Hard to have more impact than a twilight exterior. This single photo takes almost two hours just to shoot.
A couple of weeks ago I got a rare opportunity to use almost all of my bag of tricks on a real estate listing. Melanie Siow, of Realty South had contacted me about photographing now of her most important listings.
She was selling the home of one of her good friends in Homewood. The family had already moved out so the home was vacant. Melanie had painters come in a freshen up the look and a stager to add the lived in touch. As I mentioned in this post, I’m a huge fan of staging. The completely empty look is not a good one. A well styled home adds so much appeal, in photos and in person.
Melanie really wanted to show off all that this home had to offer and that’s why she contacted me. She told me that she’d seen my work before and knew that I would be a good fit for this listing. In addition to the standard daylight images, she also wanted me to create a twilight exterior, and pole arial image. The house itself is beautiful and well situated on the top of a hill. Unusual for this area, there’s a flat front lawn built out with a large retaining wall. Most other homes have little to no yard and a steep slope. This gave me some great opportunities for the exterior front images.
The twilight exterior is really one of my signatures. The shot is actually a composite of about 30 images taken over a two hour time span. I light the home with hand held strobes and then stitch the composite in Photoshop. The result is an image that captures the potential buyers attention like no other. With stained glass windows in the attic, this particular home made for a particularly good twilight exterior.
Something new that I’m starting to offer is the pole arial image. I’ve created a custom pole that allows me to raise the camera 16’ off the ground. The high angle gives an arial perspective without the need for an aircraft. This is something I’ve just started offering so be on the lookout for more of those!
Take a look at the photos below, and to learn more about this home click here to view the listing. You can also contact Melanie to schedule a showing!
Melanie Siow
Realty South
205-305-1158
click on thumbnail to view larger image
Learn more about my real estate photography here.