Over a year ago I worked with a national magazine on an article on Home Staging. The homeowner was one of those rare and great finds who would do anything we said and allow us to do anything we felt necessary. When we entered the home for the first time - only 12 hrs before we were expected to stage the entire unit (3 bdrms, living room, dining room, kitchen), on less than a $300 budget (materials & outside labor) and in less than 8 hrs (including work time), the magazine staff was very anxious. To them the home looked good as is and they felt they wouldn't be able to capture the changes on camera without cut lines to inform viewers of the changes. I assured them that would not be the case. We would make more than simple, subtle changes.
What was the most interesting part for me, was watching the photographer. I would set furniture in place and then he would move it slightly to get the best shot (angles for the camera). When he was done I would reposition it for the actual showings. In the kitchen, I swear there were 4 different cuts of lemon on the counter and they spent over an hour photographing them.
About a week after the shoot I received these proofs. I think you can see the changes were obvious. What was interesting about them was the changes they noticed in the after photos. Would we have taken the time to try the pillows in different ways just to appease our camera? (btw, they chose #1)
I think we can actually learn quite a bit from thinking about what professional photographers do. Sometimes it is about tweaking reality to conform to the shot, then fixing it for real life. Below is one of the shots I recently took with this in mind.
Notice the TV in this shot. Clearly this TV would normally be faced the other direction - towards the person in bed. The fact of the matter is that the back of the TV was not a great shot. I didn't want to completely remove it from the shot, but I also didn't want to take a photo of the black box with wires and cables. Turning it toward the camera makes for a better photo.
Just in case you were interested in the lemons from the story above... here are the final proofs.
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Melissa Marro, a published artist, now turned staging advocate and national speaker speaks her mind about real estate and the home staging industry. In her 'no holds barred' approach, audience members find real answers to the industries pitfalls and learn how to overcome them with tried and true information and guidance. With marketing as her passion, she turned a small home based business into one of the nation's largest home staging and training facilities. Selling her successful home staging company in January 2012, Marro is now a full time speaker and instructor for Staging And Resign and Real Estate Staging Association (RESA)'s trade events.
For more information on having Marro speak at one of your real estate functions, please contact her at 843.619.1593 or email at marro.melissa@gmail.com
This is definitely one of those "things that make you go hmmmm" moments. This is why I want to take a photography class because there is so much that goes into a picture. I'm not sure about which one I like for the living room but I do like the look of the lemons cut. It makes it seem real.
Very good post Melissa. I really want to learn how to sharpen up my picture-taking skills. It's so true what you said about taking photos a certain way for the camera. That actually just happened to me this weekend. I finished staging a home and was taking pictures of the living room. In person, I was very pleased with how all of the furniture was placed. I could see the whole overall look and layout of the entire room and it flowed well when you were right there. However, when I got home and looked at my photos, one chair really looked like it should have been angled into a conversation area with the matching couch and loveseat. To see the room in person though, that wouldn't have worked because there was another sitting area next to that chair - angling would have looked strange. When I go back to de-stage though, I'm going to angle that chair and take a photo with it that way. Thanks for pointing out that we have to keep those things in mind when taking our photos. You're always so good at sharing advice with everyone. Your photos are lovely by the way - great job!
Hello Melissa, this is a very thought provoking post. When I think about what you have written here, it really bears out that what you see when your standing there in person, may not play that well or could play better for the camera lens. I believe we will start looking real hard at what the photos look like while were still on site so we can determine if tweaking is in order. Thanks Melissa, you do like to make us think about stuff don't you?
Hey Melissa,
I did a mag shoot last year, and it amazed me! I had to remove all the home owners items, then stage the shoot with my inventory, they'd snap the shots, and I would put all the homeowners things back in place.
I cant look at a magazine the same anymore, now that I know they DONT live like that lol!
Hope all is well with you!
Heather
HI Melissa, Informative post and very timely. I recently spent a day with my photographer shooting 4 of my staged properties. She would move a floral arrangement from a bathroom counter to the tub area and then put it back.
Placing accent cushions is a huge issue for photographers, making or breaking the shot.
Crooked lampshades or artwork that might not be so noticeable in person, stand out like a red flag once photographed.
Needless to say, I have signed up for her photgraphy class as she specialized in product shots for magazines.
Thanks for sharing this experience with us.
Well even though I take pride in my photography, the time has come to hire a Professional Photographer as part of our staging package. It is pretty resonable and based on the time I take to finally get decent photos it pretty much pays for itself. Besides, at the end of the day i'd rather relax with a cocktail then play Mr. Photographer
Professional Home Stager Yes, Professional Photographer NOPE!
Just like Professional Home Staging it takes allot more than a some tools and a class to call one a professional.
Cheers,
Joe
Hi Melissa-
I just found this post. Thanks for sharing a photographer's tips! It does make a noticable difference.
Hi Melissa, very interesting. It happens to me all the time, I get home and look at the photos and something just looks out of whack, where in person, it looks fine. I'm beginning to agree more and more like Michelle and Joe Kaspari said about getting a professional. I would much rather relax than stressing about the photos! Thanks for the interesting post.
I am glad that you were able to gain another thought process on photography. I think if we keep learning just little things it can make a huge overall difference..... thanks for sharing!