How this real estate photographer makes homes look listing-ready
Photographer Kate Devlin takes
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of home buyers used the internet
to look for property; 68 percent are
doing so on their phones. The new
imperative? Entice potential buyers to
keep swiping.
Sixty percent of Realtors, according
to another 2017 NAR survey, recommend
leaving photos to the pros, in
part, because the pictures won’t be
viewed solely by potential buyers.
Photographer Drew Callaghan, based in
Queen Village, noted that many photos
survive in online databases after sales
close and serve appraisers, insurance
firms and developers in their research.
Callaghan, who worked as an
real estate agent before shifting to
photography, remembers simpler
times. To prep a house for market,
he recalls hiring a cleaner and setting
up an open house. If a home was
photographed, he said, the focus was
primarily the exterior.
Realtor Mike McCann remembers
this era, too, in the 1990s, with the
old, printed black-and-white listings
that included only thumbnails. Back
then, he said, the going rate for a
color brochure was $1,800. Today,
while some photographers may
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14 West Hawaii Real Estate | June 8, 2018
the time to consider all four
corners of a room. Bare or
cluttered, tight or spacious, the
next corner always offers a different
view. Is the best photograph of a living
room the one that reveals a glimpse of
a stairway and not the open kitchen
that lies directly ahead? Or should she
shoot both angles? An online real estate
listing typically has 25 photographs
these days, another reason to consider
multiple perspectives.
Devlin recently moved about
the living room in a Fitler Square
rowhouse calmly and quietly. She
settled her tripod in a spot where the
staircase sat out of range, then found
a shot that captured the width of the
living room, but also the stairs in a
mirror’s reflection.
Devlin, who lives in Fairmount,
estimates that she shoots some 525
homes a year. Real estate photography
isn’t a new field, but it carries
new clout in the internet age
as searching for homes online has
become a near-universal experience.
According to a 2017 National Association
of Realtors survey, 95 percent
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Now McCann has every livable
home on his roster shot professionally.
When he sits down with clients, he
primes them on Devlin’s work as part
of package of services they can expect.
Professional photography, along
with home staging, are both trends
reflective of larger industry shifts to
try to make homes competitive for
buyers with limitless listings at their
fingertips, said Jessica Lautz, director
of demographics and behavioral
insights at NAR. When prospective
homeowners show a listing they like
to a loved one, Lautz said, it isn’t too
different from friends opening Tinder
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