Mastering Multimedia: The Best Photo and Video Posts of 2014

Photography and video articles are consistently among the most popular on our site. And it's no wonder--unless you hire a professional for your photo and video needs, agents have to learn everything from the ground up. This includes everything from lighting, choosing the right camera equipment, editing, and beyond. That's a lot to get a handle on!

In 2014, we published multiple articles about photography and video. We've rounded up the best posts of the year here to give you a single list of resources to refer to when you're looking for ways to improve your multimedia skills in the year ahead.

1. Create the Perfect Real Estate Video with Your iPad
Agents and brokers who do not use the all-in-one studio applications of the iPad are essentially buying a Porsche and leaving it in the driveway, using it just to listen to the radio. Eighty-five percent of consumers say they are more likely to make a purchase after watching a video (Invodo), making videos an essential part of any marketing plan. Here are a few tips that Krisa says will help you create awesome real estate videos with your iPad.

2. Photos too large for upload? Take these simple steps to resize them.
Many Realtors® upload photos to their MLS and other real estate web sites. Photos that are taken at a high resolution (high quality) save as large files; sometimes, too large for upload to those web sites. We receive a lot of calls asking for assistance resizing photos when the file size is above the website's limit. Below are simple steps for both Window and Mac users.

3. Headshot and Video Style Tips for Real Estate Agents
A successful branding strategy will make potential buyers feel like they know you, before they have met you in person. Appearing polished in your headshots and video-marketing materials goes beyond vanity – it is how potential clients will perceive you. Follow these on-camera tips to elevate the professionalism of your branding materials.

4. Best Bang for Your Buck: Top 5 Types of Real Estate Videos on YouTube
The booming consumer appetite for YouTube videos brings myriad good news for real estate agents and brokerages, especially since it is the second most used search engine on the planet behind Google. But before you grab a camera and set up a tripod, let's talk about which type of video gives the best bang for your buck. Frankly, this is where many agents go astray.

5. 5 Keys to Choosing the Right Camera Equipment for Real Estate
The first step to producing your own videos is getting your own equipment. You don't need anything fancy. You don't need tons of technical knowledge. You're just trying to make videos that look good and sound good. Here are five pieces of equipment you're going to need, bearing in mind that the best equipment that you can buy is the equipment that works best for you.

6. The 4 Biggest Listing Photo Mistakes
Even when the market is hot and homes are selling fast, you've got to make sure your listing sets itself apart from competing homes in order to get the best deal. Pictures move the masses and if you're not careful, they can move prospective buyers away from your listings online. Check out these four buyer photo turn-offs to avoid and tips for making sure your listings are getting the right attention online!

7. Tips for Taking Better iPhone® Photos
We all know that photos drive the real estate search experience. So how can you take advantage of the technology at your fingertips to take better photos? From free apps to robust paid tools, there are so many options in the App Store that it can feel daunting to choose just one. We polled our tech-savvy team to find out which apps are worth the money and which free products can brighten up even the darkest photo.

8. Lessons from the Worst Real Estate Photographers
I was hoping this column wouldn't be necessary. But there's a new book that recently came out that proves it is – Terrible Real Estate Photos by Andy Donaldson. Photography has never been more important. Some 9 out of 10 homebuyers used the Internet to shop for a home last year. If you don't bother to ensure that your listing looks good to Internet users right off the bat, you are giving away 90 percent of the market before you even get started. So how can you get the most out of your photography efforts and help get that house sold? Here are a few pointers.

9. 5 Quick Photo Editing Tools For Real Estate
A common refrain I hear is that regular PCs don't have anything to edit photos with. A standard Windows PC has long come equipped with MS Paint, but as anyone who has tried to use it for more than the simplest tasks can tell you, it's not really a great tool for the job. Most people don't have access to a heavy duty tool like Photoshop and could really use something lightweight for handling tasks like resizing a photo for putting on your website or sending in an email. Here are a few different services you can use to handle your photo editing needs. To use these services, all you'll need is a desktop browser (PC or Mac) and Adobe Flash enabled.

10. Five Ingredients for Creating Viral Videos
We have all heard the term "gone viral." Normally we equate it with amateur videos of funny cats or parodies of pop songs such as Gangnam Style by PSY, which by the way has been viewed over 2 billion times. In the case of real estate, a viral video is one that creatively promotes a property, real estate company and/or Realtor by using content that draws attention and encourages viewers to want to share it with others. So what are some of the characteristics of a viral video that will gain maximum reach?