Photography Tour/Workshop Guided by Hrach Hovhannisyan

Here in this section you can find some tips straight out from my recent 5 years of active experience in real estate photography and videography. I hope it will help you improve your skills, whether you are a realtor or just a starter photographer! Good luck on your journey! :) We can divide those tips connected with real estate photography into 2 sections: 1. Pre-planning 2. Equipment Let's start with the 1st one. Pre-planning! This is super important, because if your photoshoot is not planned properly, then it can be very hard to improve certain issue later on. Here is why. Doesn't matter how you calculate and formulate your pricing, always ask enough questions to your client to gather all the necessary information before you head to the shooting. I know, sometimes it can be a rush order, maybe their main photographer had an emergency issue or whatever is the case, but take few minutes and ask your clients the bare minimum information, in order to have a successful photoshoot. The type of information you need to gather are like those: How big is the property? (the house, backyard/front yard), are there any additional structures that needed to be captured? (like barn, extra garage, guest house etc.), will videography be necessary as well? will drone(aerial) photo or video be necessary as well? Where exactly the property is located? etc. All these questions help you to have an almost complete idea what are you going to deal with. How much time approximately will it take from you. What gear will you need to use and prepare. How far you are going to drive. If drone is needed, then pre-check on special apps, if there is any restrictions or maybe authorization needed for a certain airspace etc. (Have all the batteries and extra batteries charged and ready to go!) For me, personally, the other very important thing is which direction is the house facing and how are the conditions of close-by surroundings? Now, why this is important? One of my main principals is, whenever is possible, try to always get a nice sunlight on the "face" of the house (the main entrance, the main exterior image)! Again, whenever it's possible. There will be dozens of times when it's not physically possible. For example, when the house is facing North, and the main entrance never gets a proper and direct sunshine.. Or let's say they have a hill, or a forest or a building blocking the direct sunshine etc. Or simply it's a cloudy day, like the many ones we have here in Portland, Oregon :) That's why I mentioned, whenever it's possible.. Many times my clients don't even know, and I try to figure that out with the help of Google Earth/Maps or other programs/apps. For me, it's important because usually buyers get "caught"/attracted with the main (hero) image of the listings, (to click the listing and open it), which is that "face" of the house, and if that is lit with a nice natural sunshine, that gives them a nice, warm and attractive feeling. A quick tip: If only back side of the house is getting the sunlight, for example in the late afternoon or evening, then use that fact and plan so, that you do the front exterior, interior and then, at the very end, the back exterior side. In that case you will still use that nice natural light on at least one part of the house. Equipment! I know, you might have many questions about this sections, so I will try to make it maximum simple and easier for you to get the main idea. I don't want to suggest you to use specific brand camera or lens or tripod or drone, as there is a huge diversity in the market now, and there are lots of great products for each taste and personal preferences, but I will share with you the general requirements of the market's needs and what I personally use as of for now (2023). So here is the equipment you may need, to start doing high quality real estate photography and videography: 1. High quality camera! - doesn't matter DSLR or Mirrorless (if you are just going to buy one, I personally would go for mirrorless, as the whole market is shifting mostly towards mirrorless now). By saying high quality first of all I mean Full Frame! Also, it's very important and necessary, that your camera can shoot in Multi Exposure and at least 5 exposures or better 7. Well, there is a certain software which I used to use with my 5D Mark II camera (which did not have more than 3 multi exposure) but those software are not safe for your camera and can really destroy the firmware. Most new good cameras have 5-7 multi-exposure though. The reason it is important, is because you are going to take all your images (especially interior ones) in multiple exposures and then merge it later on Photoshop or Lightroom, as the most of the times interiors have so many different light and shadows in it (especially the view out of the window compared to all the rest within the room), that single exposure can't handle it as nicely as multi exposure does. I personally use Canon 5D Mark IV (and Canon 5D Mark II as a backup) (click on the name in yellow to get yours from Amazon!) 