“The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things in words.” – Elliot Erwitt
When it comes to anything related to marketing, everyone knows that photography plays a huge role – the real estate industry is no exemption to this.
Property photos are a factor that are often overlooked and given less importance than they should have for most real estate agents. Your real estate images have such a huge impact and affects the buyer’s decision either for good or for worse.
Real estate photography contributes to the decision of 87% of homebuyers, meaning that real estate photos really will be a defining factor for your sales. As the exact representation of what a home looks like, it makes sense that they are worth that much.
Albeit to what most people might think, everyone can take a good real estate photo – even without all the fancy equipment. While it would definitely boost your impact if your hire a professional photographer, everyone can take a good photo with some good practice and learning.
As we stated before, everyone can take good photos, but it will definitely bring much better results with professional equipment. Here are some of the common camera devices that you can use for real estate photography:
If you’re still new to photography, even your own smartphone can already do a good job. When it comes to photography in general, equipment is only secondary to getting good equipment.
Practice taking various shots as much as possible and review them in order to improve. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, only then should you decide whether you’d want to invest in better equipment.
If a camera might be too much for you to invest in, there are tons of recent smartphone models with amazing camera qualities and settings. You can experiment and play with these in order to achieve the shot that you like.
If you’re ready to take your game to the next level, investing in a good professional camera is the way to go. Depending on how advanced your smartphone’s camera is, using a professional camera can be quite different.
There are much more modes and settings to be adjusted for these cameras, but that also means that you get more freedom and more chances to achieve the shot you want to take. It might take more practice and hard work to use a DSLR, but we assure you that the end results are much worth it.
Lighting is an integral part in photography. While there are many equipment available for photography in general, such as external flashes and light boxes, we opt not to use these for real estate photography.
As a huge stationary subject, relying on natural light is the way to go for real estate photography. Artificial lighting may cause your photos to come off as unnatural and harsh. For a friendly and welcoming home, lighting will be one of the decisive elements.
You can also tinker with your camera settings if you still cannot achieve the lighting you want for your real estate photos. For smartphone devices, HDR modes can be applied. This mode utilizes different exposure levels into one photo to ensure that the photo has better quality.
For DSLR cameras, there are many settings you can utilize in order to make your lighting better. The main lighting setting would be the ISO, which controls a camera’s sensitivity to light. Other settings can be found too, like Aperture and Shutter speed, which may also affect your lighting. Camera settings and modes can be quite tricky, so take your time in learning them if you want to improve your skillset.
Real Estate photography might seem straightforward, but taking photos might actually be more taxing than you’d expect. Practice having a specific idea for the shots you want rather than just a general idea.
Listing down what you want to see as a real estate photographer will give you a much easier time once you’re taking real estate photos of the property. Rather than having to plan out each shot at the spot, you’ll be able to focus more on how to take beautiful photos of the property at hand.
Having references is one of the best ways for you to know how to get started on your shoot. Do your research and look for the best property photos out there that you wish to recreate. For references in real estate photography, we’d recommend checking out the photos of Brittany Corporation.
Brittany Corporation houses the most beautiful houses in the Philippines, and their property photos are no joke. With top-notch homes and amenities, these luxury homes reflect class and elegance in every single photo.
Whether it be their condominium in Tagaytay, Daang Hari subdivisions, condominium in Davao, or condominium in Baguio, all their property photos of house and lot properties for sale are the representation of the best real estate photography.
Your subject is just as important as the camera’s settings. In order to appeal to your audience. You must ensure that the property photos depict a home that is truly a place one would want to live in every day.
For a buyer, a property must show a neat and tidy place free of clutter in order to be a place called a home. The warmer and cozy the property photos feel, the more likely they will be attracted to the place you are showcasing.
With the vast amount of features a camera could have, it can be quite challenging to study them all simply by theory. The best way to learn is to take matters into your own hands and learn how each setting affects what.
It can be quite overwhelming, especially for DSLRs, but it is very much worth it. Don’t rush yourself though, as they can be quite complex. Take your time in truly getting to know each one in order to fully understand how they work.
One of the key points for photography is knowing where to place yourself. For beginners, it is extremely unlikely to know how you’d position yourself. As such, taking the same shots at different angles is great practice. For real estate photography, wide angle shots are some of the most commonly used.
With some added effort, you give yourself more options to choose from which you can decide on which looks best later. Even professional photographers still practice taking shots at different angles to ensure that no regrets will be left after the shoot.
A real estate photographer will be dealing with very huge yet detailed subjects. As such, having something to stabilize your images will be a huge help. Having those crisp details are some of the most attractive point of real estate photography.
Using a tripod is a norm for taking property photos and other photos in general. The consistent height allows you to take the same shots at different places, which is definitely an eye-catcher.
Nobody starts as a professional. We’ve mentioned it before, and we’ll say it again: practicing is key. Being able to rack in experience is what will help you develop your own photography style and improve your skills. Remember, it’s always better to take more pics than less. You can’t go back in time, after all.
Even if it may be for professional purposes, you should always remember to enjoy what you are doing. Especially in photography, the photographer’s mood tends to affect the output of your photos. Remember to take a break once in a while, but never give up on taking those astounding property photos!
