What makes a strong photograph of a cottage? 

How to take strong images that will help you cottage rental? How to increase the value of your cottage for sale?  Using family photographs to advertise your cottage will not make the buyer look at the house. Buy a roll or two of film or charge up your digital camera and take pictures of your cottage for real estate use.

Before photographing anything plan out the best assets of your cottage, what potential renters or buyers would want to see. No, no not the antique flower pot, what is unique about your property... Most importantly take your time and be patient to get the kind of photographs your cottage deserves.

You will need to have some summer time photographs of your cottage.  You may want to have some fall colours, and winter activities to promote a year round rental.   Last, but not least you need photographs of the cottage interior.  If you are a cottage resort, it also helps to have some photographs of your beach and playground. 

Remember that a strong photograph is worth a 1000 words, and regardless if you are renting or selling your cottage, this is the first image your renters will see!

Cottage Exterior

In general, photographs taken in early morning or late afternoon will look better, as the light will not be too harsh, and you will be able to see more details in the shadows.  You can use your flash even in the day time. Use the sun by putting it behind you, and try to get a softer look look for your property.

This photograph of Bull Lake Cottage in Arden, Ontario was taken in the early morning which makes it look warm and inviting.

Hold the Camera level to make sure your cottage looks straight. Using a tripod or something to steady your camera on can be a great help. Who would like to buy a falling building?

 

Get close to the subject you want to photograph. Have a subject in mind for each picture. To much background is not always good, while tight photographs don't show space around the cottage. 

Here is an example of a strong image from Blue Spruce Cottage Resort near Algonquin Park, Ontario.  This is a clean, inviting photograph. 

 

Pay attention to where objects are. The cleaner and less cluttered, the more appealing your property is. Putting the main focus of your photograph in the centre is not always the most interesting. Placing the main focus point 2/3 up or down the photograph, will make it a stronger image.

Cottage Interior

Getting great photographs of cottage interior is not always an easy task.  You need to work with the limited light, and often in tight quarters.   Before you begin taking photographs, it does not hurt to to do some staging.  Light up the cottage fireplace, put a couple of wine glasses and a bottle on the table. 

If you have a wide angle lens, this is the time to take it out and use it.  It will give a board view, and a feeling of open space. The other accessories that will come in handy are a flash or a tripod. 

There are lots of different light sources for example window lighting, lamps, over hanging etc. You can use just these and shoot in "natural light".  Try playing with both long and short exposures longer-giving you more of the natural light and shorter-giving you less. Wen shooting inside make sure to use a tripod. A dark interior photograph scares potential renters it appears cold and damp. 

The photograph below of Beachfront Cottages in Southwest Harbor, Maine shows a nice clean uncluttered inside which makes it very appealing.  You can see that the owner has used natural light coming in from the window on the right, while taking the photograph from the corner of the room. 

Alternatively, you may decide on using a flash, but careful not to get splash reflections in windows an mirrors. Position yourself at an angle to the reflective surface.  You may want to stand in the corner of the room, and position the camera high, looking down.  If your external flash is hitting the sealing, turn the camera upside down. 

Photographs with People

We do not recommend using photographs with people in it, unless you have their explicit written permission to use their photograph online for advertising purposes. These signed forms are officially referred as a model release. 

Scanning and Touch up

If you did not shoot your images using a digital camera, you will need to scan them in.  To display the photograph online, you will need about 80dpi, and an image about 8cm in width.  You can later make it smaller as you need.  

You may want to touch up the photos a bit with any photo editing software you have at hand.  The standard Auto Correct does usually wonders, seldom you will ever have to go beyond it. 

Most often we see photographs that were underexposed, they have a characteristic white shade across the entire photograph.  In such cases, a quick correction does wonders.  

Before correction:

After Correction:

Hiring a Professional Photographer

If you own a cottage resort or a planning a real-estate sale, consider hiring a professional photographer. When hiring a photographer, ask them to show you some sample photographs they have taken both outdoors and indoors.

If you want to save on price, talk to some of your cottage neighbors.  For a photographer the big expense is the time it takes to get to your cottage.  If you can get a number of cottages at once, all of you will benefit from the experience. 

We recommend Karen Riedler Photography!