Blog

Shooting real estate photos is a staple source of income for photographers. Being a powerful marketing tool that has the ability to set a property among others, real estate photography is a skill worth honing. Whether you are pursuing photography for real estate as a new business or as a side hustle to earn extra income, it is important for you to note that in capturing basic images for a simple property listing or for an advertisement campaign of a larger commercial project, high quality photos are worth big bucks in the industry.

In order to learn how to capture high quality real estate photos, here are 7 basic guidelines you have to consider:

1. Pack Your Equipment the Night Before the Shoot

The first and most important thing to remember in real estate photography is to make sure that you have everything you need with you before you go to the location you’ll be shooting. There’s nothing worse than being at a shoot and realizing that you didn’t bring enough equipment that would help make your shoot easier and faster.
Essentially, the basic items that you have to consider packing for every shoot are the following:

• Full-frame camera. This is perfect for shooting real estate but if you haven’t had an opportunity to purchase one yet, any camera with interchangeable lenses will do.
• Tripod. A sturdy tripod can help you avoid camera shake and will ensure a consistent camera positioning across several different shots.
• Off-camera flash units. Since some properties will require you to capture an entire large room that is impossible to light with a single flash, these will prove to be very helpful to you.
• Light stands. This gives you flexibility in choosing your flash placement for you will no longer have to rely on countertops and furniture items, which may not be placed in your desired areas in some houses.
• Wide-angle lens. This helps you fit a lot of space of a particular area in the camera, getting a fuller view in confined spaces.

2. Prepare a Standard Shot List for Each Property

Although it is wrong to assume that all homes are identical, there are typical shots that every real estate photographer will have to keep in mind such as (a) 2 wide angle shots of each bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room; (b) 1 photo of the bathroom, unless it’s especially beautiful or spacious; (c) 1-3 photos of the backyard, unless it has some unique features; (d) 1-2 shots of the front exterior; and (e) 1 shot each of features such as laundry room, garage, and pantry. To have a point of reference to make sure that you’ve captured all your must-have real estate photos, it will come in handy to prepare a standard shot list for each property.

3. Examine Property Beforehand

After arriving at the location and after having met the agent, you can ask them to give you a tour of the property. This is an opportunity for you to know if there are any specific shot ideas, angles and features that the client wants to highlight. It will also give you a sense of your client’s marketing goal as well as the layout of the house to aid you in mentally preparing for the shoot. Moreover, this gives you the chance to determine and to declutter what needs to be hidden to ensure that the property is prepared for shooting.

4. Set Proper Camera Settings

After prepping the house, you can start setting up your camera equipment and dialing in your camera settings. In no particular order, set your file of numbering settings to continuous to ensure that your photos are organized sequentially when you transfer them to your computer, so it would be an easy task to send them to your real estate image editing company. Make sure the photo quality is set to small RAW files ideally at about 5 megapixels for deep and professional editing. Go to live view/movie function settings and make sure you are in stills only or exposure simulation live view. Furthermore, set your lens to manual focus and dial in manual exposure mode to control both shutter speed, which should normally be between 1/60 and ½ a second; and lens aperture that should be set between f/7.1 to f/9. Before every exposure set, set your focal point half the depth of the room, which can be done by using your live view zoom feature for precision focusing. Lastly, set your ISO as low as possible, usually below 400.

5. Shooting Exteriors

The most important aspect you have to consider in exterior real estate photography is the positioning of the sun, which should generally be behind the structure to avoid sharp shadows on your photos. The right time to shoot exteriors may vary among real estate photographers but it is usually done during daytime, when you can get a lot of natural light and bright, saturated colors in your images. However, shooting beautiful shots of the property also works during sunsets with the interior lights on to get a warmer feel of the house. It mostly depends on your discretion and on how the client wants to project the property.

