January 1, 2021 in REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY

Real Estate Photography:
A Guide To Improve Your Real Estate Photos

The starting point of getting your real estate marketing right is professional real estate images of your listings. According to the National Association of Realtors, 9 out of 10 house hunters initiate their buying experience on the internet. A survey done by propertiesonline.com revealed that 83% of buyers find professional real estate photography very useful during the decision-making process. These statistics clearly indicate that quality real estate photography is critical in selling a property.

Rahul Agrawal

About Author

Advantages & Benefits
Of Real Estate Photography with Statistics as Proof:

Increase clicks and inquiries on online listings

Listings with professional photos get 61% more views online

Sells the property faster

Listing with professional photos sell 32% faster spending only 89 days on the market as compared to 123 days for other homes

Sells the property at a higher price

Have a 47% higher asking price per square foot

If you are a beginner or seasoned real estate photography professional, this quick guide on real estate photography will give you some real handy tips to help you take professional real estate photos.

Real Estate Photography Equipment

Full-frame camera for real estate photography with interchangeable lenses for great quality photos

Sturdy tripod to keep the camera still

Wide-angle lens to get a fuller view of confined spaces

External sync flash for capturing all the details in an image

General Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Pictures

Avoid taking only wide shots

Although shooting wide is important for a lot of your shots, avoid taking every shot at an extremely wide-angle. Shooting too wide can represent the room inaccurately and create an unrealistic idea of the room's space. So, try and mix it up to capture the room accurately.

Focus on your composition

Understand the various elements in your photos and use them to create appealing compositions that will highlight the property's best features.

Get the best lighting in each room

Use the flash when needed to ensure that all rooms have the best lighting.

Move around

Move around to play with different perspectives. So, move around and take as many different shots as possible. Try taking photos from the bedroom entry, and avoid cropping any furniture out of the bedroom.

Use different heights

With the help of a tripod, adjust the height to capture the room at flattering angles.

Choose best camera setup and settings

The best camera settings for real estate photos can greatly simplify your work and capture every detail perfectly in the image. Here are some great tips on the best camera set up for real estate photography.

Prep the Scene

Interiors:

Remove the number of personal belongings like toys, fridge magnets, bins, family photos, and religious items visible in a photo.
Remove clutter, like paperwork, cans, bottles, clothes, or any unnecessary items.
Move furniture to frame an image better
Straighten furniture and linen
Turn on lights and open all blinds
Dust every surface
Clean all windows, inside and out
Place towels on all towels racks
Tidy closets
Remove rugs to open floors and to make the space look bigger
Make all the beds
Edit artwork

Exteriors:

Wash, sweep, and dry all pavement
Clean and open your pool
Remove trash, can, vehicles, or lawn equipment
Make and rake the grass
Ensure all exterior lights work; if needed, replace the blubs

Shoot the Scene

Once your property is set, it is now time to take photos. Here are a few basic tips:

Tips to get the best internal photos of a property:

Adjust heights according to the room. For example, kitchens are the best shot at chest height. 99% of virtual tours and photos are shot at eye level to enable the potential buyer to see walkthroughs and photos at their eye level.
Align the two corners of the room. Get a wide perspective by standing in one corner of a room to capture the other three corners.
Open all doors to make the room appear larger and display the flow of the property.
If a bathroom or kitchen has great fixtures, capture them in the image to show them off.

Tips to get the best external photos of a property:

Shoot the front of the house at a higher elevation to capture more of the property and get a better perspective.
Avoid shooting in the middle of the day. This is when the shadows are the darkest and overhead.
Turn on all lights, internal and external (except spotlights)
External shots are the best on overcast days as it reduces the shadow in the image. If you aren't lucky with overcast, you can always get your photo edited post-shoot with day to dusk editing.

After the Photos are Taken

Once you have your final photos, you may realize that some of them didn't turn out as expected. The lighting in a room isn't appealing in some photos while the grass looks dead and the sky looks grey instead of blue in others – when this happens, the best thing you could do is outsource the editing workflow to professional photo editing and image enhancement service providers.

Advantage of Outsourcing Your Post Production Photo Editing Work

Although professional photographers can do some basic image enhancement such as sharpening, correcting color, and straightening images, professional photo editing services offer a huge range of photo editing options with quick turnarounds. These professionals have huge resources, stock images, and other elements that help them deliver a huge work volume within a 24 hour turnaround time.
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Styldod is a professional real estate photo editing service company that can get a huge volume of work done in a tight timeline.