What it is all about-Why High Quality Photos Matter for Real Estate Listings

A quote from a homeowner whose house I photographed for a real estate listing: "There is no doubt that your stunning photographs of our mother's home at 728 Gailen Ave, Palo Alto, added 10s of thousands of dollars to the sale price of this home.  We are signing papers today and should fund by the end of next week."  Not only did the photos help the home sell faster and for more money than it otherwise would have done, a direct benefit to both the seller and the listing agent, the photos can also help the listing agent to gain more business. I can't say this enough: quality real estate photographs are not just about the immediate listing; they are also about helping listing agents to enhance their profiles in the marketplace.

A Day at the Beach in Castroville

Here are some photos from a recent shoot of a townhouse located in Monterey Dunes Colony, in Castroville, California. The clients were Alan Dunckel and Derk Brill, Alain Pinel Realtors, Palo Alto. Wish I had more time to hang around and enjoy the beach, but I had to get my work done.

Recent Work-Living Room

Here is a shot from a real estate listing (276 Loucks Ave. in Los Altos) that I shot recently for Julie Tsai-Law, Alain Pinel/Palo Alto. The staging is by Karen Salveson, of Miss Conception Design. The paintings are by Chris Ehlers.

I used a fairly substantial amount of supplementary lighting here, and each room had at least two lights in it.

Updated Eichler Kitchen in Greenmeadow

A shot of a kitchen in an Eichler Home in the Greenmeadow section of Palo Alto.

Go With a Trackball for Digital Photo Editing

After working with a mouse for a long time for my photo editing, I started to develop some strain in my little finger. I was using that finger to help stabilize the movements. This year I switched to a Logitech trackball and it seems to be working out much better. Here is what I use: http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/trackballs/devices/wireless-trackball-m570.  You can develop hand strain with a trackball too if you overdo it, but I think this trackball is better than a mouse for photo editing. I also frequently make use of a Wacom tablet/stylus (similar to this: http://www.Wacom.com/en/Products/Intuos/Intuos4Medium.aspx), which has the additional benefit of lessening hand strain by using the hand in a different way from a trackball or mouse.