The business side of photography
A few more random photos.
Indulge me as I reminisce about a few more photos and aimlessly fill another blog page.
The pictures below are all scanned film images. Each of these portraits, except for the last one, were done in about five minutes because that’s usually all the time a photographer got.
The photo was done with one softbox to the left and Fuji Press 400 film.
Much of what I shoot involves people and often large groups of people. The ongoing pandemic has meant that most of my business has stopped although I expect things to slowly return this month.
So with time on my hands and blog pages to fill, I thought I’d reminisce about a few old photos.
Real estate photographers can spend a lot of time in the bathroom.
Despite being the smallest room in a home, bathrooms are very important. So house photographers know to spend a lot of time making sure the bathroom photos look good.
The same photography principles apply whether a bathroom is large, small or anywhere in between.
Verticals must be 90° vertical, room lights must be properly exposed and the bathroom has to look clean and bright.
Bathroom photos are an important marketing tool for home builders and designers. Since most home owners want to update their bathrooms, builders and designers should have eye-catching bathroom photos on their web site. This will always draw customer interest. Bathrooms (and kitchens) are key selling points to any renovation or new home.
Photography of real estate exteriors is best done when the weather and sunlight are both perfect. But it’s not usually possible to wait for ideal conditions.
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NHL hockey players from various teams used to practice together each August. These casual practices helped the players get in shape before the start of their respective team’s training camps in September. These Toronto-area practices were organized quietly so as not to attract public attention. But if you knew which ice rinks were being used, you could go and watch some top-level NHL players.
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When I used to photograph new model homes, the higher-end properties often had a large wood-burning fireplace. When this type of home was to be photographed, the builder’s sales rep often arrived with a couple of fire logs under their arm. They would start a fire in the main fireplace to make the photos look better.
Today when I photograph houses, I’m often the only person in the home and there are no lit fireplaces. A gas fireplace might not yet be connected or the gas not turned on. Plus, for liability reasons, I won’t turn on any gas appliance. It’s also out of the question for the photographer to start a wood-burning fire, assuming that wood was even available.
Photo retouching to the rescue.
It’s easy to digitally add flames to an otherwise empty fireplace. A glowing fireplace adds life to a photo and will change a dull black hole into a room highlight.
If your real estate pictures have a fireplace, light it up with a nice fire.