6. Shooting Interiors

In shooting exteriors, you must first make sure that you have set aside all items that will show poorly in the photos so as not to compromise the marketability of the listing. The general rule is to open windows and pull up window blinds because for real estate photography, natural light is the best option. However, if the view outside is unpleasant, or if the agent insists on leaving them down for whatever reason, or if the blinds are broken or unstable, it would be best to leave them down and to simply twist them open so light can still come through the windows. The challenge of shooting interiors is the mixing of light temperatures—while it is common to turn the lights on to give off a warmer and welcoming feel of the space, it introduces varying light temperatures that need to be balanced in post-processing. On the other hand, you can shoot with all interior lights turned off in which using multiple flashes and long exposures will be necessary to fill in the dark areas in your photos.

For interior real estate photography, you must set out to photograph the main rooms—the living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom/s, and bedroom/s, and all the property’s features that the client wants to highlight like the porch, office, walk-in closet, staircase and entryways, to name a few. Then, find the best perspective for each room. In photographing interiors, you should keep your camera level, preferably at chest height, by using a hot shoe bubble level, making your edges perfectly straight. To make sure that there is balanced lighting in your real estate photos, you can use HDR photography to help you capture highlights and shadows in an image without clipping either one. In using flash units, make sure to diffuse it to minimize the sharp shadows it can cause by bouncing the flash off a light-colored ceiling or wall, or by using a softbox-type-diffuser, or shooting through a white umbrella.

7. Be Flexible

Since your ultimate goal in shooting high quality real estate photos is to give the agent what they want, you have to be flexible. Don’t just stand in the corner; find the most interesting and unusual angles to capture a specific area of a house. Move around and take multiple photos that can potentially create a scene or a desire to visit or purchase a property. While there are basic guidelines in real estate photography, it also counts a lot to experiment with bizarre ideas if needed.

Now that you are equipped with the basic tips and techniques in photography for real estate, all that’s left for you to do is put them into practice. Start by photographing your own living spaces or those of your family and friends until you finally get a contract with an agent to start your career in real estate photography.

Selling real estate properties can be too costly and time consuming on your part. Hiring the services of a professional photographer will really do the trick more especially if you want to translate skills and experience to potential buyers. A photographer for real estate is an important person in real estate business because he is that person who is responsible in creating those aesthetic pictures online that will make buyers look for their next property to purchase.

In the property business, the initial point where a buyer and a seller make contact is through property pictures. A buyer first looks at the images posted on the listings and compare the property picture to the price listed. This is the noticeable contribution of a real estate photographer. He is important. He is the key for a successful property business.

Real estate photography is likened to a copywriter. We know that everybody can write. Everybody can freely express what he desires to say through writing. But the main idea here is that a copywriter can convert his writings into profit, much like what a real estate photographer does. Or you have your property image but it lacks that visual appeal that is essential to entice buyers, who would buy your property in the first place?

If you really want your property get the attention it needs, prepare your property for sale. How to get it noticed is the ultimate goal of property photography. A legit and skilled real estate photographer is what an agent really needs so that prospective buyers will look further into your listings.

How to Nail a Picture-Perfect Real Estate Photos?

Buyers are picky and careful of their choices. They can easily pinpoint the slightest of imperfections. This can be their ultimate reasons to back out from a deal. So instead of doing the task by yourself nail a picture-perfect, professionally-made real estate photos with the service of a legitimate real estate photographer.

The trait of a good photographer is often perceived on how they factor out the designing of a house. The styling they make is by moving and removing items, furniture, and objects inside and outside the house. They are also fond of doing retouching works to basically unlock the property’s selling potential.

In real estate listings, prospective buyers always go for what they see. They are more on visual. Whether you are a do-it-yourself agent/photographer or a middleman agent communicating for the seller to get the right buyer, considering a real estate photographer can be one of your strongest points in terms of selling capability. Listings with visually engaging pictures are attention-grabbers. Properties with this kind of quality always have a higher percentage to be sold against unappealing ones.

Superb Pictures Must Not be underestimated

There are reasons why getting the services of a professional real estate photographer is always worth the price. Most of those sold-out properties are claimed to have used the skills of a legit photographer. The factor behind all of these is what we call first impression. Imposing real estate photos must affect the buyer’s perception in order to get the first sale. Let the emotions trigger the decision-making abilities of the buyer by letting the photos do the talking.

