First off, I am truly sorry that it has been nearly one century since I have posted an entry here. You get busy one day and then another and then another. You schedule an entry in your calendar to ensure you in fact sit down and put a few words together and post them. Then things come up and you don’t get it done. Makes you a hypocrite when that happens because you have professed to others to not sit around having things go undone. Practice what you preach.

On to my latest thoughts…

I have had an awful lot of people reading my blog lately and my previous post especially. If you have not read it, perhaps the following might make more sense if you take a few minutes and read it. Go ahead… I’ll wait.

Lately, I have received emails and phone calls from realtors, home sellers, and even other photographers asking me many questions. Realtors are looking for info on my qualifications, availability and pricing to shoot homes for them. I have taken on some work for realtors and shot homes for them. I have gotten tremendous feedback and commitments to utilize me for future home shoots. Feels awesome to get this type of feedback.

Here’s a few shots from a recent shoot:

Captured 7/22/11 © 2011 Mark SIek

Captured 7/22/11 © 2011 Mark SIek

Captured 7/22/11 © 2011 Mark SIek

Other photogs are asking about HDR techniques I use, how best to capture images, how I go about shooting a home, pricing, etc. I have no real issues in sharing my knowledge. Doing so forces me to be able to defend my answers and to have a full and complete understanding of what I do, how I do it and why I do it. Besides, anyone wanting to learn what I know could probably read it in a book or discover through trial and error. I might also make a few business contacts along the way and maybe even a friend or two.

Regarding homeowners, I have had some very interesting emails and calls from them. Last week I received an email from a homeowner looking for some info as he is looking to sell his house in mid August. A few of his questions caused me to wonder why he was asking them. At the time, the most curious were, “Are you affiliated with a real estate agency?”, and if he “would have the rights to “transport” the pictures taken to any real estate agent I choose?”.  Of course he also wondered what the cost would be shoot his home. I emailed him back and requested a bit more info from him. A few emails back and forth and that’s it. I didn’t have answers to why he asked some of the questions he did.

Then I got a phone call today from another homeowner asking some of the exact same questions. I will refer to this gentleman as Mr. Caller. In the course of discussion, something really interesting came out. Mr. Caller did an internet search for photographers in Omaha that shoot real estate. He ended up on my blog and read some of the entries that pertain to real estate and the use of HDR photography. He said that he got the impression that I wasn’t a full-time real estate shooter from my entries. As such, he called another photographer that shoots homes and spoke with him. I will call him Mr. Real Estate Photographer, or Mr. REP for short.

Seems Mr. REP had plenty to say about Omaha real estate photography. No surprise as he does in fact shoot homes in Omaha.  Mr. REP said he worked for a local agency and shot exclusively for them. Mr. REP also tried to pressure Mr. Caller into dealing with an agent from the company Mr. REP works for telling Mr. Caller that in order to get professional HDR images, he had to deal with Mr. REP as no one else in Omaha or western Iowa shot HDR or had the skills he has. I can’t blame Mr. REP for trying to get a little business for the company he shoots for and in the process, maybe putting a little cash in his own pocket. For all I know, Mr. REP gets a referral fee for anyone he steers to the real estate company. Mr. REP also said that he would own the rights to any pictures he took of Mr. Caller’s home.

Could it be that the emailer spoke with Mr. REP also and that’s why the peculiar questions. I may have found my answer.

Wait, theres more to my story!

Here’s where it gets interesting. According to Mr. Caller, Mr. REP had plenty to say about me when Mr. Caller referred to me and my blog as someone in Omaha that knows how to shoot HDR images. Mr. REP told Mr. Caller that I used to work for him and that I was only his assistant. Mr. REP said that I had only shot a few homes and none of them utilized HDR. Mr. REP also said I wasn’t a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) or a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) as my previous blog entry states.

