So This Is How Rumors Get Started…

Today’s issue of the Kansas City Star featured a short Q & A style article about my real estate photography in the House & Home section.  I’m grateful for the paper’s interest in my business and the time their writer, Stacy Downs,  spent with me to gather information.  I’m sure it’s difficult to uncover the essence of a business and write an entertaining article after one short conversation, but Stacy did a fine job.

There are, however, a couple of statement’s I’d like to clarify out of respect to those who know me and have supported my decision to follow this passion to photograph residential real estate:

1. During the late 1980’s I was self-employed as a photographer and worked out of three different studios at various times.  I did mostly “people” photography – portraiture and some advertising for very small businesses.  In the early 90’s I was given the opportunity to apprentice in a large commercial studio, learning to shoot people, products and places under a real master.  I wasn’t there long, but I’m extremely grateful for the experience – and for the introduction to architectural photography (and large-format photography in general).
2. I came to the real estate industry 10 years ago, first as a REALTOR, and then as a broker/manager four years ago – another opportunity for which I am extremely grateful.  It was a mash-up of these two very different career paths that led me to the work I do now.
3. Regarding the exterior photograph used in the article:  this is not my home – although that would be nice!  I believe the article was supposed to say “He took a photo of this Fairway house…”, not “his Fairway house.”  I’m sure the current owners will be pleased to know they have clear title
4. With regard to virtual tours and the companies that produce them, I will say this:  The line is blurring between 360 degree panoramic tours, slide shows (that often use the “Ken Burns” effect to simulate movement through a space) and true video.  There is excellent work being done locally on all fronts, but there are also companies whose business model and fee structure dictate a “run-and-gun” approach that makes it difficult to provide the highest quality images possible.  Some consumers like the 360’s – others don’t – but nearly all want “big”.  I’m not advocating against virtual tours (a term which has become a generic description for many things).  I’m advocating for large (preferably full-screen), high-resolution, high quality photographs that truly showcase a home.
5. I could go on and on about HDR, but I’ll only say this:  HDR photography is easy to do, but hard to do well.  It’s a fickle process in which the available light controls the photographer, rather than the photographer controlling the light.  I’ve seen a lot of HDR lately – some of it good, some of it not.  My own experiments with the process left me feeling that I wasn’t producing the quality of images I wanted, so I developed a hybrid technique that combines numerous flash units with the process of blending multiple exposures to get photographs that (hopefully) exhibit the best qualities of both techniques – flash and ambient light HDR.

I make these points, not to correct anything Stacy wrote in her article, but to correct my inability to articulate well when interviewed about a subject I am very passionate about.  Perhaps these things didn’t need to be clarified here, but it felt like the right thing to do.

Thanks again to Stacy Downs and the Kansas City Star for giving me a little space to ramble about what I do!