Field Training
Field Training
Prioritize the Windows
Prioritize the windows. A shot with one or two windows always beats a walls only shot: more natural light, better picture. The only exception is a truly special piece of art.
Chop As Little As Possible
Do your best to save as much as possible in the frame, chop as few things off as you can. Push up until the item just barely stays in frame. However If getting something back in would mean backing way up, that is a completely different shot.
Move Things Around
You have the free will and the ability to move things around: close doors, move towels and lights, hold plants back with your arm, hop into closets, bathtubs, or onto counters to get better angles and compositions. Just remember to move everything back as soon as you can.
Camera Height
Normally you should shoot at belly button or door knob level. But behind couches, beds, cushions, desks… come up above the furniture so floor stays visible.
Doors Open and Closed
If a bathroom or laundry hiding behind a door: shoot the clean angles with the door closed, then take one with it open to prove it leads to a bathroom, not a closet. Shoot the laundry room itself after.
Two Dining Angles
I like to take two angles of the dining room, one wide and one a bit more zoomed in look (Ive been doing this ever since a realtor once asked why the dining table looked so tiny on a luxury home.)
Review and Reshoot
Review and reshoot when something was down or askew the whole shoot, a cabinet door popped open, or your shutter speed was too high.
Photoshop Handles It
Trash cans, people, work crews, and marked up damage: snap anyway, Photoshop handles them. But curtains and blinds still get opened. Interiors rebuild easily in post, the outside view can't be guessed.
Hide the Harsh Sun
Rise slightly to hide the harsh sun from the frame, or block it with your hand just outside the shot to kill flare spots.
Too Close to Big Things
Don't shoot from too close to big things like a fridges, cabinets, or furniture, it can take up a lot of the image. Push in front of it.
Centering Hallways
To center a hallway or garage shot, stand in the middle, look straight down to line up the camera's center line, then move only the screen.
Exterior Angles
Just like interiors, exteriors are the same two angles over and over: corner shots and straight on. Grab as many angles as you can then cull
Occupied Homes
Occupied homes: don't let belongings, owners, or crews scare you. Same shots, same angles. Do the simple prep, doors closed, windows shut, curtains up, but never get pulled into a full cleaning. Windows normally stay closed everywhere, luxury listings are the one exception.
Tiny Bathrooms
Here is how to shoot tiny bathrooms.
Shower Doors
When setting up a bathroom shot slide the shower doors to the side a person would naturally enter from, so the camera sees straight down the tub. Only feature a shower head if it's actually fancy.
Tight Bathrooms
How to shoot a tight Bathroom.
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