One of the most dominant qualities of a good real estate photographer is the angles. Photography is all about angles. They are those individuals who mastered the art of getting the right angles. No matter what time of day, they can still give you the best shot possible for your real estate photos. They capture what you desire for. Besides, legit photographers have all the materials and equipment needed to make a photo look extremely desirable.

Photographers will make all the possible preparations needed to come up with the best shoot possible. They scout the area before they shoot. They make remarkable adjustments to create a masterpiece. They are those who do their mission diligently because they believe that once correct preparation is skipped, it will cost much. They examine every angle, analyze proper interior and exterior lighting, take sample photos, and correct things right away to develop a proper composition.

Aside from passion real estate photographers are artists. Art is innate in them. They know how to pick the right images and they are selective of what things are necessary to sell a home. When they want to produce a shoot, they can capture the right images. They are art directors in their own field.

Just like a musician, photos can also be composed. A photographer for real estate must first create his own subject and he will include all the elements needed for a perfect composition. It is like filling in the blanks when photographers create horizontal and vertical lines masterfully because these lines might be the factor to direct the focus of the composition. They know what structural elements are included once they shoot architectural and interior designs.

Buyers, as we know it, will not be given the raw photographs taken during the shoot. Instead, photographers will first process the photos to make them look great. Post processing is the enhancement of images using Lightroom or Photoshop.

Raw photographs will undergo facelift in order to be more presentable. Real estate photographers have the right skill on this. They know how to make photo enhancement for the right purpose. They can also brighten or darken colors that they know will satisfy the customers’ palates. They can easily pick objects that are unnecessary to include in the listings.

Being an art director at the same time, a real estate photographer will go through the different raw photos to make selections. He knows what to be included and what are not. He knows that spacious photos look better than tight ones. After selecting what he knows are the best in the list, he will then make sure that processing them will make the property more saleable. He will make sure that the skies are blue and the grass is green.

Selling a property has never been easy without simple yet handy cameras that are capable of producing great quality images in the Real Estate industry. Having a good camera is a step closer to selling your property. Enhancing the image quality through a simple yet amazing photo editing app is another story which can take your business to a whole new and better level. It is because, the more beautiful, more vibrant, and more realistic your pictures are, the greater is the chance for your property to get sold quickly.

Since the industry of Real Estate revolves with tough competitions, you need some things for you to be able to tab in the demands of the market, especially when it comes to creating world-class image quality. A photo editing application is a helpful tool in improving and selling your products.

Here are some of the user-friendly photo editing applications for Real Estate Photography.

1. Snapseed. Nik Software, a subsidiary of Google, produced a user-friendly photo editing app in the name of Snapseed. It is an app that is helpful for beginners in the field of photography. You can improve the quality of your shot by the features of this app. Image cropping, transforming, and rotating, are just few of the things you can apply with your shot. It also has brush option where you can tone the exposure, temperature, and saturation of the image to your desire. Add also simple texts that come in different font types. Advance filters and High Definition Resolution can also be applied in your shot using this application. Twist your Real Estate photographs easily before posting.

2. Lightroom. Correct the shot using this software introduced by Adobe Corporation. This app is originally available only in desktop or laptop but it was made available also for smartphones. Edit your photo by adjusting proper white balance and colors. Adjust whatever you want by exploring some layers and edits in this app. While it offers basic editing in images offline, you can also add different features for your perfect image by purchasing a subscription plan which allows you to access your file, edit, and share it, anytime and anywhere.

3. Diptic. If you need to compile shots in one image then this app is right for the feat. It allows you to create professional-looking photo collages. It also features a before and after sequence of a photo presentation. You can choose from its available 180 layouts for an arrangement of picture that suits the purpose. Your chosen layout can be utilized where you can add your photographs that consist your property and the app will process it, offering you a final image that sorts your real estate property being sold.

4. LightTrac. This app is best for exterior shot of your real estate property. It gives you the information about the proper time of taking outdoor pictures and also provides you data to shoot indoor instead. This is possible because the app can offer sun position where sunrise, sunset, and also the moon’s rising and setting. The data is presented after you enter your specific location.

