How to Shoot a Real Estate Video

Using Video for Real Estate Sales
How to Shoot a Real Estate Video (5 Quick & Easy Steps)
PhotoUp – Your Real Estate Video Editing Partner

Wondering how to shoot a real estate video to help sell a listing? This post will walk you through the process, step-by-step.

Did you know that real estate listings that feature a video receive 403% more inquiries than listings without one? Video is a powerful marketing tool giving buyers an excellent overall sense of the property.

Therefore, in today’s post, we are going to show you how to shoot a real estate video to help better promote and sell your listings.

But first, let’s talk about how video is used in real estate sales.

Using Video for Real Estate Sales

Video is used in real estate sales to convey an accurate and appealing sense of the features, dimensions, and layout of a property.

Usually, real estate videos:

Are short and taken via mobile phone or another recording device
Focus on the layout of a home, providing additional details that photos can’t always convey
Are easy and affordable to produce no matter the sales price of the property
Can be shared easily across social media and other platforms gaining additional attention for the listing

The typical real estate video is roughly up to 3 to 7 minutes in length and usually includes a soundtrack — be it narration, music, or both.

Therefore, real estate videos are an effective way to provide buyers an opportunity to quickly and easily see the best features of a listing and to help them see themselves living in the home.

Are these videos really effective in selling real estate? Yes, very much so:

Zillow data shows that a listing featuring a video walkthrough sold on average 14% faster than listings without one
Videos make buyers more likely to check out the home in person
And putting your videos on YouTube, the second most popular search engine behind Google, means your listing is likely to be seen by more buyers

So, now that know how real estate videos are used in real estate sales, let’s show you how to create one.

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How to Shoot a Real Estate Video (5 Quick & Easy Steps)

Next, let’s talk about how to create an effective real estate video in 5 easy steps. You can either watch the video by Zhiyun or continue reading the text below.

1. The Necessary Gear

Here’s our suggestions for the basic gear you’ll need:

A DSLR camera
A wide-angle zoom lens (16–35mm) / 17–40mm (don’t use fisheye)
A tripod with a slider and a second tripod head that sits on top of the first
And if you have a drone, bring that too!

What about lighting?

You won’t need any special lighting unless you’re filming at night. Natural light usually works well for all your interior and exterior shots.

Therefore, plan the shoot with the weather in mind. A partly cloudy day will likely be your best bet. A bright and sunny day isn’t always ideal. And if it’s a dark and cloudy day, you’ll likely need to reschedule.

2. Preparing the Property Ahead of Time

How to shoot a real estate video: preparing the property

Before you actually start shooting the video, go through the entire house and look for any problems or items out of place. Your goal is to eliminate any distractions that would interfere with the video.

Preparing the property ahead of the shoot will save you much time and effort.

Here are some ways to prepare before the shoot:

Declutter all surfaces including counters, tabletops, and shelves
Hide or remove pets and their toys and food bowls
Do the same with children and their toys
Close all cabinet and closet doors
Smooth out wrinkles on bedspreads, throw blankets, and towels
Remove all personal items, such as pictures of the homeowners
Close toilet seats and shower curtains
Adjust all the throw pillows, books, artwork, and window treatments

Remember, the more preparation you do ahead of time, the easier the shoot.

3. Planning the Shot List

Again, it’s hard to emphasize enough that proper planning can make a world of difference. So, go into the shoot with a shot list already in mind:

You only need about 2–3 clips per bedroom and bathroom
For important rooms like the kitchen, the living room, or the master suite, make sure to get enough shots and camera angles to present a full picture for the potential buyer
And don’t forget — the exterior matters, especially the front of the home

With the above said, try to avoid overshooting. If you take good footage, move on to the next item/area on the list.

And if it doesn’t go right the first time, simply delete that clip and start over.

4. Shooting the Video

Shooting a real estate video is about dynamically capturing a still environment through the introduction of motion. And you’ll want the experience to be smooth and steady, which is why you’ll need to rely on slides and glides.

Glides allow you to walk viewers through the scene by moving the camera from front to back smoothly. You’ll want to plan to bring a second tripod head.

However, make sure you check that you can’t see the slider in any of the shots.

Along with glides, slides are great for capturing an entire room and making wide shots look better:

Position your slider just outside of a doorway as you begin to introduce the room
Then, using sliding and panning, try to achieve a wrap-around effect
If you don’t have a slider, try using slow pans and tilts instead to add some motion, keeping the video moving along
Pans and tilts also look great for detailed shots of special features of a room, like hardwood floors, special molding, tile, or countertops

Since the video is all about the room itself, you’ll want to keep everything in focus. Try using an aperture number at around f 4 or 5.6. You can then balance the lighting by adjusting the ISO and shutter speed.

5. Add Drone Video!

Drone video and photography can be highly impressive. Therefore, if possible, include drone video footage in your overall real estate video.

As with all videography, you’ll want to aim for smooth and gentle movement:

Mimic the slider technique when using the drone, gently going from left to right, or moving slowly toward the house from the street as well
Make sure to take footage of both the front and back of the house. Also, if you can safely do so, consider getting aerial views of the property and beyond

Now, there’s one last step — the need to edit the video. However, video editing can be challenging, especially for someone not experienced with editing technology.

So, we strongly recommend working with a video editing service — which is where PhotoUp can help!

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Real Estate Video Editing

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PhotoUp – Your Real Estate Video Editing Partner

Let PhotoUp’s expert video editing team take your real estate video and make it look truly fabulous.

Professional video editing makes any real estate video look polished, motivating buyers to come and take a look at the listing in person.

Our editing services include:

Clip review, smooth transitions, and scene arrangement
Adding your business logo, an intro, and outro
Custom titling
And, licensed music for a more appealing video experience

PhotoUp Video Editing Service Demo

PhotoUp makes it easy — you’ll get a stunning, professional-looking real estate walk through video in 3 simple steps.

1. Upload

Sign up for a free PhotoUp account, and upload all your raw footage, logos, and any audio files to Dropbox, Google Drive, or another delivery link and include the link on your order form.

3. Order Form

Fill out the order form with your details, property address, media link, and desired delivery time.

2. Delivery

We’ll deliver your edited video within 24-36 hours if uploaded on weekdays and before 9:00 PM on a Friday, local time.

Your final video will be between 2-3 minutes in length, delivered in 1080p quality (+10 credits for 4K quality), and available via DropBox.

So, for around just $30 PhotoUp can turn your video footage into an impressive and persuasive real estate video.

One last piece of advice, don’t stop with just video — let us help you with all your real estate marketing needs. PhotoUp offers a full range of real estate marketing services, including:

So, why wait?!

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post on how to shoot a real estate video. If you found this post helpful, please explore these other articles, too:

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