I have no picture taking advice. I consider it a good picture taking experience if my battery is charged.

I would look at pictures on local realtor websites. If you see something you like, give the realtor a call and find out the name of the photographer.

LOL!

Anyone else?

I have no idea how much a professional photog would charge but if it wouldn't be too exhorbitant, I think it's a great idea. I thought the pics the Realtor took of our last house we sold were really terrible. You definitely want your house to be shown in the best possible light, especially when you have the all-important kitchen so beautifully remodeled. So I'd say it's worth checking around getting some recommendations and prices. Just make sure the Realtor you choose will consent to using your photos instead of insisting on taking their own. I can also understand wanting to have some keepsake photos of your own!

Are you in an area that has a Master Builders or Home Builders Association? Often times, they have a listing of subcontractos, suppliers and trades people that work in the industry. The lists may and sometimes do include other trades that rely on the homebuilders for their work, such as designers, realtors, advertisers and photographers.

Or, you may call a few of the builders in your area and see if they can give you any recommendations.

The cost will depend on what you want, how many shots, the way you want the finished product - digital or paper format, etc. The builder I work with most, has a photographer who sets up and does the shot for in the $200-600 range, provides digital files afterwards, however, we do all the "staging".

GOOD LUCK! Sounds like a great idea! I look back at the photos and video of our previous home quite a bit! Brings back wonderful memories of all the hard work we did...

Another idea, if your new home will be renovated also, hire the same photographer (maybe they will discount the second location) to take professional before pictures of the spaces you are going to work on - even if it's several years off. Who knows, you may want your project published someday!

Try contacting your local newspaper. Here our paper does a feature story every Sunday on an area home with great indoor shots. They have a couple of photographers they hire as subs just for these types of stories. The photographer's names may be credited on the photos or the paper may be willing to give you a name and number, it they don't use full-time employees.

Those are great ideas! Never even thought about the newspaper - duh. I'm going to be sure to get our Sunday edition this week and check it out.

When I did a search in my area on photographers, all I got was weddings, weddings, weddings... And I thought, gee, doesn't anyone take pictures of anything else? How many wedding photographers can there be?

I just wish I could take better pictures myself, but then I suppose I'd need all those extra things, like big fancy lights, a tripod, and a real SLR camera instead of my little digital Canon point and shoot. Probably cheaper to just hire someone else! Thanks again, everyone!

Call up some of those wedding photographers and talk to them, they won't refuse a job, but I'm sure it will be costly.

I've had my previous kitchen photographed for a magazine and a stylist accompanied the photographer and she placed and removed things first, which makes for a "no one lives or cooks there" look but it does make it much more attractive.
For example the phone was unhooked and hidden, the kleenex box also, etc.. so it was "staged" for the photo shoot.

You could take a few pictures yourself, then examine them and do some staging yourself, sort of prepare the kitchen as if you were having a very special evening , and then take tons of digital pictures at different times of the day and different lighting, you'll end up with pretty good pictures to keep as a souvenir. The less clutter the better, fresh flowers in a clear vase, that sort of thing. You want to showcase your kitchen so pretend it's going to be in a mag photo shoot , do the staging and then snap away, you might surprise yourself. Even if you hire a photographer, he won't stage it, so you might as well do it yourself.

Is there a college or university offering a degree in photography? My son's friend (a photography major) took pixs of the last bike ride they all had at the end of the semester. You'd think there would be nothing to take a picture of, but WOW! the pixs are amazing. However, I'd probably sleep better not knowing some of the antics they were up to on their all night ride :~O

Hi there,
If you choose not to go with a professional photographer, then the trick is to use a camera with wide angled lens. This way you get both the floor and the ceiling in the composition, and your photograph will make your kitchen look spacious.

Clear all the clutter from your countertops, put on all the lights, and start snapping away:)

Hi jenswrens!

Actually, I took all of my kitchen photos myself. Back then I probably used my Nikon 4300 digital. Not a fancy camera at all. The trick is the lighting. I turned all the lights in the kitchen on; including undercounter lights and range hood. I also took the pictures in the morning when the sun was on the kitchen side of the house. But it can't be glaring in or it will wash all the color out of the photo. And you must turn off the flash. If you get the light warning indicator, you could put your camera on a tripod and use the night portrait setting.

I have spent countless hours trying to get good pictures, not to mention that I now have my 4th digital in 9 years. But that really hasn't changed the quality of my photos. They have improved over time with lots of practice.

Best of luck! Julie

PS I was visiting the forums for something else and just thought I see if I happened to be the topic of conversation recently. Good to see that all calmed down over time.

Julie was right about getting the right lighting. And mitchdesj was right about taking a ton of digital photos too! I notice that many of the pictures posted on this forum could use a flash! I know a lot of the posters have the undercabinet lights but they don't seem to be turned on. Even if the light looks okay to your eye, turn on your pendants, under counter lighting, etc and take the picture. Compare it to another picture taken with it off.

And yes, stage your room. It may look perfectly well (this is different than staging for a sale) but through your cameras "eye" something like the kleenex box may be taking center stage.

Try standing on a stool or chair to get a different point of view. Try crouching for another. They don't all have to be taken from your particular height.

I'm not a professional photographer, nor do I play one on TV, tee hee! I don't even have a wide angle lens. But I love my digital and the fact that you can take multiple photos so easily and delete what you don't like. Give it a try and if you still want someone else to take the picture why not try a family or friend who seems to take good pictures?

My GC is bringing a professional photographer in a month or so (once he can coordinate dates for 3 homes) to take photos of my kitchen to put on his website. I am hoping to snag some of the pro's photos then :)