Making small, no-frills homes look good

Small, no-frills home are often a challenge for the photographer who doesn't buy into the 'quick in & out' mindset of amateur shootists. The overarching concern of the pro photographer is to make his subject 'look the part', even better than reality. In this article I show 5 specific techniques to rise to the occasion in almost all cases. They take time and there is no shortcut. But they pay off in terms of looks and client satifaction.

Just a few weeks ago, I was to shoot a small, inexpensive home that had been fully remodeled. Although the owners had truly done their best, invested significant money and definitely upgraded their property, I knew the shoot wouldn't be easy as soon as I parked in front of the house. It was in the architecture and the type of construction.

However, my attitude is I am a pro and an artist, I am paid to make this home look good, and my Realtor pins her hopes on me doing my job and more. So let's be all I can be, and let's make this home look all it can look.

Technique 1: Find immediately what's to be liked

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If the photographer finds immediately what's to be liked in the house and focuses on the positives, it will change his mindset and his eye will look for and find the best angles. That's a mental technique I always use when starting an uneasy mission: it conditions the outcome.

By deciding to make your subject look pretty, you start feeling good about it.

In this case, I immediately liked the quaint 1950s look of the facade with its angled roof and its nice touch of resort blue. I also liked the presence of bougainvillees in the front yard.

The difference of angles in the two facade shots help account for (i) the large front yard, (ii) the quaint 1950s look and angles, and (iii) the size of the home. The wide front-yard shot makes the home looks a bit small. The second angle brings the house closer and makes it look bigger. My client can decide to use both or just the one she feels will sell best. [I actually shot more angles, just to give more choices to my Realtor.]

Technique 2: Shoot at the golden hour

This house has no chance to look good at 12 noon or 3 pm. It will be squashed by the vertical sun and the car port will look dark. The golden hour improves its prospects, though the East-West orientation doesn't help much because of the long shadows that project from the roof overhang. In this case, some post-processing was necessary to lighten up the shadows / contrast in the recessed areas (front door, car port).

But the golden light give a warm, inviting feel to the home. Photographers, milk the moment. If you are too early on location, go inside and shoot your indoors to get back out at the best time.

Technique 3: Go wide, go long, go flash

The first part of this technique (go wide) should be fairly obvious. Small, cramped photos can't win the day. Yet I see a lot of MLS listings with photos that make the viewer 'feel tight'. I boil the problem down to a combination of two factors: (i) the photographer didn't have a good wide-angle lens or he shot 'triangle shots' [i.e. captured only 2 walls meeting at the farthest point, instead of shooting 3 walls]; (ii) the lighting was not properly set (light too low) or the photographer shot HDR and left 'dirty whites' in the shot.

Find the wide possible angle, from the farthest possible point in the room, and shoot at mid-height to keep your wide-angle distorsion at the lowest lowel possible. The shot above was taken with the tripod across the front door sill. I was half-in, half-out the house. Oftentimes, I lean my back against a wall, and position the camera as close as possible to the backwall. Sometimes I shoot from inside closets just to squeeze a few extra inches in the photo.

Shoot as many walls as possible, here 4 of them. More walls (or more corners) open up the space. White light opens up the space too: shoot with a speedlite and a longer exposure on a tripod. Avoid the hotspot of the speedlite on shiny surfaces by shooting with a diffuser.

When shooting in HDR, limit contrast and lower black point in post-processing. Keep your sliders down: less is more. HDR typically turns white lights to blue and leaves a grainy dirty black on white surfaces. Too much 'enhancement' will result in dirty colors and blue lights projecting from the windows. Ugly. Keep the sliders down.

Technique 4: work angles to pop out the nice features

Great features have to be shot from interesting angles to preserve the space but play on the features.

In this simple house the kitchen is the money shot. This photo captures the entire cabinetry and the 3 stainless steel appliances, but also a decent amount of space in the foreground and the 2 skylights. It feels 'roomy'. The open floor plan is demonstrated by capturing the end of the left wall and the wall furthest away on the right.

Shoot at the right height to limit barrel distorsion in the angles closest to the lens and keep verticals vertical. Post-process to correct verticals.

This shot is meant to show the interesting countertop. It's not an expensive granite slab, but its shiny surface and interesting pattern make it a good feature to show. I shot the 3 windows and the 2 skylights so viewers feel the natural light coming in. I used a speedlite and a diffuser to get more whites. This kitchen feels modern, roomy and somewhat expensive.

Technique 5: in small bathrooms, shoot something of everything

In small bathrooms, real-estate photographers often close up their shots by shooting 'triangles': only 2 walls meeting in a closed corner. No breathing space. They may also fail to capture enough of the important fixtures.

In tight situations, it's impossible to shoot every feature perfectly so we'll shoot something of everything... but we'll favor one or two distinctive features. In this bathroom, the shower is the most expensive-looking fixture, that's my focus. I also like the oblong sink, so I'll position my camera to capture a good chunk of it.

My composition takes the following factors into account: (i) shoot at mid-height to limit the barrel effect or overly distorted lines [wide-angle lens in a tight area]; (ii) capture a sliver of each important fixture: sink & countertop, mirror & overhead lights, shower & commode; (iii) capture 3 walls in the shot to expand the space as much as possible.

Do this test: with your hand on your monitor, hide the right wall only to leave the left wall and the back wall visible. Then remove your hand. Do you see the difference in apparent spaciousness?

Make sure the whites (sinks) are not overblown by controlling exposure and speedlite power and diffusion. In post-processing, correct the verticals.

Bonus: give context by describing the environment of the property

A property does not stand by itself: it's either in a subdivision or gated community, on a city street or set in a landscape. When the property isn't lavish or remarkable, I will take extra shots of its environment to 'give context' and tell a better story.

In a subdivision, sometimes it's the perspective of the street or a nearby rocade. It maybe the stores and the restaurants around. I take a few shots to accentuate the 'convenience' aspect of the property.

In the case of this city home, the quietness of the environment was striking. This area is located two blocks away from a very busy thoroughfare, and yet it looks and feels like a time capsule closed in the 1950s.

So I shot postcards of the 50s. I used HDR (which I very rarely do), and tried to capture the essence of the scene: quiet streets where children can play safely, unpretentious residential neighborhood with similar homes, nice trees... Time has stopped there, and you'll feel good under your porch, discussing with your neighbors, a glass of wine in your hand.

My Realtor may use or not use the shots, but I like to give her options. If she needs to buttress the listing, she will use them appropriately. In any case, she appreciates the cool extra photos, so everybody feels good.

In conclusion

In most cases these 5 techniques will help the photographer accomplish the purpose of the shoot: make the property look as good as can be, and stop home buyers zipping through MLS pages in their tracks... to have a look at this listing.