Tips for High Quality Real Estate Photography

When looking at real estate listings, can you guess where a prospective home buyer’s eyes go first?

The photos.

Real estate photography is at the forefront of the decision-making process for home buyers. As a real estate agent, high-quality photography is your first chance to pull a potential buyer in. Beautiful imagery will compel that buyer to get excited about a listing, and ultimately choose to view a home – and maybe even purchase it!

Excellent real estate photography shows you are committed to your clients and the goal of selling their home quickly, for the highest possible price. In addition, high-quality photography will help to make your brand stand out, earning you more business. ‘Wow’ both your sellers and buyers with these photography tips:

Invest in the right camera

… and equipment! You’ll want to get a camera, tripod, and various lenses – depending on the type of camera you get. A DSLR camera will provide you with the best image quality due to its advanced image sensors, though these tend to be pricey. With a DSLR, you will be able to switch out lenses, which is great, because wide angle lens will offer you photos that make rooms look spacious, without being distorted. (Just say “no” to the fish-eye filter!) Bring along a tripod to avoid blurry photos, and consider an alternative flash source for better lighting.

Prep the home

By now, you’ve probably instructed your clients to tidy up their home, or even stage it for the selling process. Once the clutter is gone, turn on all the lights to make the home look warmer and inviting.

It’s all about the angles

When photographing the inside of a home, don’t be shutter shy! Snap as many photos as possible of each room by standing in various areas and taking multiple photos at both chest and hip height. Later, when you review the photos, you’ll be able to pick and choose which angles work best to show the room off.

Time of day matters

Early morning or right before sunset are the absolute best times for taking photos, especially outdoors. Consider these timeframes when taking exterior shots of the home as the harsh lighting of the mid-day sun may cause photos to appear washed out. When you’re inside, take photos with the blinds open and drawn to get a feel for how the natural light affects the shot.

Consider the hook

The exterior shot of the home is almost always the first photo that a potential home buyer sees. For this reason, this is arguably the most important shot in residential real estate photography. Take great care in getting this shot right, then from there, you’ll want to capture the musts: the living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms. Sometimes, though, the bonus rooms sell the place! Does the home have a sunroom with floor-to-ceiling windows? A basement with a bar? A patio for entertaining? Make sure to include great shots of what makes the home unique.

Editing is a must

The review process is a key part of the real estate photography process, but it can take up a bit of time. Editing includes choosing the appropriate photo/angle of each room and changing its settings to make it look its best. Keep in mind, you’ll want to keep the settings for each photo similar so each photo has the same look and feel. There are inexpensive packages for Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop, which will give you the most control to create the highest quality photos possible.

If you aren’t able to commit the time or resources to capturing high-quality photos of a home, there’s no shame in bringing on a professional! Consider hiring a photographer, who will certainly have the equipment and technology to offer your clients a high-quality product and save you time.