How To Photograph Your Property:

If you begin the mission to photograph your own property armed with the knowledge of what producers, directors, and scouts look for when viewing a location portfolio, you will be two steps ahead of the game.

Here are some tips and guidelines to bear in mind when photographing your property:

1.) You must remember that you are not shooting for artisitic merit. The photos must accurately represent your property. Just as a fashion photographer does not want to see a 'glamour photo' of a model he is interested in possibly using, directors want to be able to see what can be done with a particular property in its normal state. No wide angle lenses or tricky shots from a helicopter are needed.

2.) Include these areas in your shoot, if applicable:
a.) Front of property
b.) Back of property
c.) Pool and tennis court if you have them
d.) Master bedroom
e.) Master bathroom
f.) Living room
g.) Kitchen
h.) Foyer or entrance
i.) Unique or special rooms (for instance, a great kids room). Do not waste time on small rooms.
j.) Bars, dens, or large rooms not mentioned above.
k.) View of the front of your house (be extra careful if you need to cross the street; look both ways, and do not stand in the street! If there is any danger involved at all, don't do it.)
l.) Anything not mentioned that you feel would be of interest to a producer or director.

NOTE: Do not feel that you must upload all twelve views. If you want your property used for exteriors only, you do not need to show the interior. If you only want your pool or garden, or fountain, etc., available for use, that's all you need to upload. Different angles of the same element are okay to upload, up to the twelve views. Or you may choose to upload just one image. The system will work, either way.

3.) Often a producer or director like to look at what is know as 'pan shots.' Here's how to make them:

The idea is top line up your shot (establish a strong baseline and allow a half-inch overlap) before you shoot, so that the image you wish to show can be shot in 3 (or 4 panels if absolutely necessary), with the camera held vertically instead of horizontally.

Once you've made a dry run, plant your feet, and move as if pivoting from your waste, snapping the 3 or 4 shots. Use a program such as Corel Photo Suite or Adobe Photoshop to stitch the photos together in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Make a backup copy, then set the resolution to 72 dpi, and size the images to just under 1000 pixels wide (roughly 12" wide)