Vanelli travels across the country, talking to some of the top photographers in the field as they share their experiences while shooting on set. You’ll soon learn that even seasoned professionals encounter roadblocks during photo shoots. By staying calm under pressure, they rely on their skills to overcome these obstacles to capture an amazing shot. Sit back, relax and enjoy a Story from the Set.

Nature and Real Estate photographer Robert Wicker shares how he uses Golden Hour to capture award-winning Real Estate photos.

Golden Hour & Blue Hour

In photography, the golden hour is a period shortly after sunrise or before sunset during which light is softer and warmer colored than when the sun is higher in the sky. Blue hour is the time just after the sunsets when the light is cooler. While these are technically different, we’ll refer to both as Golden Hour here. This limited window—roughly an hour—forces photographers to plan how they want to capture the image.

Photograph what the client wants, then give them an alternative

Robert Wicker photographed the house around 3 p.m.—the time the client wanted him there. He suggested the house would look better if he shot closer to sunset. He got a bite to eat and waited for the sun to go down. The next day, he showed the client the image they wanted, then presented them with the image he shot during Golden Hour. The owner of the house commented that he made her house look like a mansion.

Build Your Portfolio

After shooting for a while, Wicker has built a strong real estate portfolio. He shows his clients traditional images, then presents them with an upgrade option: the Golden Hour image. He no longer has to shoot both and hopes the client upgrades.

Video

This 5 minute video is filled with little nuggets of information.

Stories from the Set is published weekly and you can see them all right here.