Q & A Part Three
Q&A With Twist Tours Issue #3: Awesome in Austin
Look who’s back!
This Spring our first Q&A issue #1 peeked behind the curtain to meet Travis, Michele, and Cat. During the long summer days, we caught up with our San Antonio rockstars, Amanda and Trent, in issue #2.
Now it’s fall, y’all, so let’s go for issue #3!
You’ve heard of Sleepless in Seattle; meet Awesome in Austin.
Introducing the super-talented Meredith, Linas, and Andrew…
Q: What did you do before Real Estate Photography?
Meredith: I got my start in the DC/Baltimore area assisting editorial photographers during high school. Eventually, I had regular magazine, portrait, wedding, and commercial work, and received my BFA in photography from MICA.
Linas: I enlisted in the Navy with duty stations in Norfolk on the George Washington Carrier and Fort Worth, then a stint in Salerno and Jalalabad, Afghanistan. I dabbled in photography for a little bit and came across the opportunity to change professions to do the photography I do today. And I’ve been working with Twist Tours since July 2015.
Andrew: I worked in textbook publishing, page layout, graphic design, and illustration for about 15 years, then spent two years in Los Angeles, working on films as a production designer and art director. I grew up with a father and a brother who are both photographers. I was looking to get into real estate photography, so of course, I set up an interview with the best around.
Q: How would you describe your photographic style?
Meredith: Hopefully people find my eye interesting. I believe I have a unique perspective that allows me to find angles and highlight interesting compositional aspects that might otherwise be overlooked – and do it in a way that feels as lofty as the Austin real estate market is.
Linas: I enjoy taking stills of homes, as much as photographing corporate events, birthdays, concerts, doing some astrophotography, and even portraits from time to time. I try to be well-rounded and do a mixture of photography that keeps me learning how to be better and better behind the lens.
Andrew: I always try to capture the scope of space, and feature something unique, in a creative way.
Q: Have you had any surprises while shooting real estate?
Meredith: I think we have all had the surprise of a passed-out human being under a pile of clothes on the bed when shooting a UT condo. I fixed an elderly lady’s dryer and then had tea with her for 3 hours just chatting. I often have a dog at my feet or a cat under my arm while I’m shooting – both for cuddles and to keep them out of frame. Also, a homeowner who was selling to travel managed to convince me to take Selena, a street cat that she fed.
Linas: All creepy encounters happen when it’s a twilight shoot, all by myself in a large home, with neighbors nowhere in sight, shutting lights off and my subconscious decides to mess with me.
Andrew: I was chased by a goat, met a longhorn, and befriended a squirrel that stretched out against the sliding glass door, to be fed. I also photographed a vacant property before it was remodeled, and in one of the bedrooms, the wall was covered with a 4-foot-long beehive.
Q: What has real estate photography taught you?
Meredith: How quickly a messy house can become picture perfect after you arrive and how much stuff one can cram into a closet.
Linas: The extreme of how much one prepares for the shoot compared to how little one could care less about the representation of their home.
Andrew: That realtors work their asses off. They should be paid a psychiatrist fee as well.
Q: What’s a common misconception people have about what you do?
Meredith: That iPhones work just as well and it’s all photoshop.
Linas: Often people ask me if I’m the photographer when I have my camera in my hand.
Andrew: I can’t craft the Toilet Paper Rose better than you can.
Q: What’s the most challenging aspect of RE Photography?
Meredith: Learning how to do that perfect effortlessly draped look for throw blankets.
Linas: Having my artistic eye matching someone else’s expectations about the representation of the home.
Andrew: Austin Traffic 🙂
Q: What do you love the most about being a RE Photographer?
Meredith: I love that every day is different and that you never know what each day will bring! Being able to be part of Twist Tours, and fully use my creative brain every day is something that a lot of people don’t get to do and I don’t take it for granted.
Linas: When I hear the client say “my house looks like that?” Most people get caught up in their own perspective that when seen from another, they can appreciate their home, even more, the beauty that they found was lost along the way and when it’s presented from a different angle, they regain that feeling they got from the first time they saw the home.
Andrew: I love the variety of homes we get to photograph. As well as working some creative magic in photoshop when needed.
Q: What advice would you offer someone considering this career?
Meredith: As with any creative career, you’ve got to know your stuff! Having a good attitude will take you a long way too.
Linas: Have a car with good gas mileage, know your settings, and know how to ease people’s stress.
Andrew: If you’re doing your own processing, and editing, learn photoshop really well and automate your workflow as much as possible.
Q: What other photography do you do outside of Real Estate?
Meredith: I focus more on my personal projects now: some portraits, environmental, all on film.
Linas: I try to do just about anything photography related. It’s all fun and challenging. I particularly like shooting concerts in low light.
Andrew: I love vintage lenses, and I do cinematography for my music videos and animated short films.
Until next time…
So, there you have it, folks: Austin’s finest real estate photographers in action.
Of course, if you’d like to learn more about our team of real estate photography professionals or about our 3D models, aerial images, virtual staging, and floorplans, we’d love to hear from you.
And hey, if you’ve got some burning questions for our photographers, let us hear them!