Very interesting stuff, Mr. REP. So there is no mistaking anything, let me share a few things:

1) Mr. REP, I do not know you and you don’t know me either. We have never met. As far as I know, we have never been in the same room with one another.

2) I have never worked for you… Ever!

3) I have shot many, many homes in Northern Virginia when I lived there. Until a few weeks ago, I had only shot a handful of homes in Nebraska.  Read my previous post now if you haven’t already for more info.

4) I am indeed a current member of both PPA and NAPP.

5) I have seen Mr. REP’s work and his photo composition is very good. What I mean by this is that he includes relevant views and items in his images that present the viewer an accurate representation of the property. His images give the viewer (a.k.a. Homebuyers) pertinent information about the homes he photographs.

6) I am not a fan of the HDR technique Mr. REP utilizes. In my opinion, he is quite heavy-handed and overzealous in his use of HDR. I prefer a realistic look and not the surreal look he seems to prefer.

Mr. REP, It appears you read my blog. I simply ask that you either tell the truth if asked about me or better yet, not talk about me at all. You do your thing and I’ll do mine.

Until next time,

Mark

To whom it may concern,

I have had many visitors to my blog recently that are checking out three of my previous blog entries. There are two entries about real estate photography & HDR and one dealing with HDR. The three can be viewed by clicking on the following: Images for Real Estate Listings & HDR, Follow up to “Images for Real Estate Listings & HDR” and HDR Images s’il vous plait.

The following are some of the recent Google searches that are directing you and hopefully others to my blog:

omaha, ne real estate photography
hdr for realtors
hdr pics of homes for real estate Omaha
how to take hdr photos of real estate
hdr pictures home listing
real estate photographer Omaha
professional real estate pictures in omaha,ne
omaha real estate photographer
real estate photography, omaha ne

About two weeks ago, I received a phone call from you saying you had seen my blog and were inquiring about HDR real estate photography. My family and I were up to our eyeballs in running a yard sale that weekend and I didn’t get back to you until a couple of days later. Our phone call lasted a few minutes and I gave you a brief overview of my past Real Estate photography exploits and we talked a bit about HDR.

You were looking for a photographer to do HDR photography for your real estate firm. You explained that your HDR real estate photography connection had recently been hired by another realty company and that you, as well as others, needed someone to do their photography. Before we hung up, you requested I send you my contact info. I did email it and I haven’t heard back from you.

As I explained to you during our phone call, when I relocated to Omaha, I tried very hard to secure the photography side of things for many, many agents. A grand total of zero agents were interested in having me shoot their real estate images. They were quite content shooting their client’s homes themselves. You can read my reaction to this in my Images for Real Estate Listings & HDR blog entry.

It wasn’t until my brother was moving that I had the opportunity to shoot a house, and this was only because my brother demanded it and I did it gratis because he was my brother. I had shot lots of real estate in Virginia, but the agent representing my brother’s house still wanted to shoot the images herself with her little point and shoot camera. I shot some other houses for the agent and I was actually paid for doing it. I hoped that might be a springboard for finally getting some paying real estate gigs.

I made another round of attempts to contact Omaha realtors. Once again, I heard that they didn’t see a need for my services. As I am sure you realize, a few paying real estate photo jobs doesn’t allow me to pay my bills. I needed to change course. It was goodbye real estate photography. As a result, you will not see any images of real estate on my website or the other sites where I have some of my images posted.

I can assure you that I am quite familiar with real estate photography and would get back in the groove in no time. I am also very comfortable with the HDR process and how to apply it so that my images look realistic. Far too many individuals do not know when enough HDR is enough and their images appear surrealistic as a result. I am a member of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), I have been a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals for more than 6 years and I have many years of photo retouching and photo restoration experience.

If and when you want to speak with me about real estate photography, I am ready, willing and able.

Sincerely,

Mark

Update: Since I wrote this entry, I have been hired to shoot several homes. Check out photos of some homes I have photographed at www.omaharealestatephotography.com