Browsing the archives for the Photography category

“I’ll have what she’s having”

Comments Off on “I’ll have what she’s having”
23 Aug, 2007
Helpful Tips, Photography, Real-Estate, Testimonials

The first voice mail message of the day yesterday came from Jean Gibson of Macdonald Realty. She had received a piece of Email Marketing from one of our newest clients, Ursula Simpson, of Sutton Group Westcoast Realty.

From that marketing piece, she had seen the photos and video for the property that Ursula was hosting an Agent’s Open House at yesterday. She called Ursula, saying “the photos and video you’ve done for this property are just amazing! Where did you get them, I want that too!”

Jean promptly booked us to shoot a tour the next morning. She told our photographer, “each photo was like a mini work of art”.
I followed up with Ursula yesterday after her open house. She reported that it was a very well attended Open and that she had had several compliments on how well the property was shown in her marketing materials.

That’s great news for us! We had provided branded floorplans, printed colour feature sheets, not to mention those photos and that video that were so well received!

Will you have what she’s having? Call us!

http://www.vopenhouse.ca/blog/134/ill-have-what-shes-having/

Please, let us take your photos

Comments Off on Please, let us take your photos
21 Aug, 2007
Helpful Tips, Home Staging, Photography, Real-Estate

It happens more often than I’d like – I come across a photo of a property, taken by a Realtor, that just… well… could be soooo much better.

If I had more time, maybe I’d start a collection of photos that shouldn’t have been used.

Here are my two examples of the day. The heading of the first photo made me laugh: “Spacious Dining Area”.

Spacious Dining Area

I hope the spacious dining area wasn’t too offended at my laugh – but it’s a photo of a window, and shows no spaciousness whatsoever!

This next one was used as the main listing photo:
Main Listing Photo

It looks like a picture of a doorway, doesn’t it? Could this really be the front of the property?

I’m sure that these Realtors are excellent at their job. However, they aren’t photographers. I certainly wouldn’t want to buy or sell a property without a Realtor – why should a Realtor market their photos without hiring a professional?

We have a very competitive Introductory Special that should encourage all Realtors to try our services… unless they are afraid of getting a taste of something they’ll want to eat a lot of. Was it Pringles that advertised “you can’t eat just one”? I definitely stayed away from Pringles after that, knowing that they were probably right.

However… getting to my point. We’ve got the best Real Estate Photography and Video in Vancouver. Try it out.

http://www.vopenhouse.ca/blog/129/please-let-us-take-your-photos/

Mike Andruff, YouTube, You did what?(Dominelli Carnevale)

Comments Off on Mike Andruff, YouTube, You did what?(Dominelli Carnevale)
16 Apr, 2007
Flash Video, News, Photography, Vancouver
  • We recently completed a project for Mike Andruff of Re/Max Crest Realty Westside. Mike is the leader of Team Andruff and he wanted a video that expressed his winning attitude and commitment to service. This video and others by Mike will be posted on YouTube.

  • On Friday we had the opportunity to be the official photographers and videographers for the Dominelli Carnivale. The Carnevale featured body painting by some world class make-up artists, a superb dinner, art auction and dancing. It was quite an event, hopefully we will have a chance to attend again next year! I recomend the event to anyone interested in seeing something truly unique.

    Dominelli Carnivale
    What? You expected a picture of the models?

http://www.vopenhouse.ca/blog/121/mike-andruff-youtube-you-did-whatdominelli-carnevale/

Camera ≠ Good Photos

Comments Off on Camera ≠ Good Photos
24 Mar, 2007
Helpful Tips, News, Photography

Why is it that everybody and their mother thinks they are a great photographer? Just because you own a digital camera does not necessarily mean that you take good pictures. I own a great set of golf clubs, yet I am not Tiger Woods, Mike Weir or even close to a good golfer. Our $129 Introductory Special includes our photography services yet I have heard countless times that we “don’t need to bother with the photos”.

At Video Openhouse, we provide COMPELLING high-quality content for your mls/realtylink listing and website. Our photography is affordable, just $40 with a video tour. I suggest that you compare your pictures to any of our galleries.

Video Openhouse Photo

For those of you who insist on taking your own pictures for your listings, here are some tips:

Know your camera – Most cameras have a multitude of settings, most of which, we know nothing about. The automatic setting allows for allows for the widest variety of conditions, but rarely takes the best possible picture. A little bit of experimenting will go a long way to improving your pictures.

Hold The Camera Still – Any camera motion when the shutter is open will result in a loss of the sharpness in the photo. Try to keep the camera as still as possible. Purchasing a tripod can help you accomplish this for those of you with shaky hands.

Practice, practice, practice – The great thing about digital cameras is that it doesn’t cost anything to develop the pictures. So fire away. Take lots of shots with different settings, at different angles.

Try Picassa – Google offers free software, Picassa, to find, organize and share all the photos on your computer. It also has a great set of tools that allow even the novice user to dramatically improve their photos easily.

Rumour has it that Adobe will be offering an online version of Photoshop in the near future. They currently offer a similar service, Adobe Remix on the Photobucket website. Stay tuned. For all us photo enthusiasts, stay tuned.

http://www.vopenhouse.ca/blog/118/camera-%e2%89%a0-good-photos/

Real Estate Photography, The NY Times & Open House’s

Comments Off on Real Estate Photography, The NY Times & Open House’s
12 Feb, 2007
Helpful Tips, Photography, Real-Estate, Testimonials

We found an article in The NY Times titled “Making Every Pixel Count” about how photography may be your best chance at getting people to come view a property. This reinforces what we have been saying about listing pictures,

In the first paragraph they get straight to the point

“Less-than-flattering pictures can turn buyers off and lead to lonely open houses”

and

Good photos will grab people’s attention and help you sell a home.

Our photos stand out. People who know us tell us that they can spot our pictures immediately, that they stand out from the rest.

http://www.vopenhouse.ca/blog/112/real-estate-photography-and-the-ny-times-porticos-carrara-building/

Using Print Advertising? – Print Quality Photos

Comments Off on Using Print Advertising? – Print Quality Photos
23 Jan, 2007
News, Photography

If you have read my blog posts in the past, you will know that I have been trying to persuade realtors to reposition their marketing dollars away from traditional print-based advertising to online sources such as our Video Openhouse Tours. Our clients are already aware of our exceptional real estate photography, but may not know about the other photography-based services we offer. For those of you that still run print ads, we offer high-resolution, 6mp photos, ideal for all print-based advertising. Pre-ordered DVD/CD’s of a complete gallery can be ordered for an additional $20. We will include the disc with your Video Openhouse DVD that we send to your office. If your are on a tight deadline, consider using our same-day service for print-quality photos. We can prepare up to 4 images and send them directly to your printer/editor for only $30.

We are commited to providing the best products and service for all our clients. Remember, our price lists for both Vancouver and Victoria are available for everyone to see on our website, Price List.

http://www.vopenhouse.ca/blog/103/still-using-print-advertising-print-quality-photos/

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