Background:
In my days as an estate agent I was often tasked by my colleagues to beautify the display images for their listings. This would often be a case of swapping the grey skies for blue, removing bins, straightening walls etc all on Photoshop. Apart from this, taking the photos of the properties was the only other part of the job I loved, so after a few years I sacked myself and started out doing just that. Within a few weeks of being freelance I found an estate agent to work with but he eventually moved out of town and now hires a professional photographer full time. At first he just sent me external images of properties and I replaced the skies and made all the walls vertical as they should be. After a while I had visited his agency to train his people on how to use a camera and was editing full sets of property photos. They still sent the images to me (because even I can’t get the results I get straight out of the camera ) but the quality of the images was pretty good and most importantly the click rates soared. I think the national average click rate was 6% and we saw rates jump as high as 20%. It’s amazing what a blue sunny sky can do!
I am now looking to take a little more Image beautification work on board. Just recently I came across the HSA and got chatting with Paloma by email. Paloma completely understands (as I’m sure you all do) that these days it is invariably the image online that a client will see first and that you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. I am offering all of you HSA members a free sample of this Image beautification service so that you can evaluate it going forward. What I have noticed with the home staging websites I have seen, is that even the ones who don’t use professional photographers are still very aware and conscientious of the image. It certainly shows and I think it will be an easy thing to get everyone who needs a little help right up to speed with getting the very best image possible of the surroundings you have created.
I think that the best way forward for anyone who thinks they could be interested in using this free sample of my service is to send me a few images (straight out of your camera or any image you want to have processed) with no reduction in size. I will edit the image/s in the best way I can and I will explain what I have done and how I think the image could have been better taken and with what camera settings etc. This way we can step by step give you personal tailored remedial actions you can take to improve. Once you are comfortable with that process you will be able to send me images ad-hoc and I will simply charge a fixed agreed rate per image.*
If you use a DSLR camera and you can take images in RAW format it is always best to send those big files via www.wetransfer.com If I have gone over your head already then you can always email me first to get the ball rolling. I welcome all contact and I am happy help people who are interested in nurturing good working relationships. You can even call me.
Email: hsa@ashleyhurst.com
Mobile 07908221762
On my Facebook page I sometimes make TOTT posts (Tricks Of The Trade) Here is an image for one of them which will give you some idea of the kinds of things I can help you with. Why not give me a follow?
https://www.facebook.com/blackpoolpropertyphotography
- Price yet to be finalised because there will be a scale that will start at £2 and could in extreme cases go up to £5 per image if there is lots of time consuming Photoshop work to be done. This will always include feedback and tips for each image. The free trial will enable you to evaluate the value for money this represents.
