Posts Tagged ‘Photography’
Monday, August 9th, 2010
Professional real estate photography, home staging, online marketing…all buzz words in the real estate marketing community. But how important is it really? Do Shreveport/Bossier area home buyers care what they are seeing online?
In this article Mary Ellen Podmolik, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune’s business section who covers the local housing market, discusses real estate photos, staging and online marketing. She shares how these items ultimately reflect on the agent and how they may affect the sale of the home.
When it comes to online real estate photos, the devil is in the details – chicagotribune.com
Tags: Bossier City, home staging, homebuyers, internet marketing, online marketing, Photography, photos, real estate, real estate photography
Posted in Online Property Marketing | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Get out that sold sign — these selling tips will make your property a hot commodity
This article from HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate offers 8 helpful hints for making your home more attractive to buyers. Whether you are working with a Realtor or going FSBO, these are some great tips to help your home really shine.
Do market your home in different ways.
Almost 80 percent of home searches start on the Internet, so why not finish them there too? In lieu of the traditional method of selling through a real estate agent, some home sellers are turning to the Web to sell their homes. If you choose to sell with a Realtor, make sure their marketing plan extends to the Internet with virtual tours, photos and more.
Read more of this article at the link below. Or contact Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours to learn more about our online marketing services for both real estate agents and For Sale By Owners.
Slide Show: Selling Dos and Don’ts : HGTV FrontDoor Real Estate
Tags: internet marketing, online marketing, Photography, real estate, virtual tour, virtual tour company
Posted in Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
In today’s real estate market, approximately 90% of home buyers start their search online, looking at dozens of photos of homes.
The photo of the front of the home is the single most important photo on the listing. This photo is the buyers very first impression of the home. It is the one that helps determine if the buyer will continue to look further into the listing or move on to the next one. It is important to spend the extra time and energy to get the “perfect” shot of the exterior of the home.
Whether you do your photos yourself or hire a professional photographer, here are some important things to consider in photographing the front of the home:
- Straight on is not always the best option. Try photographing from one side, especially if there are interesting architectural features. Also be certain to include all of the home in the frame.
- Choose your time of day. Photograph when the sun is on the front of the home, not behind it.
- Choose your day. Don’t photograph on dreary, gray, overcast days. Bright and sunny is preferable.
- Properly expose the photo. Make sure the color balance is correct – a strange blue or gray cast is not good. Make sure the photo is bright and cheerful and competitive.
Remember that your photo will be compared to other homes of similar size and price. If your photo is dark, awkwardly colored or generally uninviting, then it may leave the buyer feeling less than impressed with your listing. Possibly for reasons they can not even identify, they will just know that the house seems dreary.
Great photos should help bring buyers to the property. If you do not have the time in your busy day to take competitive photos, you might consider hiring a professional photographer. This is a small expense that can be recouped in freeing your time to actively sell homes. Not to mention that your seller will be very impressed with how their home is being marketed.
Tags: internet marketing, marketing, online, Photography, photos, real estate, real estate photography
Posted in Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Are you thinking of making improvements on your home before selling? While fresh paint and clean carpets are always a good idea, some major improvements may not get you the return on investment you were hoping for. Check out this article for some tips on what improvements may not be worth it…
7 Home Improvements NOT to Make | Shreveport Real Estate
Some inexpensive things that can be done which could regain your investment and then some:
- Fresh paint – covering up faded or scuffed up paint gives your home a fresh and well maintained look. Choose neutral colors to enable buyers to envision themselves in the home.
- Clean carpets – Dirty and stained carpets can have buyers thinking in terms of dollars it will cost to replace. Have the carpets cleaned. It is inexpensive and will have buyers seeing an asset rather than a hindrance.
- Remove clutter – Clear table tops, under the beds, and bathroom and kitchen counters. Maximize and show off the space available. Leave only a decorative item or two on tables and remove all toiletries from the bathroom counters and that basket of mail from the kitchen counter.
- Remove oversize or extra pieces of furniture – Rooms which are packed with furniture give the impression of being too small. Remove extra furniture to storage. Choose pieces that fit the size of the room and keep only enough to make a warm and inviting space.
These few simple and inexpensive things can increase what a buyer may be willing to offer for your home. Get some tips for staging your home for real estate photos by clicking on the “Preparing for a Virtual Tour” tab to the right.
Tags: home for sale, home staging, Photography, photos, realestate
Posted in Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Working as a real estate photographer, one thing I often see is blurry photos. Blur can be caused by several factors, but often the culprit in real estate photos is camera shake. This is the result of the slow shutter speeds necessary to photograph home interiors. The longer the shutter is open, the more likely it is to record every little movement, no matter how small.
The best answer for eliminating camera shake is a tripod. But when that is just not a feasible answer, there are some other things you can do. This article from Darren Rowse at DPS has several tips for reducing camera shake when shooting hand held photos.
How to Hold a Digital Camera
One little trick I use when I don’t have a tripod available is to place the camera on a firm and level surface such as a table top. Just be careful not to move the camera when you press the shutter button.
