Saturday, July 26, 2014

Paul Roberts on Real Estate Photography ~ Logic, Purpose & Goals

I'm Paul Roberts, a published Palm Springs photographer with 32 years experience offering unmatched magazine quality photography of Real Estate, portraits, weddings, events, pets and concerts in Palm Springs California + many other cities in Southern California .. and incomparable DIGITAL EDITING anywhere in the world. Photography and RESULTS are passions of mine. My realistic Social Media reach of 1.8 to 2.2 million will also help you sell that property!

92.8% of homes I photographed have $OLD ~ regardless of price point. I am proud of my 32 years experience as a photographer and my 7 years right here in the Coachella Valley offering magazine quality photography of Real Estate in Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Los Angeles and beyond.

FOUR SALES TEAMS which used me enjoyed their BEST YEAR EVER - Artsy in a magazine is one thing - I'd rather help you actually $ell homes. I'm succeeding. So are the Realtors using me for photography and subsequent social media promotion of their listings. In the last 30 days, THREE homes offered by two different agents sold in ONE WEEK or less. Now ~ can your "hard to reach but expensive" photographer do THAT for you? Methinks not.


The Bad News: I know the truth. Despite the advertised appeal of "making millions by next Wednesday," true real estate professionals know it takes hard work, diligence, patience, a plan, and expenses. Just a few: MLS Boards, stationery, stamps, added car insurance, gasoline, vehicle wear & tear, desk rental, clothing, dry cleaning, client meals & entertainment, phone, advertising, E & O insurance, etc. Not easy, but potentially tremendous rewards.

The Good News: I understand where you're coming from. ANY reduced expense is good sense, especially in a slow market. California has had many "up periods," only a few "lows," but lows strike hard. Competing to sell aged listings to fewer people who have the money or financing is hard work. However: REGARDLESS of the sales price of ANY home, the first impression of a property is often an agent's website! 5 years ago, 84% of buyers rely on the internet to find a home. Some reports indicate that's now risen to 94%. Shots taken from a car or bathroom sink taps won’t do, and neither will offbalance lighting, unbalanced color, lack of room detail, composure and/or framing, or horrid "photoshop created faux images" that look more like drawings than the actual home PEOPLE ARE PAYING MONEY FOR. Worse, if you provide no photo the MLS takes it -- we all know how THEY turn out, plus I’m told the agent is charged. So if your listed home is $100K or $10M photos .. accurate, realistic looking HONEST ones ... COUNT.


It is essential to convey space, warmth, liveability and natural lighting to those searching for a home. You're a professional; the photos should reflect that. I give a naturally lit feel to the home rather than "dark & artsy," or even worse "overly bright fake-glowy-litho," without the ugly tungsten cast, giving people you haven't even met reason to contact you. Average site time is 30 minutes, then 5+ HOURS of expert 3-phase, PER FRAME editing (no "batch" editing), including: cropping, color correction, barrel, pincushion, wide angle & perspective correction, denoising, detail sharpening and removal of private information such as diplomas, photos, etc. I have written my OWN plug-ins to address anomalies of architectural photography including precise perspective correction, shadow lightening, etc. No charge for Master CD, extra photos, editing or mileage. I look forward to helping you sell your homes and understand your needs and cost concerns.

Don't spend $50K or more on a great car for bragging rights going to a sales meeting. Spend a couple of hundred on photos which will SELL your listed home. That's the goal. That's why you're hired. That's why you're hiring ME. That's the job for both of us. I will help you.


By the way, this shot ~ as with ALL my photography ~ is a REAL PHOTOGRAPH. It's not 16 exposures taken on a tripod and then mixed together in "post processing." That's because I know what an f-stop & shutter exposure is. There's no "faux trickery" with my stuff. No layering, no paintbucket skies & swimming pools, no "lithograph" effects with glowy fake skylines and overly textured surfaces. My job is to show the home accurately. Otherwise you could use crayons. Thanks for reading and talk to you soon :-)