2. Wide angle (again - High quality!) lens Now, lens is very-very important, not only in the real estate but in photography in general! And for real estate, the wide angle is especially important, but you don't want to go crazy wide, like fish eye or even 12mm not really recommended, as those very wide ones will curve your lines which you 100% want to avoid! Around 15-16mm should be great! (we are talking about for full frame cameras! don't forget that). Remember! You need STRAIGHT LINES in your real estate photography! Not curved, not tilted, but Straight!!! The reason why wide angle is important, is because first of all we want to get as much information in one image as possible, at the same time not going crazy and unnaturally wide or panoramic, so let's say you do an angle or straight shot of the room and you want to catch part of the windows on the right side and the bathroom door on the left side, with non-wide lens it might not be possible, but wide angle will give you that privilege. I personally use Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra Wide lens, and might get the III version of it, as I like it a lot. --> Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM 3. Tripod - There are tons of great tripods and also, which is very important, tripod heads, for different purposes in photography. You need such tripods & heads, which have the functions to show you the straight lines (the Fluid Movements). This is the one I use for 5 years now and love it: Manfrotto Photo-Movie Tripod Head 3. Gimbale (Stabilizer) for videography - I personally use DJI RS2 It's much more affordable now, compared when I bought it in 2021, and does a great job! You definitely need a stabilizer for a smooth walk-in video shoots. I used to have an old manual stabilizer, which was heavier and way less comfortable and with much less functions than this Ronin, and definitely won't recommend anyone now to get it (the old manual one I mean)! Believe me, after that manual one, this RS2 feels like a Ferrari after some old cheap used trash car lol :)) 3. Drone- I personally use DJI Mavic 2 Pro for almost 4 years now- I use it with my phone, but I guess it's much better to use it with Smart Controller (and have phone as a backup just in case, + you can use your phone normally when necessary without interacting with your flight at that moment). But if your budget is limited, just get the drone and use it with your phone, no problems. It's a really cool drone, and gets the job done as needed! For more in-depth advices connected with the actual process of the photoshoot, join to our Classes and you will learn all the necessary practical part to start doing Professional Real Estate Photography and Videography! My full list of all the photo and video equipment (including lighting gear, reflectors, holders etc.) will be ready soon and I will update it here as well.

Tip N1. Get to know your client and their exact needs! This is super important, and I have noticed, that many times it is ignored from many photographers. So why is this important? Because there are many cases, when, for example, I had clients, who needed the headshots for their company, which had specific requirements (such as the position of their company logo, the resolution of the image, the background color etc.) Also, it's a good idea to ask where exactly the headshots will be used? In some cases it's for LinkedIn or personal website or resumes, in other cases are for specific websites, as the case described above. Tip N2. Ask for the location and offer options! Many times, clients don't exactly know which option will be better, and they may need your help. So in order to help them properly, 1st ask about their needs (See Tip N1.), then offer them multiple options, like In-Studio or Outdoors, with controlled lights or only ambient light etc. And it will be better if with each option you can show them some examples, so they can better understand, as the visual content is always easy and faster to consume. Tip N3. Understand the lighting for headshots! Lighting is Everything in Photography! Or, in other words, Photography is about Lighting - it's capturing the light! So doesn't matter the type of photography you are doing, you have to always pay attention to the correct lighting. That is especially true for portraits and headshots. In this case we discuss the Business/Corporate Headshots. As almost an every beginner, years ago, I also used to start without any lighting, just using the Natural (ambient) light for doing portraits and headshots. However, the more I grew professionally, and the more experience I gained, and the more I learned, I understood for myself, that It's way more correct to use the controlled light rather than to rely on natural light. And here is why. 1st of all, just want to mention, that there is nothing wrong with natural light, and I still do it sometimes for certain types of casual/artistic portraits or lifestyle/street photography. However, the main issue with natural light is, that it is UNCONTROLLED! Which means, that we can't controlled neither the sun's directions or it's power, or the weather! So that's said, we are very limited with what we have given by the nature at that moment. In many cases, our client's might be in rush or have very tight schedule, so we need to get it done in certain day and time, and for that day and time the weather can be rainy, or cloudy, or the harsh sun etc. And we will struggle and get the results that we don't like that much. I remember, one time, few years ago, it was one of my very first business headshots requests, and I did not use any lighting or even a reflector that time, we were shooting outdoor, and it was harsh sun, I took my client under some tree shade in that area, and later on in my computer I noticed many small light and shadow dots cause my the tree leaves, letting the sun from here and there.. After that case, I decided to myself, that I should have the full control of the light as much as it's possible. So, if you currently don't have any lights or cant' afford, at least get a reflector, something as simple and affordable as this Once you have it, ask some friend to come with you on the photoshoot and hold it for you. If you have no one to assist you, then 2 choice: either pay someone to do that assisting job for like 30-40 minutes, or get a stand-holder for those reflectors and do it yourself. The issues with reflectors are that 1st of all they fully depend on available light, which means you can manage the direction but can't manage the power, and 2nd. they are very light, in case it's windy and you put them on stands. Tip N4. What equipment to use for headshot photography? As I mentioned in the Real Estate section, it all depends on your needs and budget. There is