There’s this guy; hard to please. You know the type. Every once in a while, he’ll like one of my images, but he’s never really satisfied with my work. That guy is me. I think I am producing some of the best work of my career right now. Not every single image is a winner, but I have more hits than misses and the hits are pretty good. But I’m still not where I want to be. I am, at least, reassured by looking at my past work. I can look at my work from a year ago and wince a little. It was the same the year before that. It’s a sign of personal growth.

I’ve done “before and after” comparisons before (links at the end of this post). This time, I am comparing my own work. I recently had the opportunity to photograph a property that I shot in 2010.

Before

This first one isn’t terrible, but the color seems a bit off and it would be nice to see what’s outside that window.

After

That’s better. A slightly different composition but the room seems a bit brighter. Here’s the reverse angle:

Before

After

Next is the master bedroom:

Before

I think I was trying too hard to show the TV in the shot (clients ask for it). So I decided to take a different approach.

After

Again, you can see out the window and the color and lighting is a bit more pleasing. How about the master bath?

Before

After

Ouch. Enough said.

Before

After

That last one is pretty much the same story. I’ve learned a lot over the last few years, mostly through trial and error. I develop new techniques and refine them. When you do something over and over again, it begins to take shape. I hope I can look back at my work next year and see improvement.

Can’t get enough of the before and after stuff? Check out these past posts:

Before and After: A Tale of Two Villas

Why Realtors Should Use Professional Photography

Before and After Real Estate Photos