Roger Steen Photography for real estate

    Recently an established west coast property management company used our services to build a photographic library of their owners' properties. Why would they spend the money? Because in their business, where Craigslist is an important source of prospects, they've found that strong photographs produce more of them. Think of it this way: appealing photographs (with proper lighting) bring out all the desirable features of a property, so our client gets faster results with fewer showings.... less time is wasted all-around. The same reasoning could be applied to single family homes.

    Digital point 'n shoots are great little cameras, but they can't possibly match the results that an experienced photographer can get with pro architectural lenses and a knowledge of how different types of light render on a digital sensor. But this isn't just about pretty pictures ..... it's about dollars and cents. If attention-grabbing pictures create more interest in your listings, you'll get more bodies in the door. Why is it that nice hotels dig into their pockets for professional architectural photography? Sure, it makes their properties look really good. But the more compelling a property looks, the more interest it creates. People inevitably judge a book by its cover, so if your pictures look great, the property becomes more desirable.

    What we're selling is an eye for the right compositional angle, and a sense of how to capture and/or create compelling lighting. Just as important, we know how to take a bland digital file and turn it into a rich, properly rendered online photograph. We refer to that as "post-production," and it's a totally different deal than just downloading pictures from a point 'n shoot and putting them on a website.

    All of your pictures will be sized for your needs, optimized for color and sharpness, and adjusted to look good on the internet. We'll also provide a DVD with digital "negatives" that you can use to print flyers or brochures or pretty much anything else.

    A complete set of photographs of a typical bay area home costs $250, and you'll get everything you need. (For MLS, your website, all of it.) If you're a listing agent you'll receive your photos via email within 24 hours after you call us. You'll be happy with the pictures or there'll be a free reshoot (we haven't had to do a reshoot yet). If you need photographs of multiple units on the same day, talk to us about a package price. Exterior pictures are included on all shoots, and a travel surcharge may apply to some locations.

    If your property has windows with views, and you would like both the view and the room to be properly exposed, we'll use a multiple capture technique. Several pictures will be taken at different exposures and then blended together to create a single photograph in which everything has the proper brightness level (feel free to ask for an explanation). There is no extra charge for this.

    The prices we've quoted here are kept reasonable because they apply to rooms/spaces that are naturally lit by way of existing windows. Apartments/homes with unevenly lit rooms that require full production lighting equipment will be quoted on a custom basis, since they require more time, equipment, and expertise.