NEWBIE - REAL ESTATE AGENT

Rhyan · Jul 10, 2013

Hey Guys

so I just picked up a Nikon D3100 yesterday. To be honest I'm totally lost . I bought it specifically to take wide angle photos of my listings. Can anyone suggest a decent wide angle lens or setting that will help me out .

Thanks

tirediron · Jul 10, 2013

There are dozens of "decent" lenses that will help you out; how much are you will to spend? The best solution is either the 14-24f2.8 ($2200) or the 28mm f2.8PC ($2300). As far as settings go, these are different for every situation and depend greatly on the type of final image you desire. Good real-estate photography depends very little on the camera, somewhat more on the lens, and VERY MUCH on the lighting and photographer's knowledge. In short even if you spend $9,000 on a D4, and 14-24, without the background knowledge, your images aren't going to be vastly different than those of your competitors shooting with a $149 P&S. If I were to try and sell my house on my own, you would doubtless advise me to seek the services of a professional estate agent who has the knowledge to help with the transaction. I will make the same recommendation to you. Spend the $500 - 1000 per home and have a professional come out and do the work. The difference between that and what your competitors are showing will very quickly help you become noticed!

Gavjenks · Jul 10, 2013

Agreed. If you are interested in photography as a hobby, and will pursue it outside of this one specific purpose, then go for it, and you can probably get significantly better photos than your competitors with like... a year or two of practice.

If you are just buying this camera 100% as a business expense and have no interest in photography in and of itself / won't practice outside of real estate, then you're not going to do terribly well.

Really good real estate photos involve some expensive equipment and even more know-how. Sometimes people will even take multiple shots of the same scene with different complementary lighting setups involving multiple studio strobes, and will blend them together in photoshop in complicated ways, etc. It's by no means just a matter of "oh I have a slightly more expensive camera now, so everything will look like it's right out of a magazine."

The higher end tools will ALLOW you to make magazine style photos, but do not GUARANTEE it if you don't know what you're doing. Just like buying an $800 ceramic chef's knife isn't going to make your meals any tastier or speed up your prep time significantly if you're not already pretty darn good at cooking.

Robbo521 · Jul 10, 2013

down here most will hire you to come do them because of what it will cost them to just get gear to do them.i have done about 8 for people and like said before,every one is different and a challenge.

MOREGONE · Jul 10, 2013

I would look into a Tokina 11-16

Not going to kill the bank, will focus with your camera and is very wide.

Just some extra tips seeing is you're new

Tripod, no questions about it. Doenst have to be expensive but you will need it. Lighting is probably the single most important thing to making an ugly house look pretty. Your pop up flash will not cut it. A cheap $50 Yongnuo pointed towards the ceiling will improve your photos dramatically.

bratkinson · Jul 11, 2013

Wise advise from the above respondents. From what I've been able to learn from various real estate photography threads on this site (use the search function in the upper right), it's more about lighting than anything else. Everything from multiple exposures combined together in post processing to long exposures with light painting with out of view lights seems to be the rule rather than the exception for higher-end real estate photography. In looking at real estate listings in my area from time to time, they all look like point and shoot photography by the listing agent. But for high-end listings, roughly $300,000 and up, that's when it takes a knowledgeable, experienced photographer to set up the lighting, even having an assistant or two, and taking perhaps a couple of hours to capture the home as best as possible. Then follow that up with good post processing techniques.

Bottom line, good equipment is a very good start. Experience of others and your own combined will be your best teacher.

Parker219 · Jul 11, 2013

I am a Realtor, and I use a professional photographer. He charges $89.99 for 25 photos, which is the most I can put on the MLS. Thats the best $89.99 I ever spent in real estate.