Neighborhoods Undressed

Taking Pictures

Notice I didn’t put the word “photography” in the title, I find the word intimidating. I also find it fascinating that when I write a really great blog post, no one ever asks me what kind of a keyboard I have but when I take a great photo I get emails and comments asking me what kind of a camera a I used. The pictures I have on my blogs are the most popular feature, or at least what is commented on the most by other bloggers and by people who are looking for information about real estate or about my market area.

There is more to writing than keyboards, and more to photography than camera’s. I was asked to write a post for a social network that I belong to about photography. I started like I always do when someone brings up the topic: “I am not a photographer” I did mention the camera in my post and three people immediately went out and bought one. I recommended a book too and at least one person ordered it.

Camera

I have a couple of them, but the one I use the most is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07, that I bought at best buy, an “open box” special. It has a wide angle lens and takes 7.1 Megapixel pictures. It also has extended optical zoom, which means I can take pictures from far away.

The camera is small so that I can have it with me at all times. I have actually read the manual and have learned how to use all the features, so I get more the most out of the little camera. It is very possible to have a great camera and take lousy pictures. There is more to pictures than cameras.

When I choose a camera I see five factors as being important:

1. A camera that I can figure out how to use.
2. A camera that is small enough so that I can have it with me at all times. A camera is useless sitting at home in a camera bag.
3. The camera has to have a rechargeable battery, mainly because they seem to have a much longer battery life.
4. It has to have a stabalizer, I shoot pictures from my car.
5. A wide angle lens, is a must have for interior shots. (Pictured below: Schurmeier Lofts - Unit #204)

Taking Pictures

Light is everything. I took the picture posted above because I saw it as I drove by. The light was perfect, and the clouds were perfect, stacking the odds in my favor that I would get a good shot. The photo was the first shot I took. I named it “lucky shot” because I used the extended zoom feature without a tri-pod, a big no no, if the goal is to get a sharp, clear picture.

1. Don’t try to take pictures into the sun, a well duh! but I see it all the time, or photos taken in such intense sun light that they have that washed out look.
2. It is possible to take a great picture on a dreary day or in a dark room but it isn’t easy.
3. When taking pictures of houses or people they seem to look best at a slight angel instead of head on.
4. Your tripod is your friend. I found one that folds up to less than a foot long. It is like my camera, always available. I keep it in my car with a small screw driver, a flash light and a magnifying glass for those photo emergencies. I can set it up in a minute or less.

What to take pictures of

I take pictures of anything that I see that I either want to show my blog readers or that I like looking at, or that might make an interesting post. For a real estate blog, pictures of real estate, like houses and buildings seem to work best. I take pictures of the Mississippi River because I see it every day and I walk along the walking paths.

Sometimes when I go out taking pictures every picture turns out. Sometimes none of my pictures turn out. I save the good photos on CD’s so if I need a photo for a blog post I can usually find one.

Digital Camera’s and PC’s

With my last two digital camera’s I never hooked them up to my PC to down load pictures. I have SD card readers built into my computer, and put the card in the reader to down load the pictures. I also have a separate card reader that plugs into a USB port. My daughter took her digital camera to France. She did not take the card reader I gave her. I asked her why she wasn’t uploading pictures, there has to be something to take a picture of in the south of France. She said she couldn’t get the pictures off of her camera and onto her computer. I mailed her my card reader, now she is uploading pictures a couple of times a week. Don’t mess around with hooking a camera up to a PC, use a card reader. She is my daughter, I thought I taught her to never leave home without her card reader or attempt to connect a digital camera to a computer, in the field.

How to get the pictures ready for the internet

I use photoshop elements 5.0., but there is a newer version, 6.0. It costs about $100 but is worth every penny of it. The features I use the most are the automatic fix, the cropping tool, and the re-sizing tool. Most photos need to be brightened before they are put on the Internet.

Raw photos from a digital camera are too large to put in a blog post. They need to be made much smaller. Often the software that comes with a camera can be used to make pictures smaller. If not photo shop elements, will do the job. Picasa and PhotoFiltre are free programs that will resize photos and much more.

Digital Photography

The best thing about digital photography is that I can take as many pictures as I want. If they don’t turn out I can delete them. Sometimes I just keep taking pictures until I get it right. I use a 2 gigabyte SD card, so I won’t run out of space. The more I practice the fewer shots I have to take before I get what I want.

A photographer recommended a book on photography that I really like, the author Scott Kelby, has a wonderful sense of humor and the book is just fun. I use it for reference and read his “recipes” which are how too guides for taking pictures. From the book I learned how to photograph landscapes, sunsets and how to take pictures at night.

The Digital Photography Book, by: Scott Kelby

Pictures are an essential ingredient on a real estate blog. Not pictures of me, but pictures of St. Paul and of houses. I also belong to a group on a photographers web site and have met some interesting people that way. I have a Flickr account, pro level, only $25 dollars a year and worth it. I have participated in some local groups and projects through Flickr and have met some neighbors. Take advantage of your flickr account, it is a great way to network.

** note - the pictures at the top of this blog were taken by Neighborhoods Undressed bloggers, we have some excellent photographers in the net work, visit their sites and check it out.