a huge verity of everything from very different brands. I will give you the list here of what I use, so if you can afford it, do some more research and go for it, or get better stuff. But most importantly, know how to use whatever you have !!! So for camera wise and lens, I uses Canon 5D Mark IV with my Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8 L II Lens for in Studio headshots, and for the outdoor headshots, I use either that same lens or my Canon EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 L II lens. For the lighting equipment, currently I use mostly Godox brand (which is pretty affordable for it's quality and costs way cheaper compared to Profoto or Broncolor). I use 3 different lights in Studio, 1 as key light, 1 as backlight from one side (and for the reflector) and one as a background light. Also, I use a very important triflector, which I got from BH Photo. It gives a very nice fill light towards the chin and chest are of the client, + nice catch lights in the eye. The list of my main 3 lights are below: Godox Ad 200 Pro Godox Gemini GS 400 II this one is not available currently, but you can find similar. Godox AD 600 Pro Now, AD 200 Pro, is one of my favorite lights, as it's super practical, and I use it a lot as a main light for my outdoor sessions, both for portraits and headshots. And in Studio, I mostly use it as a background light. The Gemini GS 400II I mostly use as a side backlight for headshots in Studio. Now about AD 600 Pro. This is a great and powerful light, and as 200 Pro, it is battery powered, and you can use it outdoors without any need of power outlets. However! It seems like this particular model's batteries are having issues, and many of them are deflective. 2 of my batteries died, I was able to "reincarnate" one of them and still using it, but the other one is gone. And many people having the same issue according to many reviews. Until Godox fix it, I would probably advise to go for Godox AD 400 Pro, which has less power, but is more affordable, and according to the reviews looks like its batteries are fine. For my AD 600 Pro, as I mostly use it in Studio, I got this Adapter, which is great and don't use the battery, but instead switch to power outlet. One more very important thing! Of course, all those lights mentioned above, should not be operated bare bulb (in 95% of cases) but with softboxes, to soften the light on your subject's face. I will mention here couple of softboxes I use in most cases. Godox 14"X63'' Godox P 90L also similar to P90, but QR-P90 Godox 47" Octabox and finally Neewer 31.5" Umbrella For more in-depth advices connected with the actual process of the headshot photography, and how to use all the lighting gear mentioned above, join to our Classes and you will learn all you need to go out and start creating amazing headshots!

In this section I share the majority of my own current equipment list (why majority and not all? well there are lots of small pieces that I don't even remember how they called and where, when and how did I find them lol), including camera bodies, lenses, tripod and tripod heads, lights, softboxes, stands, etc etc. Most of the equipment mentioned here I got either from Amazon, or BH Photo or Adorama. So I'll be putting the exact same links of my order history, the ones I got for myself, Just click on the yellow gear names and they will take you straight to the product links. All the Amazon links here listed below are affiliate links, so if you find those articles and tips on my Blog helpful to you, and want to upgrade your gear and at the same time want to support me, please use those exact links when you decide to get your own ones! I will really appreciate that! Thanks in advance! :) If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via contact form. So here is my personal list below! Camera bodies : 1. Canon 5D Mark II 2. Canon 5D Mark IV Camera lenses: 1. Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II but I definitely suggest to get the III version (that is the one I'm planning to get soon for myself, to replace my II) 2. Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8 L II 3. Canon EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 L II 4. Sigma 105mm F2.8 Macro Lens Filters: 1. Lee 6 Stop ND and 10 Stop ND Filters 2. Hoya HD3 CIR-PL Filter All these filters mentioned above, are just amazing for Landscape Photography and very necessary! The ND filter are great for long exposure photography, and the CPL filter is great for enhancing the sky and remove glare from the water. Also, the CPL filter can be very useful while doing for example car photography or product photography, as it's dealing with unwanted reflection and glare just amazingly! 100% recommended from me! Drone: DJI Mavic 2 Pro-Fly More Combo I really like this drone, and have been using it since 2019 until now, both for commercial shooting and recreational. But if your budget allows, there is a new version of this drone now, Mavic 3 Pro which is absolute beast! I'm pretty sure that it's 100% worth the investment, if you are willing to learn how to fly, get your Commercial drone pilot license and keep all the rules for every single flight. You will enjoy it, and of course it will make a lot of profit for you if you do a right marketing.. Gimbal (Stabilizer) for smoother videography: DJI Ronin RS2 Combo I bought this in 2021 and use it until now. Really cool gimbal. Especially after my old manual gimbal, this feels like from another world, not only much lighter and convenient, but very sophisticated. Similar like for the drone mentioned above, there is a newer version of this gimbal, which I'm pretty sure worth buying if you are going to by for the 1st time anyways, just go for the new one, as the price of the new currently equals of what I paid for the older version :) the newer version is Ronin RS3 THE REST OF THE LIST IS BEING IN EDITING PROCESS, AND WILL BE READY VERY SOON.