5. Panorama 360. Take a 360 degrees image and present the whole view of the house using this app. It allows you to capture panoramic photographs. This is great for exterior shot where every single angle is taken. This app comes with a guide on how to capture 360 degrees image. You can also directly share the image to your social media accounts.

6. Pixelmator. Another app with an easy user interface is this one. Originally, it was only released as a desktop software but later had its mobile version. Edit your image with quick and magnetic selection tools where you can repair the image by adjusting its colors and adding interesting and powerful effects. Be the artist of your own craft using this app.

The landscape of real estate photography has gone a long way since the turn of the century. Real estate photography involves both residential interiors and exteriors that are taken at different angles. It is known that clients may have different tastes in terms of property characteristics and a perfect shoot may all spell the difference.

Time is gold in this advocacy as you also need to consider the time you spend with those you are working with and for those who own the property as well. And when we ponder on what time is the best for photo shooting, not all hours of the day are the same. The so-called golden hours for photo shooting are the hours before sunrise and the hours before sunset.

Efficient shooting and perfect processing workflow are the ones a real estate photographer must consider most. The reproduction of space in a realistic manner will help you sell the properties because of the photos you shoot. This is what clients really appreciate and accept. As we all know, houses and similar real estate properties contain challenging things when photography is concerned.

HDR Photography: How is it Defined?

HDR or High Dynamic Range Photography is a trick in photography wherein a photographer can reproduce an efficient range of luminosity. This technique is better than what a standard photography can offer. Taking photographs of the same area but in different exposures then blending them altogether is the main concept of HDR Photography.

In the case of real estates, HDR makes the work of the photographer easier. When he shoots photos from the inside, all the details of the room are obviously visible. What is remarkable is that the view outside the window does not look overexposed. HDR pictures give a great impact in Real Estate Photography. To attain an HDR photo might be difficult with bare point and shoot or Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras. But with the help of photo-enhancing software like Photoshop, this could be possible.

The use of light is the primary idea when it comes to photography. Yet many of the photographers nowadays are making use of HDR as a solution and emerging alternate to flash guns and the use of multiple lights. In using HDR Photography, the delivery of a fresh and great looking image is exemplary but has a natural feel to it.

Things Needed for a Good HDR Photography

An HDR Real Estate Photography has positive impact in the photography industry. It can enhance the texture of the picture through manual contrast. And because editing in software is user-friendly, the quality of the photo becomes better in the end. Hence, a variety of details are added to create total makeover of the photo. With the use of HDR, it either brings down the brightness of the photo or blast the inside part to be balanced with the brightness of the outside.

Notably, there are some expectations in using Photoshop to create HDR photos: (1) the tone mapping is done after achieving a final product file; (2) it deals real estate HDR images for fine tuning and perfect adjustment; (3) focus on timing and composition becomes relevant, and; (4) the final output relies not only in the software but in the skills of the retouching editor.

The procedure in using HDR to real estate photography can be as follows:

1. Measurement of the Dynamic Range

After considering the space for your picture, it is a basic idea to first set the camera to Manual mode. This allows you to adjust the white balance before you use the camera further. It also permits you to change the shutter speed. Afterwards, you need to set the aperture to either f/8 or f/11 but these are optional settings. It is required to measure the brightest bright and the darkest dark of the area. Everything still depends on what aperture setting the photographer personally likes.

2. Use of HDR Bracketing

Some practices that are included in HDR bracketing involve overlapping photos during the blending procedure. It is advisable to preserve the focus during the entire process. This is done in order to get the same image results. Bracketed exposures may involve interior shots like balance difficulty, and single frame standard range.

3. Presets used as Starting Points

There are assortments of presets involving the key areas of color blending. These are the white balance and color fidelity. Based on HDR bracketing, colors that are often found when the bright rays of the sun comes through the window are totally imbalanced. Once extreme highlighting is done, the tonal range and white balance blend each other.

Using the 5 Stop Natural and 5 Stop Mixed Light presets, balancing of sunlight and warmer fluorescent illumination are made easily. The Single Exposure preset of the HDR technique requires several exposures to blend with the dynamic range. This trick can process several files down to single file only. The procedure mentioned can be several approaches of integrating HDR processing to real estate photography.