Real estate photography tips are the techniques to attract buyers to visit a specific place to buy a house or apartment. And the demand for these techniques is growing constantly and combating to lure home buyers daily. Real estate agents continuously demand industry-quality images to assist with selling or renting a property.
In today’s hectic real estate market, to clarify, houses and apartments are much relies on clear visual representation. Therefore, every agent tries to display the property as successfully as feasible to interest buyers. But an important point here is that clicking such photos can often be a headache.
But on, a report by Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends 2018 states that more than 78% of consumers search online resources to purchase a house. And real estate listing images are the first thing they look at online often.
So, do you want a career in real estate photography and to merge some medley to your online portfolio website? Or, want to walk this track but don’t know how to dive? Okay, I’m here and have compiled the best real estate photography tips so you can start your career quickly.
Estimate Calculation Of Real Estate Photography Career:
Pricing for real estate photography is tricky and always counts on a few changes, unlike other sorts of photography. But in basic to determine the price of estate photography, the house location and size play a significant role. So, if you’re a newbie or just starting a career on this path, charging a bit less will make more sense in contrast to seasoned photographers.
Suppose there is a property under 3,000 square feet, the standard rate that a real estate photographer will charge near about $200 or less on average. But a large property can be charged from $250 to $500.
Moreover, suppose your residence location is a real estate hotspot (such as big cities like Paris, London, New York, and so on). In that case, it can be an ideal place to start a real estate photography career.
Real Estate Photography Tips for must-have Tools:
Suppose you’re looking for mandatory apparatus tips for real estate photography. In that case, I can assure you that the list is very short. And you won’t need many tools, most of which are standard. So, without further ado, let’s run to see the must-have tools you need:
A Camera:
The very first tool you must need is a full-sensor DSLR or mirrorless camera. With it, you can shoot an image manually and also be able to swiftly respond and easy viewing it as you take your shots. Plus, DSLR gives you much more options when it comes to real estate photo editing post-shoot.
An analysis reveals that more than 80% of the sellers who want to display the residence’s images and promote the listing on real estate websites own a camera. Also, knowing how to utilize a DSLR would be a great way that transforms more leads.
Lens:
A wide-angle lens is the second top priority item for any commercial real estate photography. It enables you to capture outstanding photos like a little room in a narrow or tight space. Also, it helps you to make the room more spacious.
It would also be best to get a tilt-shift lens if you’re not in a tight shape. And here are some great lenses you may try, like Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L, Nikon PC-E FX Nikkor 24mm f/3.5 ED, Rokinon TSL24M-N 24mm, and Sigma 12-24mm f/4 Art Lens.
A Tripod:
The third gadget is Tripod, which you can use to stabilize the camera. Sometimes the image may get obscured or blurred due to your shaky hand or sudden camera movement, and the tripod will save you from such discomfort. Plus, it also ensures that your images have no motion vagueness and supports controlling the viewpoint in your shots.
Apart from that, if you intend to capture some long-exposure photographs outdoors, which can make a beautiful shot. In this case, you can try a tripod, which real estate agents will love.
Camera Remote Trigger:
In estate photography, you’ll usually shoot with a slow shutter speed so you can capture the light and detail of a space or location. But subconsciously touching the camera can shock the picture and make blur or other imperfections. To avoid this imperfection shoot, you can use a remote trigger.
Flash:
Flash is another essential gadget for commercial real estate photography. But flashes or strobes are one of estate photography’s most important yet often ignored apparatuses. A flash will help balance low light and make capturing brilliant, unmistakable images more comfortable.
So, if you are planning to buy it, please ensure that it has a built-in receiver.
Flash Trigger:
The Flash trigger is only used when trying an off-camera flash on a photograph. And to do that, you will need to connect a transmitter to your camera’s hot shoe and a receiver to the flash crew. And when you hook them all, click the shutter, and the flash will fire at the same time.
Light Modifiers and Light Stands:
You may most frequently need to point the lights toward the roof to create soft light. But what will you do if the ceiling is too lofty, or what to do if you don’t get enough light bounce? In this case, you can think of light modifier uses. Shooting umbrellas are the best ones to make your task more accessible because they’re lightweight, small, and portable.
Next, you’ll require a light stand to prop up your flash units, and a standard light stand will usually perform for weightless flash heads. But remember, it depends on the spot, and you can use one to four of these stands to light up the location.
