Any remodeler with a digital camera and an Internet connection can post project photos onto the Web, but Yerko Pallominy says to think carefully about the quality of the photos you use and the way in which you present them. Pallominy is a designer with Landis Construction, of Washington, D.C., and he is also a skilled photographer who has taken many of the hundreds of project photos that are on www.landisconstruction.com.

"I find that Web photography is much more important than printed media, because the Internet has become a main street leading potential customers to your front door," Pallominy says. "A Web site opens it up, giving clients the chance to know you, your business, and whatever product you have to offer. Therefore, for serious Web photography, you need a professional photographer, top-of-the-line equipment, and a very knowledgeable graphic designer with up-to-date editing software."

(See "Photos That Click" and "Screen Savers" in the Sales & Marketing section of May 2007 REMODELING. It can also be found on page 46 of the magazine.)

Here's some more advice from Pallominy:

  • "You do not need to use different cameras for prints and Web site use. All you need to do is change the resolution of each high-res image in PhotoShop before uploading them to your Web site. Your graphic designer should know about the Web image optimization feature in PhotoShop."
  • There are many useful photo software programs, Pallominy says. But "for my work, PhotoShop CS2 is my primary tool. It has come a long way since the PhotoShop 5.5 version, and it offers a lot of new features that help make photography much easier and of higher quality."
  • "My camera is a Kodak DCS ProSLR/c. But I also find the Canon EOS 5D to be a perfect tool for architectural photography. By the way: Canon lenses are compatible with Kodak Cameras too."
  • "We post all project photos on our company server, and I always review before and during shots prior a photo shoot. This helps me get a better idea of what I want to show in the images and the extent of the work. Also, it can give me a better idea of the camera angles I can use for after-shots. I don't feel the need to replicate the same angles as the before-shots, since camera locations will depend on how the scene is set up once you're ready to start. It is always ideal to also get an after-shot to match the angle of the before image.
  • "I do have my own lighting equipment, but I do not use it all the time for two reasons. First, because you really need to take advantage of daylight, sometimes a sunny day or a cloudy one might not work to your advantage. It all depends on how many windows you have in the space you want to photograph and the orientation of the house with respect to the sun -- that will tell you whether to start in the morning or afternoon. That's an assessment photographers must make before setting up a date with the client for the photo shoot."