Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The Winter Dilemma

I have a winter dilemma.  I continue to receive calls from clients wanting to cancel or reschedule a shoot due to snow.  I completely understand that overwhelming feeling when the weather just doesn't cooperate with your plans, but snow is not the least of the undesirable conditions.

In all honesty, I think snow is one of the prettiest conditions in which to shoot.  It does come with its own set of technical headaches for those of us manipulating light via camera, but when it's done correctly it is beautiful. 

Every job is unique and is always taken into consideration; however, I want to stress to my real estate agents that your prospective buyers are looking to buy in the winter and will not be turned off by snow in the pictures.

With that said, if your listing is moving out of a season, I highly recommend updating your exterior images.  Buyers will know it has been on the market since the winter, but we don't need to show them as well. 

Every real estate photographer I know will shoot in pretty much all weather except a torrential downpour, and even some not so torrential.  Rain to us is like kryptonite to Superman.  It only takes one drop hitting the wrong place and our equipment goes *PHFT!*.  Oh, and ice!  One bad slip can render us out of commission in more ways than one.  

The only time you'll ever hear a faint hesitation from me in regards to weather is in the heat of the summer.  I will stomp through snow all day, every day, below freezing, but put me in 100+ temperatures and I start to melt from the inside out - I really think I'm going to DIE!  Those are the days when this early bird will cheerfully attempt to schedule your shoot around 5:00-6:00 am so don't be surprised when I try it on you.  

Here are some photos of a town-home I shot after that last dusting of snow.  Okay, so the leaves aren't green, nor the grass, and there are no flowering shrubs or pretty garden boxes giving us a splash of color, but do you know what's under that pretty white stuff ?  Dormant, brown, dead grass and probably other not-so-pretty things.  

  

So, if you've made it this far then you know that there's really no 'Winter Dilemma." Homes come on the market and sell every winter with professional images.  Don't worry about it, just take the listing and let me take care you. 

Happy winter everyone!!

Dawn Conners