A Drone:
A drone can significantly impact real estate photography in this modern digital tech era. It’s a central passage to providing an outstanding exterior view of a property from above. With it, you can reveal the entire property and surrounding province.
Above are the commercial real estate photography tips for must-have tools you require. You only need a camera, lens, and tripod to start your real estate photography in general. But the other items mentioned above can help you get excellent results and complete the work faster.
What are Real Estate Photography Tips?
In general, it’s a method or strategy of real estate photography that makes your images standalone and helps you to make your home or apartment sell or rent easily. However, in a broad sense, it is a niche genre that may seem simple. Still, it demands special skills to capture effective and engaging pictures of houses for sale.
Capturing professional real estate photos may be tricky at first sight. But in this post, you’ll get some excellent and easy real estate photography tips that let you make stunning, consistent property photographs. And on a quick note, if you run these tips, I can bet your local real estate agents will call you.
One of the keynotes here is that sometimes estate agents provide old images. But new photos are more likely to be taken when selling a residence or flat. This is because buildings or gardens are often changed, and photographers want to provide images as authentic as possible.
Below are fifteen (15) real estate photography tips on four (04) categories that will support you make your listing images catch a buyer’s eye. So without further interruptions, let’s run the real estate photography techniques:
Before Shooting Real Estate Photography Tips:
It’s really very crucial and one of the best tips for real estate photography to learn how to capture a professional portrait.
01. Make a Standard Shot List For The Property:
Making or organizing a shot list for a property is very common but much more effective in real estate photography tips. This list can differ relying on each property type, but in general, estate photography should include the following:
- Two (02) board-angle photo shoots of bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchen.
- One (01) image of bathrooms, ensure it’s spacious or incredibly beautiful.
- One (01) feature images such as the garage, laundry room, and pantry.
- Images for the backyard, not maximum of three
- To emphasize the curb appeal, capture one to two shots of the home front.
02. Prep Your Gadget Before the Night:
It is essential to have some preparation in every photography, especially real estate. And it’s always a bad manner that on a photo shoot, you locate you forgot something. It can be possible that you’re familiar with this type of work, but missing out on items will cause you some extra effort. Below are some rehearsal tips:
- Remember to take your battery charger because an empty battery causes dead shoots.
- Pack it if you have an extra secondary camera.
- Configuring the memory card and loading the bag is also part of preparing the photography gear.
- Check the address to make sure you allow enough time to get to the correct location.
- Don’t miss to pack those items if you own backup gear.
During Shooting Commercial Real Estate Photography Tips:
In commercial real estate photography tips, there are a few things you must consider during shooting:
03. Use a Flash and Bounce to Diffuse:
Suppose you indicate the camera flash straight at a particular room. In that case, you’ll find an awfully bright area in the center. It’s familiar as vignetting but is unpleasant for commercial real estate photography.
So, move the flash to bounce off one of the side walls, the wall behind you, or even the ceiling above. And in this way, you can enable that light to spread out into specific areas and give a more even reflection. Also, you can attempt to hook a light diffuser to the source light.
But bear in mind, with your camera pop-up flash, these placements aren’t attainable. That’s why I personally recommend buying a multi-angle flash head named flashgun.
04. Capture Straight Images:
It’s an essential tip while capturing real estate photography. Suppose you think of taking some pictures from different angles for the property. Please make sure to keep your camera straightforward. As a result, to avoid distortion it’ll support you.
And this way, you can avoid distortions that you would later have to tidy in Photoshop or Lightroom. You can also be able to use a sturdy tripod, or you should adjust Live View settings.
05. Using a Drone:
A drone has seriously taken real estate photography to new heights in this modern digital era. A few years ago, drones were either outlandish or surprisingly expensive, bringing a unique perspective today. In addition, drones have a tremendous height to view the entire property and its edges.
If you want your business for estate photography to stand out, you can add a drone option. And you can bet it can boost your estate photography pricing.
Tips for Real Estate Photography On the Property:
You must act accordingly, while a pro estate photographer spends a lengthy hour for one immaculate shot.
06. Declutter:
One of the major and top priority real estate photography tips on a property is to Decluttering. Must remember, don’t photograph closets until they’re customized or spacious when taking interior pictures. Sometimes you’ll see that there’s clutter that won’t look attractive in photos.
