4 SALE BY OWNER

GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHING YOUR OWN HOME

The following few paragraphs are intended to give a few hints and tips when you are taking photos of your property to be included in the brochures and on the website.

We can scan ordinary photographs, but we prefer you to give us digital photographs, as these can be loaded straight onto our property database. You may email digital photos to us or send us a CD. You can bring your camera to the shop - we can copy photographs from most memory cards but please bring in your camera, USB cable and instruction booklet in case we are not familiar with your particular camera.

We display the main front view of the property in the shop window and in property listings. The full brochure contains two additional photographs, and we can display as many photographs on the website as you wish.

The following tips are applicable whether you are taking digital or ordinary photographs. Digital has the advantage that you can see what you have taken immediately, so that you can retake if necessary. Also if you use the display screen instead of the viewfinder, you can hold the camera in a different position to your normal line of sight - this may help you avoid obstacles.

We can manipulate and enhance photographs, but you may like to read the following suggestions before taking photographs. Please contact us if you have any further queries.

Outside

Take shots on a sunny day if possible. Take the photo at a time of day when the sun is behind you, or to one side - don't point the camera into the sun.

Make sure that the house takes up most of the picture. Take front, side and rear shots. Include part of the garden, and take a feature shot of the garden where it has been specially landscaped.

Avoid including cars and unsightly objects such as wheelie bins. If the house is newly constructed, remove ladders, rolls of piping etc. and take a shot that avoids builder's rubble in the garden. If you can, stand back sufficiently so that you do not photograph the garden wall in the foreground, as this can make the plot look smaller.

When photographing views from the property or taking a shot of your land or site, make sure the horizon is fairly straight. Avoid pylons and overhead cables if possible. Take a view away from neighbouring buildings if possible.

When taking landscapes, remember the rule of thirds to achieve a more professional composition; one-third sky, two-thirds foreground or two-thirds sky, one-third foreground. If you are lucky enough to have a sea or lake view, take your photographs from the highest vantage point on your plot. Again, take the photograph when it is a fairly clear day without mist or haze.

Inside

Take your shot in daylight with curtains open, as colours will be brighter. If it is very sunny, point the camera away from the window to avoid reflections. Choose the most attractive part of a fairly large room and an uncluttered area. Avoid taking a photo through a doorway. If you take a photograph of the kitchen, clear the worktops as much as possible and hide bins! Make sure rooms are tidy and beds are made - it is easy not to notice these aspects until you see the finished photo.