Lasting Light Photography

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Hood River Real Estate Photography

Buying a home is an emotional decision, and for out-of-town buyers, nothing matters more than having exceptional photography of your home in your MLS listing. Whether you’re promoting a VRBO/AirBNB listing, or getting ready to sell your home, Lasting Light Photography can create a collection of interior and exterior shots that showcase your home.

I recently started doing more real estate photography for clients who need need high-quality images of their homes for residential real estate listings on the multiple-listing service (MLS), or who are marketing their rental properties on AirBNB and VRBO.  In the Hood River market (for both home sales and vacation rentals) you are primarily attracting out-of-town buyers, so real estate photos form a critical first impression and help command a higher price in a competitive market.

This is a fairly specialized type of photography which requires both an eye for good composition, and the lighting and tools to make interior spaces look expansive, bright and inviting.  I typically use strobes with a diffusion globe to balance the interior and exterior light (and showcase views) or perform exposure blending with luminosity masks in Photoshop to avoid introducing the telltale visual artifacts associated with HDR photography.

For a typical home, I primarily use a Canon 11-24mm rectilinear wide angle lens, which allows me to compose really wide shots that showcase entire rooms in a single frame while keeping the horizontal and vertical lines (doors, ceilings, artwork, cabinets, etc.) straight.  When necessary, I also apply perspective correction in Photoshop during post-processing to ensure things aren't skewed unnaturally as a result of using such a wide field-of-view.

I put the camera on a monopod for stability, while retaining the flexibility to back the camera all the way into corners to maximize the scene (which wouldn't always be possible on a tripod).

When available light is a challenge (as was the case in this compact master bath) I will use carefully placed off-camera flash strobes to provide fill light and highlight important elements in the scene.

The most common lighting tool I use indoors is a 24" diffusion globe attached to a 500ws monolight strobe.  These types of light modifiers are most commonly used in cinematography on movie sets, but they work great in residential real estate, too, since they provide a diffuse, omnidirectional light source that won't cast hard shadows in the room.

Most of my shoots yield between 30-50 finished images that consist of interior and exterior shots, and also some detail shots of the amenities and decor that give each home its character.

For most homes, I charge $0.09 per square foot which equates to roughly $180 for a 2,000 sq. ft. home.  For higher-end listings where more architectural shots or twilight hour exterior shots are needed, I offer deluxe packages and custom pricing.  To schedule an appointment or inquire about my real estate photography services, please contact Vince at (541) 716-4749 or contact@lastinglight.photo.