So, there is nothing terrible in proposing to hide a few things while shooting. But if you desire a few decorations, you can leave one to three.
07. Walk Inside the Property
The main thing about real estate photography is all about making the property, or the home looks great, not its interior. So, you need to visit the entire house first and then take estate photos. Though every home is different, you must ask the house owner to move objects if they look pretty awkward.
And if you’re not good at memorizing adequate facts, take a memorandum. It’ll make your estate photography work more accessible by keeping your rooms organized.
08. Put the Lights Off or On:
Lights on or off is a solid point of real estate photography. Generally, keeping the lights on causes the area to be warmer and more welcoming and introduces different color temperatures. As a result, you must change the white balance in post-processing.
On the other hand, keeping the lights off gives you a light temperature. And often, it renders real estate photos a cold feel. So, to take a great picture that has a chance to boost your sale or rent, please do whatever you need with the light off or on.
Real Estate Photo Editing in Lightroom:
Real estate photo editing in lightroom is today’s post’s last but most valuable category. In this section, you must keep your eyes keen to edit all of your pictures beautifully.
09. Correct Distortion:
The most annoying downside to employing a wide-angle lens in an estate photo shoot is the appearance of distortion. Ensure to exercise a lens correction and rectify the verticals first. To make your photograph more polished and attractive, these two settings cause a heavy impact.
Houses are constantly refilled with vertical lines, so you ensure they are flawlessly up and down while capturing. Because when buyers browse photos of real estate listings, they tend to prefer crooked pictures over perfect images.
10. Assemble Basic Adjustments:
It may take a while to develop your class and workflow, so don’t be afraid and go onwards and check your estate photography. You’ll have the suitable Lightroom preset for each shot at the right time.
In addition, the main adjustments that a good photographer makes are to increase transparency, brighten shadows, deepen blacks, and reduce highlights.
11. Compatible Light Temperatures:
Obtaining authentic colors is vital in estate photography. So, the best real estate photography tips are to balance these light temperatures in Photoshop or Lightroom. As a result, your images look more glossy and proficient.
When you push the estate photos on your photoshop, navigate to open White Balance and hit the Eyedropper tool grey card. And then Photoshop will adjust the color automatically.
12. Make it Composite:
My top advice to you is to make Photoshop composites from your images while working in estate photography. Outstanding photographers will make you believe their shots are from a separate exposure.
I recommend you start your composition with an original photograph. Afterward, load every room segment with a flash, such as the walls, furniture, dark shadows, doorways, and every other point you are interested in.
Extra Shoots:
So now, if you read these real estate photography tips, I can assume you’re ready to call a client or start shooting estate photos. But, no rush; for your convenience, here are some more real estate photography techniques:
13. Sign a Contract:
The most important part of real estate photography tips is always to have a contract with a client in clear handwriting. After that, you can begin a gig or project. Create a simple agreement with your specific gear, time, and services estimate, and have the client sign it before the shoot.
It’ll ensure there is no complexity when the project is done, and you can send your invoice to the client because it is inside the contract.
14. Replace the Sky Color:
Image sessions are often organized on gloomy days, a disaster for any estate photographer. Property usually looks dull and dreary in such cases. But fortunately, you can call a Photo Retouching Service company or individual to turn the overcast sky into a sunny one.
Indeed, they will also modify your Photo Color Correction to have a consistent image. Even you can pick a sunrise, sunset, or night sky. Additionally, you have the power to use an estate sky replacer and manage the task independently.
15. Build a Portfolio:
The best eminent way to connect with clients is to have an online portfolio. With your portfolio, you can demonstrate your attractive, luring, and outstanding real estate photography. As a result, your potential client can learn about your work, and you can take on more estate photography projects as well.
Final Thought [Real Estate Photography Tips]:
Suppose you desire to be a pro photographer or want this estate photography as a dependable income stream. I assume that the above-described real estate photography tips will support you in both scenarios. All you have to do is be consistent in your process and practice.
Remember, you don’t require plenty of apparatus to gain a beautiful real estate photograph. So, don’t obsess over your photography arsenal when initiating. Industry-level estate photographers do their tasks independently without any subsidiaries.
With all the real estate photography tips mentioned above, you’re on your way to creating a new career in photography. So, Good luck & go ahead.
