"Showing the Goods in Lifestyle Scenes"

I just read an article (WSJ, 11/23/11, by Katherine Rosman) describing how high-end goods (carpets, sofas etc.) are being sold on-line through photographic advertising.  The products, ranging from faux mantles to office decor to furniture) are photographed in a (faux) homey setting and published on-line, or in print catalogs, "showing the goods in lifestyle scenes that resemble glossy magazine layouts."

The scenes are created, one after the other, in a faux home and the photographer lights, captures and crops the scene to emphasize quality and to improve customer comfort in buying sight-unseen.  Ms. Rosman calls it "an evolution in online shopping."

What's that got to do with real estate photography?  Seems like a perfect segueway to me.  High quality photography (what we do) of big ticket items (like homes) emphasizes quality and improves customer comfort in the shopping/evaluation process.  I think this article describes a cultural change going on right now, as people are requiring less 'touch' in shopping and are more willing to use on-line evaluation methods, provided the visual quality on-line is high.  This seems like a Good Thing to me, as a real estate photographer.

Dawn or Dusk?

When you're taking exterior photos of properties, it's almost a universal truism that early morning or late afternoon lighting will give more pleasing, more flattering results.  That's because of that photographic bugaboo, strong shadows.  It's really astonishing how a mid-day view looks to the eye versus how it appears in a photograph.  When we look at a beautiful home at mid-day, we see somewhat what we want to see.  The camera takes our mental filter away and leaves only the stark, ugly shadows.

Try it sometime.  Go outside your own home on a bright day at noon with any type of camera.  Look at your house, and then take a picture and look at it in the viewfinder.  You know what your house looks like, so that's what you see.  The camera will show a different and far less satisfying view.  This is one reason many people don't like their own photographs.

The answer:  low sun angles or cloudy skies.  This give a much "softer" light that lets the actual items in the photograph show up without strong, contrasty shadows.  The problem:  you've got to work when the light is right, which is not always the most convenient time.

I like the morning light better than the afternoon light.  In both cases, the nature of the light is changing fast as the sun moves away from or into the horizon.  The morning light, as well as the reduced potential for cars or people moving into the photographic space, makes early A.M. the best time for me.

Hitting the floor an hour before dawn so you can get to the property early takes some commitment.  Plus, a winter sunrise at 7:30 lets you get a lot more sleep than a summer sunrise at 6:00 or earlier.  Knowing these things and being willing to do them gives a professional photographer an advantage.  Other things like composition skills and Photoshop skills and having quality equipment are important too, but the willingness to be on-site when the house is ready is a huge part of making the best image.

Thankfulness for hitting bottom

"Hitting bottom" - that sound like a situation faced by a substance abuser.  However, it carries with it the sense of no further decline!  After a long period of decline, hitting bottom represents a significant change, a point where turnaround is possible, and perhaps, with the eye of faith, a time of hope. 

More people than ever are claiming that the real estate market has hit bottom.  Let's call that a good thing.  The latest claim I saw was an article entitled "What's Going Right" by two economists, Brian S. Wesbury and Robert Stein.  They argue that business investment is growing and is a force for good, but admitted that housing was still "weak."  No argument there.


They report that consumer spending for housing items (appliances etc.) is up to "pre-crisis" levels.  And finally, they say "Housing already looks to have found a bottom. Imagine what happens when it finally turns up?"

This is a theme from many.  The public wants more to see growth.  Growth in real estate seems to be in geographic pockets across the nation.  Just reaching bottom is good and it's reason for  hope, but it doesn't mean the end of pain.  When a badly wounded person simply stops bleeding (but yet lives), the pain remains but hope begins to take root.  


Bottom line:  the good news is Not that the pain is over.  It's just that we're not getting any worse.  But we are excited about imagining what will happen with housing does turn up!