
DCE for a free 30-day trial. During the free 30-day trial you can use DCE
AutoEnhance to enhance your digital photographs. If you want to keep using it
after the 30 days it costs US $35.
DCE AutoEnhance is an ideal photo-enhancing tool because it enables you to do a
number of fine level adjustments to a digital image using a simple tool. DCE
AutoEnhance can be used to re-size your images, lighten dark images, sharpen
images, adjust colour saturation. Download
DCE 30 Day Free Trial
The above is Chapter 5 from the Guide to Selling Your Own Real
Estate Property.
The complete 30 page Guide to Selling Your Own Real Estate can
be downloaded as a PDF for free by Aorata clients. The guide is packed full of practical tips on how to sell your real estate privately for NO Commission
View Sample from Chapter 1 - Benefits from selling your own home, yourself
View Sample from Chapter 2 - Paperwork and Legal Advice
View Sample from Chapter 3 - Setting the Asking Price
View Sample from Chapter 4 - Preparing your Property for Sale to Maximise Sale Price
View Sample from Chapter 6 - 4 Step Marketing Mix
View Sample from Chapter 7 - How to Close the Sale
Build your own Aorata for sale Web page online in 4 easy steps. Try our 7 Day Evaluation
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