Art Direction

Photograph buildings the way an architect would and people the way a documentary photographer would. Nothing staged, nothing sold.

Principles
Shot list
Light and grade
People
Avoid
Elevations
Captions
Crops

5.1

Principles

REWAP has no photography library yet. This chapter is the brief for commissioning one; no stock or generated image stands in for it.

Observe, do not stageReal buildings, real streets, real light. The photographer waits for the scene instead of arranging it.
Architecture firstStraight verticals, considered frames, the building as the subject. Shoot from the sidewalk a buyer would stand on.
Every regionThe Berkshires to the Cape, Merrimack Valley to the South Coast. The library is balanced by region before it is balanced by price.
Places, not peopleNeighborhood images show buildings, streets, parks and civic life without implying who lives there. This is Fair Housing practice, not only taste.
Quiet over spectacularAn overcast morning on a three-decker porch beats a sunset drone shot. Restraint is the luxury.

5.2

Commissioning shot list

Composition diagrams for the first commission. Thirds grid, light direction in bronze. Each plate carries the brief a photographer needs.

Brick and granite industrial architecture, adaptive reuseLate afternoon raking light across the façade · 35 mm · eye level · verticals corrected

Neighborhood streetscape: a three-decker as it is lived inSoft overcast · 50 mm · from across the street · no cars cropped mid-frame

Regional landscape: every region, equal standingEarly morning, low mist · 85 mm compression · a single building for scale

Details and materials: brick, slate, cast iron, original hardwareWindow light · 100 mm macro · shallow focus on one honest detail

Team: environmental portrait at workAvailable light from a window · 85 mm · subject off-centre, at the desk with documents

Clients: hands, documents, attentionDocumentary, unposed, with written consent · 35 mm · faces optional

Diagrams indicate composition and light only. Commission locally, with releases for every identifiable person and property owner permission where required.

5.3

Light and grade

One look across every photographer, so the library reads as one body of work.

LightOvercast, early morning or late raking light. No midday hard shadows on façades, no twilight “glow” interiors.
ColorNatural and slightly cool in the shadows; whites stay white. No HDR halos, sky replacement, fake fires in fireplaces or virtual staging without a clear label.
GeometryVerticals corrected in camera or post. Horizons level. Interiors shot at chest height, never from the ceiling corner.
InteriorsReal rooms, tidied, with daylight. Lamps off unless they are the subject.

5.4

Clients and team

People appear as themselves, doing real work, with consent.

Team portraitsEnvironmental, at a desk, in the office or on a street the person knows. Available window light, 4:5 vertical, subject off-centre. One background family for the whole team.
FounderHong Tran photographed at work with documents; authority shown through attention, not pose.
ClientsDocumentary, unposed and only with written consent. Hands, papers, a doorway, a walk-through. Faces are optional.
Affiliated teamsTeams such as The Oberdorfer Group may keep their own portrait style; REWAP pages present it as theirs.

5.5

Avoid, and why

These images say “template.” Each one undermines the brand’s claim to candor.

Never	Because
Keys handed over	A cliché that claims a closing instead of showing care.
Family on a sofa	Staged, and it tells visitors who a home is “for.”
Handshakes	Deals are made in documents, not grips.
Aerial subdivisions	Generic, placeless; it could be any state.
Stock skylines	The logo already carries the skyline. Photography should be specific.
AI-generated homes or people	A brokerage that fabricates images cannot ask to be trusted on facts.

5.6

Elevation drawings

A fine-line drawing set, authored for REWAP. It fills the gap honestly when a photograph does not exist yet: a listing awaiting media, a guide before its shoot, print where photography would muddy.

Line elevation of a three-decker house — Three-deckerElevation · placeholder for multi-family listings

Line elevation of a brick mill building — Mill conversionElevation · lofts, commercial, adaptive reuse

Line elevation of a center-chimney colonial — ColonialElevation · single-family placeholder

LineRegistry Navy, 1.4 px at 600 px width; hairline detail at 0.45–0.7. No fills, no shading, no people.
GroundAlways Plaster. Never on photography.
SetExtend with the building types of each region: Cape, saltbox, Victorian, ranch, row house, storefront block.

5.7

Captions, like a wall label

Every image carries a caption set like a museum wall label: an italic title, then the facts. It is the system’s quiet signature.

Line elevation of a three-decker — Three-decker, Elm Park area, WorcesterBuilt 1912 · three units · photographed for REWAP, October 2026

Example caption for illustration. Formula: title (what, where) · facts (year, type) · credit and date.

5.8

Crops and ratios

Four ratios cover every surface. Deliver masters at 3000 px on the long edge.

Ratio	Use	Master size
3 : 2	Page heroes, guides, neighborhood headers	3000 × 2000
4 : 3	Listing cards and galleries (matches most MLS media)	3000 × 2250
4 : 5	Portraits, vertical details	2400 × 3000
1 : 1	Social, thumbnails	2400 × 2400