Technology Strategies for Real Estate

The NAR 2006 survey of homebuyers and home sellers once again stresses the importance of certain features that need to be on your website and listings. Your digital presence starts with your photos.  83% of consumers found photos very useful, and listen to this, 80% would not click on a listing without photos. So, consider this, NO PHOTO equals NO SALE. It does not take me long to search the internet and find, frankly put horrible photos. I would never look at a home with those photos. So what are some easy tips to improve photo quality?

First of all, take lots of them. You have a memory card in your camera, shoot until it is full. You are bound to get a few good ones. Go check all of your listings online from the eyes of a potential buyer. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN THE HOME? If not go and take new photos. Change the photos on different sites as well. Don’t use the same one over and over. Have a different one on your website, on Realtor.com and another one on your company website.

Choose a time to photograph when there is even light and the fewest possible shadows on the house. Early morning and late afternoon are often called “Golden Time” because of the warm, horizontal light.

Invest in a tripod. Many of us have a shaky hand or just can’t get the right angle. There is a great one available right now called the goriillapod. It is totally flexible and reminds me of Gumby. It is bendable, wrappable and is small and compact.

Use the horizontal light that is available. Don’t turn on over head lights. Use table lamps the light feels warmer. If there are blinds on the windows, make sure they are all at the same level..

If you must turn on room lights, adjust the white balance setting to match the dominant source of light. Proper white balance helps prevent photos from having a color cast.

If the sun is shining in through the windows, you will have back lighting issues, which fools a digital camera’s built-in light meter. Back-lighting causes the contents of the room to appear dark while the scene outside the window is better exposed. A solution is to use fill-flash.