Comments on: Photography Tips for Home Stagers – Part III

By: Home staging photography tips | Home Staging Business Report

Home staging photography tips | Home Staging Business Report — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:35:41 +0000

[...] problematic if you want to make a printed image larger or if you need to supply images to the media.Check back in on Monday when the topic will be the importance of paying attention to detail when you’re taking shots [...]

By: Debra Gould, The Staging Diva

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:49:01 +0000

Hayley, those are great tips too, thanks for adding to the knowledge base here which I know will help everyone!

Debra

By: Debra Gould, The Staging Diva

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:47:16 +0000

Hi Rosemary, not sure if and when the HGTV show will air in the US. But I did get a copy of it and will be putting an excerpt on the media page of stagingdiva.com very soon. Will announce it when it’s available.

Thanks for your interest!
Debra

By: Hayley Harris

Hayley Harris — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:04:15 +0000

Another tip to make sure you have a great pair of before and afters, is make sure they are both, either landscape or portrait. A portfolio looks really yuck when they are all mixed. Now I tend to stick to landscape shots for consistancy.

This may seem obvious, but I learnt the hard way very recently, always check your camera is on the setting for taking the best quality photo’s. There’s no place in a portfolio for fuzzy after shots.

By: Rosemary Bullen

Rosemary Bullen — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:13:38 +0000

Just wondering when your new show will air in the U.S.A.

By: Debra Gould, The Staging Diva

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:12:44 +0000

I agree Jodi, that’s a great tip. Adding to that idea…. I try and sort through my pile of before shots before I go back to shoot the afters. Then I figure out which before’s I like best and remind myself where I was standing so that I can make sure to stand in the same spot for the after.
If you have a laptop that you can bring with you to the client, you can even pull up your before shots on screen while you’re there to shoot the after. Added benefit of having the computer with you is that if you run out of storage in your camera, you can download your images to your computer and then keep shooting.

Thanks for writing in with your ideas! Everyone who adds to this discussion helps benefit others and with my readers’ help I can turn Home Staging Business Report into an even more valuable reference and resource!

Best,
Debra

By: Jodi Whalen

Jodi Whalen — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:28:15 +0000

All great tips…thank you.

I also want to share that you should try to remember to take your shots from the same position so it’s obvious for the viewer to see the changes you made. It’s easy to forget where I stood from the first appointment so I often take multiple shots at different corners of the room, some come out better than others due to lighting etc. so I capture everything and then I can choose which pictures/angles to use. And if all else fails – CROP IT OUT!

By: Debra Gould, The Staging Diva

Debra Gould, The Staging Diva — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:47:11 +0000

Annie, I love the details you’ve shared. They will be most helpful to others!
I’ve always thought that home staging is the perfect occupation for perfectionists bordering on the obsessive compulsive
Everything you’ve described as the lengths you go to for the perfect shot are TOTALLY appropriate. But not everyone would have the patience to go to these lengths.
I worked in advertising for many years before turning to home staging, and I can assure you that professional photo stylists do fret about these exact details, and they are what truly make winning shots stand out.

Bravo Annie!

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 20:28:03 +0000

Great advice, thanks Debra

I’ve a few tips…..
if you have floppy shams or pillowcases I keep the protective corners from any art or mirrors that I buy and place them inside shams to give a sharp definition to the shams. Don’t forget to remove them after taking the picture!

I always have painters tape in my tool box as it can temporarily hold up phone or lamp wires under tables tops, desks etc.
When used in a double sided way it can keep pillowcases from falling open in your shots and I’ve even used it to tape down a comforter that kept creasing no matter how much I ironed it!
I have been known to get someone laying on the floor pulling the comforter tight whilst I take the shot from the other side….obsessed? Maybe but there is nothing worse than getting home after the job and finding that the shots do not reflect all the hard work you have put into the project.

We are in the process of revamping our website and I cannot believe how many shots we are rejecting due to silly mistakes during the shoot so thanks for reminding me how important it is.