This past summer, QStudios had the opportunity to photograph celebrity designer Ramsin Khachi’s latest project – his own personal home! Ramsin’s plan was to purchase a home, renovate it and flip it. The home is located in South East Oakville, steps away from downtown Oakville.  The home has been profiled in many magazines, newspapers and on CityLine where Ramsin has appeared numerous times.

Thanks to Ramsin and Kate S., from the Khachi Design Team

We would like to thank Ramsin, Kate S. and everyone from Khachi Design Group for giving us this great opportunity.

For more information:

Information about Ramsin’s Reno: http://www.khachi.com/tv/media/television?show=218

Khachi Design Group: http://www.khachi.com/

Currently, the home is listed for sale. For information about the listing:

http://www.goodalemillerteam.com/Home/Oakville-Real-Estate/79-Raymar-Place/203

It’s been a while! In our last post we discussed how we’ve been called in several times to ‘fix’ listings where the amount of showings is less than expected.

This got us thinking…  When should you hire a professional photographer, and when is it okay not to?

We’ve talked about how important professional real estate photography is (after all, it’s our business). With the internet being the number one source for buyer research, it is so important that your pictures catch the eye of the potential buyer.

Here are the top three reasons you need a professoinal:

1. The Right Equipment: Professionals photograhers use the proper equipment, ultra-wide angle lenses,  professional grade DSLR’s, proper lighting equipment as well as the industry standard post production software. Not only does the professional have the equipement, they also know how to use the equipment properly. Remember, buying Nike golf clubs doesn’t turn you into Tiger Woods.

2. Artistic and Technical Expertise:

Just like the scoring system in figure skating, photography has both a technical and artistic component to each photograph. In order to have a great picture, you need both.

Let’s start with the technical aspect. The experienced professional uses their skills to photograph a room properly. There are so many techniques that a photographer will use, but here is one example that anyone can relate to.  A professional understands how lighting affects your shot. The professional can take photos in all lighting conditions and the final results will be what you’d expect from a professional.

Artistically, a professional can angle the photo in such a way that makes the room look bigger, or will highlight the selling features of the home.

3. Online/Internet:

This point has been beaten to death. More buyers are starting their searches online. They can search through dozens of homes in a matter of minutes. You need excellent photos to keep that buyer from hitting the ‘back’ button.

Of course, here are the reasons when you should not hire a professional, and take the photos yourself:

1.  …
2.  …

and most importantly…
3. …

As you can see, there doesn’t seem to be any reason not to hire a professional photographer.  If cost is an issue, consider the cost of taking a listing, only to see it expire. Based on potential commission earned on the sale of the home, a professional photographer’s fee’s are only a fraction of the expenses that incur to sell/market your listing.  If you are an agent still taking your own photos, try giving a professional photographer a shot, you might be amazed at the results.

Picture yourself as a potential buyer looking for a new home. You’re searching through hundreds of homes online, trying to figure out which homes you want to see, and which ones will be a waste of time.

Take this home for instance:

Photos from the listing real estate agent

These are your typical real estate agent photos.  How long would you spend looking at the images of this home before going to the next property?  Would you contact your agent to book a listing appointment? This is a great home. It’s a solidly built home.  It’s in a great neighbourhood, on a huge lot. But the above photos never got buyers to the home to see what it has to offer.

After not getting any showings, we were called in to re-shoot the home. Below is the same home, but the photos are taken one of our professional photographers.
 

 
What are your thoughts about the home now?

On several occasions we have been contacted to help ‘fix’ a listing that has turned bad. More often than not, it centred around bad photos which lead to little or no showings.

Why risk the relationship with your client?  Treat all of your listings (from the small condo, to the multi-million dollar estate) with the same service and professionalism by hiring a professional photographer.

And the outcome of this home? It sold!!!

So you have just signed the listing agreement with your agent, and now the agent tells you that you need to have your house ready for photos.  As if the whole idea of selling your home isn’t stressful enough, now you have to prepare for photos!

