are my pictures that bad !

Get some feedback on your site or ad from other rental owners and techies. Also a library of online resources so you can make DIY improvements to your web presence.
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barbersdrove
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Post by barbersdrove »

Re the grass, it's funny how the same picture can evoke different feelings in people. I dislike over tidy grass as to me it says the owner is someone who might be tidying behind me or watching if I scuff the lawn etc. This goes back to our caravanning days when we stayed at a place that looked immaculate in the pictures, and it was. BUT...it had to stay so whilst we were there so the owner was continually coming to the van side to clip the grass (in stripes) and wouldn't let us put up an awning in case the grass grew within it during our stay etc. He was so pernickity we left and never went back. A bit of rough grass says that if the children want to play a game of footy etc, it will be tolerated.
A cream cake a day keeps the wrinkles at bay:)
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

If you move your feet to exclude the concrete and remove the tree-stump before you press the shutter (rather than doing the same with photoshop), does that 'legitimise' the picture.
er - yes I think it does Jimbo :lol: :lol:
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

er - yes I think it does Jimbo
Loud crackling noise from the back of the class as hairs are split.

Windy - what, even though the concrete is still there and the client has asked me to put the tree stump back after I've finished shooting? Four more pages please!

Jim
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Windy
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Post by Windy »

Welll if the client is daft enough to ask you to put the tree stump back Jimbo and you do it then there's no hope for either of you . :lol:
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

there's no hope for either of you .
Ha Ha. I blame the client. I'm merely the instrument of his/her pleasure. sammyboy - sorry for thread creep!

Jim
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

:lol: Love it.

Seriously though, what you've been discussing is only astep further than trying to compose the best shot isn't it? We have a small marker for the fosse septique on the lawn, so there's no way I would take a photo of the view beyond, for example, with that in the foreground.

Whether we take photos for pleasure or are selling something, we all want to obtain the best result possible.

Do I get an A for that Jimbo? :D
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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wallypott
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Post by wallypott »

Jimbo, and others, do you not find that you know instantly that the photo has been fiddled with?
january
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Post by january »

OMG ! without being rude the photos are an absolute disaster ! There is nothing here to entice a would be holidaymaker, which is a shame because I can see that you have a decent letting property.

Kids in the pool that we don't know - dog in the garden - picture 13 of a toilet etc.

My advice : Spend a little money, cut the grass, remove the washing line, and find a good photographer to show your house as it should and can be.
la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

january wrote: My advice : Spend a little money, cut the grass, remove the washing line, and find a good photographer to show your house as it should and can be.
I agree everything you say, but I'm still not sure a good photographer is necessary. A little common sense in how to present your property would have hugely improved the photos taken here.
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

I just noticed that sammyboy has taken Jimbo's advice on the garden photo; I can't find the old version but can find a cleaned-up version that resembles Jimbo's work -- but it isn't. The new photo is more zoomed and the colors are quite different.

Jimbo's version and sammyboy's new version:
Image Image

I'm confused as to why sammyboy would have chosen to oversaturate and overbrighten in that way (but not have also sharpened the image). It also looks like the new photo has an orange cast where the old one didn't, which makes me wonder if this could be partially a monitor problem. Many of the other photos also look overexposed, but they don't all look to my untrained eye like they have an orange color cast.
Brooke
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

The image on the right casts grave doubts on the owner's credibility, whereas Jimbo's tweaking would pass unnoticed by the majority of viewers.

Sammyboy, what were you thinking about? :D
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

It's usual, I think, when you first start editing photographic files, to press the pedal down a bit hard on the sharpening, saturation and brightening controls. And it's not too surprising, because the modified pictures can look a whole lot more exciting than the original files. After a bit of experimentation (which sammyboy is obviously engaged in here), most people soon get the hang of the process.

Jim
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vrooje
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Post by vrooje »

I once spent a day adjusting photos on a monitor with non-standard settings. It wasn't until I went to show them to someone else, on a different computer, that I realized I should have checked the color settings and the screen brightness on the original monitor before trying any photo edits. Everything was over-brightened and the colors were off. Sammyboy's edit made me think I should at least mention it, but you're probably right (of course), Jimbo, this is just natural experimentation. Sorry to cast doubts on your technology, sammyboy. :)
Brooke
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Jimbo
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Post by Jimbo »

Sammyboy's edit made me think I should at least mention it ...
Brooke, you were absolutely right to do so - for sammyboy and others reading this thread - and you could well be correct. Mine was simply an alternative suggestion. But anybody who has ever attended photoshop training knows that everything starts with colour management of your hardware before you launch the software.

Here's a straightforward guide:
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/arti ... intro.html

Jim
burdy
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Post by burdy »

We had many comments from our guests that the pictures we had didn't do our villa justice so I arranged for some (CSI) friends of mine to go out for a week at our expense and take some pictures while they were there.
They were made up to get a free week to play golf / drink / eat and we were made up to get the better pictures.

It really is worth the expense to get the pictures.
Our bookings have increased since the creation of the better pictures.

We still get a few comments that the (better ) pictures still don't do it justice but I'm convinced the better bookings we have had are due to the better pictures.

I'd urge everybody to get the best pictures they can.
The extra expense will be recouped by the extra bookings.

BURDY
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