Acerca de Trillium Lake Sunrise - Little Crater Lake Itinerary I Want To Join Trillium Lake is a very beautiful and quite popular lake not far from a small town of Government Camp, and is about 60 miles away from Downtown Portland, OR. The lake is famous for it's spectacular view of Mount Hood, the highest mountain in the State of Oregon. The sunrise from this lake is really amazing, especially in little colder weather, as when the sun rays first hits the surface of the lake, fantastic beautiful golden fog starts to formulate and through which in a clear day you can see the summit of Mount Hood. That scenery is hard to describe with words, you have to see with your own eyes and of course through your camera! But we have to be lucky with weather as well! Also, if there any fishermen, that is another incredible "bonus" to our compositions... ​ After shooting the sunrise in Trillium Lake, we are heading to Little Crater Lake! That is a hidden gem in Mount Hood National Forest, not very far from our first stop (Trillium Lake). The part of the road to here is partly gravel with many potholes, but it's really worth it! Especially at fall time, the colors in this whole area is just spectacular! ​ ​ ​ ​ Recommended gear and outfit for this workshop: ​ Wide angle lens (at least 24mm, or even better 16mm). Generally speaking wide angle lenses are used a lot during nature and landscape photography, so it's recommended to get one if you are planning to get into nature photography. ND (grey) filters for long exposure photography. This is not a must as you are just starting, you can first learn what is that for and how it's used, but if you can get one, definitely do it, as you will need every time you shoot a long exposure at daylight. Tripod! In general, I would say that it's always better to have tripod with you wherever you can, especially if it's not long and very tough hike, take it with you. If you plan to do a long exposure, you can't get a great quality if you don't have a tripod and you will be very limited by putting camera on the rocks or some flat area which will get you like 5% of all possible great shots. Comfortable outdoor outfit and boots, and depending on weather, waterproof jacket. Trillium Lake Sunrise Little Crater Lake I Want To Join Dates: As those are individual workshops, the dates are not specified and will be agreed with you considering your schedule and weather conditions. Pricing & Prepayment: As those are individual workshops, it's intended for 1 person at a time. However, if you have friend to join us, that is also possible., but the maximum size of the group should be no more than 2 person (+ the instructor). ​ The price of the workshop is $375 in case of 1 person, and $275 per person in case of 2 people. ​ If you live in Portland area, transpiration can be included for additional $35 per person. ​ $125 prepayment needed when the workshop booked. ​ Acceptable payment methods: Zelle or Venmo transfers. ​ Full payment should be completed before the trip is started once the instructor and the client met. What is included: Professional photography advises & instructions for Nature Photography All the fees for parking in State Parks and National Forests What is Not included: Food & beverages during the trip Transportation (can be included for additional $35 per person) Cancellation policy: If cancelled within 3 days of starting the workshop, the prepayment fee is Non-Refundable. ​ If cancelled before 3 days of starting the workshop, the prepayment is fully refundable. ​ If workshop is started as planned, the prepayment is subtracted from the initial payment and the client is due the rest. I Want To Join

Our Clients Within last decade, Hrach Hovhannisyan have been working not only with hundreds of individual clients, with super diverse needs in photography and videography, such as photographing products for eCommerce sellers, or capturing business headshots, or working with individual real estate agents or home owners etc, but also with dozens of big and small businesses, representing a big diversity of different industries, such as construction, healthcare, automotive, retail, art etc. Here in this section we just showcase only one part of the big list of our clients. Base Behavioral Health De Havilland Canada Hub Central Properties Valor Jets Hydr a-Tap LLC Harvey General Contractors Weitman Excavation H.D. Fowler Company Oregon Trail Moving Natural Grocers (Beaverton, OR & Coose Bay, OR) SIGA Services AG (Siga.Swiss) RJ Motors Inc. Mountain View Motel & RV Park (Joseph, OR) Hawthorne General Constructio n Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation L&M Hair Studio Portland Benefits Group ( "Acquire Healthcare" ) Integrity Auto & Work Injury Chiropractic Clinic ALSET Auto Black Side Industries Reviews