She sounds too "real estate" for me

You might want to look at my profile on Active Rain, a real estate blogging community. When I blog, you can hear a pin drop! :)

I live and breathe raising the bar on real estate photography. I chat with realtors over coffee. I answer questions at meetings. We talk about lighting, furniture placement. A few of the things you'll never see in a Dawn Shaffer photo are

• shoes in the entryway
• a disposable diaper wadded up against the wall
• dirty dishes in the sink
• refrigerators covered in "stuff"
• me in the mirror
• bowed walls (using a wide lens is only the beginning. Postproduction editing is required to straighten them out).

This is your most expensive asset. It is up to your real estate professional to ensure that your home sells for the most as quickly as possible.

Don't hold it against me!

Many of my clients are real estate agents. I know what you're thinking. I have heard (and experienced first-hand) all the stories. I'm here with the good news in Portland and Vancouver.

There are real estate professionals out there. I work with them. Feel free to check my page for links, or check out my gallery, or view my profile on www.linkedin.com (sorry for the shameless google plugs!) They are relieved to hand off photography of your most expensive asset to someone they can trust (that would be me) because your home will look better and sell faster. (Yes, our REPs can use our still photos in their marketing.) Virtual tours are an art form, not something to slam out.

When you get ready to sell your home:

Interview people like you would your next employee. They work for you. If you get a bad feeling, act on it. March on to the next one.

Find out which camera will be used to take listing photographs. Is it a wide lens (or will you only see a couch against a wall)? Who takes the photos? If the agent whips out a camera and wants to start snapping, resist. The receptionist, on her way to drop off the dry cleaning and grab a latte (again, pass!)? You want someone who is focused on the work.

This is the busiest time of your life. Your agent should be supplying you with an easy-to-understand set of guidelines to help you prepare for your photo shoot. Most homeowners are anxious to do whatever they can. They just need a list to remind them. After all, keeping the house in this condition is pretty important too.

Go online and compare the marketing they do on current listings with the technology that's available. Ask if they use virtual tours. Not *slide shows* -- interactive virtual tours. That line has become blurred, but you can tell the difference. Again, scope out our gallery.

Dawn Shaffer

Mt Hood at Sunrise from Mt Scott Bed & Breakfast

We take everyday occurrences (like sunrise) for granted, but not last week!

While doing the virtual tour of the Mt. Scott Bed and Breakfast a few weeks ago, the B&B's innkeeper, Della Dugger, expressed that she would love to be able to show potential guests how the Sunrise Suite got its name.

Last week, I captured sunrise at Mt Scott Bed & Breakfast in Portland. Della stood watch with me and remarked, "I need to wake up more often so I can watch this. It's spectacular!"

We are pleased to allow our clients use of our photos in their marketing efforts, so this will most likely make its way to the Mt. Scott Bed and Breakfast website.