Ark-La-Tex Virtual Media is located in Shreveport/Bossier City, La and provides real estate photography, virtual tours and website design to real estate and commercial clients.
Tags: homeinteriors, marketing, online, Photography, realestatephoto, realestatephotography
Posted in Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
Monday, May 31st, 2010
It’s summertime here in the Shreveport / Bossier City area and people are beginning to think about moving. Are you getting your home ready to sell? Below are a few tips to help you get top dollar for your home. This article includes tips on everything from pricing your home correctly, to choosing the right real estate agent, to home staging.
10 Best-Kept Secrets for Selling Your Home : Real Estate : Home & Garden Television
If you are thinking about having your home professionally photographed, these tips are great for getting your home into picture perfect condition. Remember, the photos or virtual tour used to advertise your home are the buyers very first impression. The photos can often determine whether a potential buyer decides to visit your home in person. Too see a few more tips about preparing your home for photographing visit our “Preparing for a Virtual Tour” page.
Tags: bossiercity, internet marketing, onlinemarketing, Photography, photos, property marketing, realestate, selling, shreveport, virtualtours
Posted in Online Property Marketing, Tips and Tricks | No Comments »
Friday, May 28th, 2010
Are the photos used to market a home important? The general consensus is YES! With 90% of buyers starting their search online and an overwhelming majority of those ranking the photos as a top priority, they could be the single most important thing to attract a buyer’s attention.
So this begs the question – are do it yourself photos adequate? The photos not only speak to the property being marketed, but also to the quality of marketing being provided. And ultimately, to the professionalism of the marketer. Are sellers happy with photos that may pale in comparison to other properties similar to theirs? And does this reflect upon the agent doing the marketing?
Here is what one agent in San Diego had to say.
More on do-it-yourself listing photography. It reflects poorly. — The San Diego Home Blog
Tags: bossiercity, internet marketing, online marketing, Photography, photos, property marketing, realestate, shreveport
Posted in Online Property Marketing | No Comments »
Monday, March 1st, 2010
This month’s photo tip is about White Balance. If you have ever taken a picture that turned out orange or blue or some other strange color, then you have experienced the effects of white balance.
White balance compensates for the different colors emitted by different types of light sources and adjusting your white balance accordingly will make your pictures into powerful marketing tools.
White balance controls should be easily accessed from you camera’s menu. If you are unsure how to get to it, consult your manual. Here is what you need to know. White balance controls include settings for sun, shade, overcast, incandescent light, fluorescent light, and flash. Some cameras will include others as well, but these are the most important for real estate photography.
Chose the setting that most closely matches your light source. If you are shooting on a sunny day, choose the sun setting; if you are shooting on an overcast day, chose overcast; etc. Now, here’s the super secret tip: if you are shooting inside with mixed light (lamps and window light) choose the overcast setting. This will give your images a warm and inviting look.
That’s it! Have photo questions? Email your pictures or questions to Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours. You may even see your tips turn up here!
Tags: Bossier City, Photography, real estate, real estate photography, shreveport
Posted in Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010
Virtual Staging has arrived in the Shreveport / Bossier City area! New from Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours! In today’s real estate market with more and more homes being vacant due to foreclosures virtual staging is now more in demand than ever.
Before
Are you a Real Estate Agent? Are you looking for additional property marketing services to make you and your listing stand out from the crowd? If you answered yes to both of these questions then look no further. A powerful property marketing tool packing a dramatic eye-catching punch is here!
After
Everyone is aware of the cost of home staging. But now, Ark-La-Tex Virtual Tours in conjunction with RTV is able to offer real estate agents and FSBOs this new virtual home staging product at an extremely low price. As low as $50.00 per room, you can turn that empty, hard to sell home into eye-catching marketing. Contact us today to learn more about virtual staging and virtual tour options for your home!
Tags: Bossier City, home staging, internet marketing, Photography, property marketing, real estate, real estate photography, shreveport, virtual staging, virtual tours
Posted in Internet Syndication, Online Property Marketing, Product News, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 1st, 2010
When photographing still images for MLS, shoot on small size. Today’s modern point and shoot cameras can shoot in excess of 10 megapixels. This giant megapixel digital image on your camera is a poster sized photo. Bigger is not always better. If you ever wonder why it takes 5 minutes to upload a single picture to your listing, it is because the server has to reduce the size of your picture to a smaller use-for-web size. This process can cause a loss of image quality resulting in a blurry image.
If you must shoot large images, consider resizing the image width to 512 pixels in your favorite photo editing software. You will get some blurring if you do this. To correct this after reducing an image’s size, we recommend a “Smart Sharpen” (in Photoshop) around 40%, and then “Save for Web” at “High” quality.
Now you have a clear High Definition photo that loads very fast thanks to its small size!
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Tags: marketing, online, Photography, photos, real estate, Tips
Posted in Online Property Marketing, Tips and Tricks | 1 Comment »
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