If you are like most families, you are going to have some work prior to photo day.  Don’t worry, most of the homes in our gallery had nightmares getting ready for us – really!  But with a little work, you will have some great photos that will attract the right buyer. Here are some tips/notes about your upcoming photo-shoot, and what you can do to help give it that ‘curb-appeal’ that sets your home from the rest.

(Note, when we refer to photographer, we are also referring to the videographer as well)

About the Photo and Video Shoot Itself:

• The photographer/videographer will be capturing both the interior and exteriors of your home.
• In general, for photography alone, the photo-shoot will take no more than 2 hours.  If your home is getting some of our other services such as video (or your home is over 5,000 SF), expect us to spend a bit more time at your home.
• All major rooms will be photographed with the following exceptions (unless specified by the homeowner or agent):  Garage; Closets; Laundry Room; Unfinished basements; Storage Rooms.
• We will photograph all the finishing details within the room (upgraded faucets, granite counters, crown mouldings, hardwood flooring etc…)

Tips to make great ‘curb appeal’:

• If you have special features of your home that are not obvious please let the photographer know about these so he/she can include them in the shoot.
• Contain pets in the garage or laundry room (please don’t have the pets walking around during the photo-shoot).

What You Can do Outside:

• Remove all vehicles from driveways and do not park directly in front of the house.
• Move garbage cans, blue boxes and green bins out of sight.
• In the winter remove: all shovels, salt bags, hockey nets, sleds etc…
• Shovel driveway and walkways
• In the summer remove: toys, bikes, garden tools including hoses and sprinklers etc…
• Mow and rake yard
• Sweep driveways, sidewalks and patios
• If your home has a pool, put away any hoses, nets, pool toys etc…

What You Can Do Inside:

• In the front foyer/entrance, remove all shoes, boots, boot trays, bags etc…
• Clear off counter tops in kitchen.
• Be sure bathroom areas are clear of toothbrushes, shampoo bottles, sponges, brushes etc…
• Fold bath towels nicely on towel racks.
• Vacuum carpets, and sweep your hardwood/ceramic floors.
• Dust tables, desks, shelves etc… (sometimes the camera can pick up the dust!)
• Remove photos, notes and papers from the refrigerator
• Ensure all lights have working light bulbs, as all lights will be turned on (incandescent lights give a house a warm glow and lighten dark corners. Remember to check the under-counter lights and the range hood in the kitchen).
• De-clutter rooms which may be excessively furnished. Not only do they not photograph well, during showings they may make the room look smaller than it is.
• Make all beds and tidy bedrooms. Clothes hung, or folded and put away.
• Remove piles of newspaper and magazines.
• Tuck trash cans out of view in a closet or cupboard.
• De-personalize! Remove any personal photos, certificates etc…
• Remove any valuables (REMINDER these photos are likely going to be placed on the internet (ie: MLS), and they are accessible to everyone in the world. There is no need to advertise your valuables).

One of the most important aspects in how well your home will be perceived to prospective buyers is great real estate photos. With help from you, we can make that happen!

If you have any questions about the photo-shoot, feel free to call us, or contact your agent!

Back in January, I found this article on the Inman News website by Teresa Boardman.

In the article, she discusses the importance of great photography in real estate listings. She says what we’ve been telling local agents all along: “Photographs of the homes we list should be amazing, not just good. Photography sells real estate. Buyers use photographs to decide which homes to see in person. Homes with poor photographs are often screened out of the selection process.”

She even discusses how some agents are taking real estate photos with their phone – “If a seller sees an agent taking photos with a phone, he/she may think the agent isn’t a serious professional. The photographs may turn out OK, but they will never be good, great or amazing.”

For the entire article on the inman.com website, click here!

Real estate expert, Barbara Corcoran was interviewed on the Today show back in January 2011 and discusses “Five Smart Ways to Sell Your Home”.  One of the five points is to hire a professional photographer to take the listing photos to compete in the online war