What’s the best way to impress an estate agent?
Hennie Wellman, Photographer of the Month, January 2017
“You’ve got to treat their vendors like gold. You are playing a vital role in helping your estate agent to secure the sale of their vendor’s property. Customer service is a team effort.
“They’ve recommended you to their client, so you really need to be the friendliest, most reliable photographer when you turn up at their door.”
David Kilburn, KeyAGENT Photographer
“Property photography is about capturing the essence of a house, its character and personality; as well as its major selling points. To do this, the right equipment is essential.
“I use a Canon EOS760D which gives great quality in low light conditions & good colour rendition in the highlight & shadow areas. I have my camera set to a Custom White Balance so it records the balance of daylight, interior lighting & flash lighting perfectly.
“Using Automatic White Balance gives inconsistent results as it measures the most prominent colour balance in the shot.
“I favour this particular model as it has a 3inch tiltable touchscreen viewfinder. It is very useful to be able to point the camera in one direction whilst still viewing the image live in the viewfinder & selecting a focusing point.
“I use it when I am trying to get in a corner, or for a low angle shot in a small bathroom or kitchen. It works well for exterior shots of the property should you need hold the camera above your head, to crop out parked cars, etc.
“For me it is not the best camera body or lens, but a combination of camera body, Image stabilized wide angle lens & a variable power flashgun that are the tools required for great property photography.”
Stephen Corbett, Photographer of the Month, February 2017
“The one you have with you!
“No seriously, the weapon of choice must be a full-frame DSLR or full-frame mirrorless.
“I’m not entirely sold on the latter. The Sony A7R2 is a seriously good camera and I know people who use them love the real-time zoom in the viewfinder. But the biggest problem for me with a camera such as this is the battery life and the size of files (they’re 42MP). This is probably an overkill for property photography and would seriously slow down your post-processing.
“Why full frame? It’s down to Dynamic Range and ISO performance, although I know that recently there has been a massive performance improvement of cropped sensor cameras such as the Canon 7D MKII and Nikon D7200.”
Peter Hilton, Photographer of the Month, April 2016
“It’s a personal choice. For my photography, I like the Canon 5D mk 3. Even with the extended battery pack, it’s lighter than my IDX. You’re on the move a lot, so weight matters.
“The picture quality actually comes from the lens, so for new property photographers, it’s better to invest in a good lens than camera body.”
Annie Horne-Peddie, Business Coach to KeyAGENT photographers
“I love my trusty Canon 5DMKII. It’s a versatile all-rounder. Mine is actually second hand so I picked up quite cheap; and it’s really good at what it does. I tried the 6D, which is supposedly better; but it just doesn’t give the same rich colours as my 5dMKII.
“The 5DMkII focuses well and has a really good live view function, which I use if I’m stuck in small corners or have to do a pesky high-up shot of the front external.”
