Are you looking for real estate photography tips for beginners?
Real estate photography involves not just particular techniques, but keeping an eye on the weather, and knowing how to get a property ready for a shoot.
This article will share 11 proven real estate photography tips for beginners.
Let’s get started!
11 Real Estate Photography Tips for Beginners
Real estate sales depend on stunning visuals to entice buyers. So, here are 11 real estate photography tips for beginners to achieve the best results.
1. Plan and Prepare Ahead
The better you know the property, the easier it will be to take quality photos.
For example, seeing the property before the shoot will stir your creative imagination and help you better plan the shot list.
Here’s another piece of advice, you should always enlist the help of the sellers. Seek their input on the following:
- What are the home’s best-selling features?
- Are there rooms or areas we don’t want to forget to shoot?
- Also, what are the best angles and perspectives for each room?
Additionally, you’ll want the home ready before you arrive. Task the sellers with the following projects:
- The entire home should be thoroughly cleaned
- Don’t forget about outside – make sure the lawn, walkways, and yard are tidy
- Finally, have them reduce clutter as best they can
To learn more on why crowded rooms and spaces aren’t appealing, read our blog post on why is it crucial to declutter images in real estate photo editing.
There’s one more item you need to ask the sellers to do – they should remove all personal items – family photos, children’s toys, etc. – to make it easier for potential buyers to picture themselves living in the home.
2. Opt for a Full-Frame Camera
When it comes to real estate photography, full-frame cameras offer a distinct advantage.
Unlike cropped sensor cameras, which often struggle to capture sufficient light, full-frame cameras excel in this aspect.
However, if investing in a full-frame camera exceeds your budget, consider using interchangeable lenses as an alternative.
In either case, a full-frame lens will help even a basic camera achieve more polished and professional results.
And speaking of the lens, to get top-notch real estate photos, you’ll need at least one wide-angle lens. But don’t overdo it – an ultra-wide lens is seldom necessary and may detract from the overall aesthetic.
Our next real estate photography tip for beginners is all about keeping your camera steady and your images clear.
3. A Tripod – A Necessary Piece of Gear
Any movement of the camera when shooting leads to distorted and blurry images.
Don’t underestimate the impact of camera shake on the quality of your photos. Even the least shakey hands still move.
For this reason, you should invest in a reliable tripod to provide stable support for your camera. A tripod removes the potential for unwanted shakes, thereby enhancing the overall sharpness and visual integrity of your photographs.
This simple item will go a long way to helping you take professional-looking, distortion-free images.
4. The Benefits of Polarizing Filters
Want to level up your photography game by reducing glare and harsh lighting? Polarizing filters are the way to go!
Think about these three easy tips:
- Make sure to pick a polarizing filter that fits your lens perfectly
- Opt for the circular polarizing filter. It’s awesome at kicking reflections to the curb and making colors pop, giving your photos that extra oomph
- Start with a filter that blocks around 50% to 75% of light until you find the sweet spot
Play around with filters and tweak as needed. It’s all about finding what works best for your unique shots!
In our next real estate photography tip for beginners, we’ll explain why the weather matters.
5. Check the Weather Before Hand
Natural light is ideal for real estate photography and can infuse your pictures with vibrant colors and crisp details.
With that in mind, try to follow these best practices to make the most of natural light:
- Before heading to your photo shoot, take a moment to check the weather conditions
- If the weather turns cloudy, it might be worth rescheduling your photoshoot
- On bright, sunny days, aim to take the photos when the sun is behind or off to the side of the house
Optimal natural lighting plays a significant role in achieving those lively and vivid hues that characterize real estate photography.
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6. What’s the Best Time to Shoot?
As we mentioned above, aim to schedule your photoshoot during the daytime for optimal results.
However, exploring the unique charm of a house at night or twilight also has its merits, and is gaining popularity among potential buyers.
Here are some tips to capture that enchanting nighttime or twilight ambiance:
- Experiment with taking images from various angles, both with exterior and interior lights on and off
- Aim to showcase different facets of the property, adding variety to your photos
- If possible, try to include street lighting, the lights of other properties, and even distant city lights into the frame for an overall stunning and mesmerizing visual effect
For more tips on timing your shoot, read this post on the best time to take exterior real estate photography.
Whatever you decide, select a time that highlights the property’s most appealing features.
7. Let in the Light!
As we mentioned, the transformative power of natural light is your ultimate ally.
Natural light’s magic lies in its ability to infuse your shots with beautiful, saturated colors and tones, creating an atmosphere of authenticity.
Here are a few additional tips to leverage the potential of natural light:
- While natural light is fantastic on its own, you can take it up a notch by strategically using LED panels and reflectors
- If there are mirrors around the home use them to help spread the light around
- Open all the blinds and curtains for maximum effect
- Also, don’t neglect reflective surfaces – these too can help you make the most of natural light
Try the above ways of using natural light, but always recall that the goal is to present your property in a light that feels realistic.
8. Experiment With Interior Lighting
Unlocking the potential of your images is often as simple as experimenting with the existing interior lights.
Here’s how toggling between turning some of the lights on and off can yield distinct effects:
- Switching the lights on introduces artificial light, infusing your pictures with a cozy warmth
- Interior lighting can also be used to highlight a specific item or area
- Conversely, working with the lights off brings a cooler temperature to your images
However, it’s crucial to strike a balance – while aiming for a cooler ambiance, avoid capturing pictures that may come off as excessively cold or uninviting.
By exploring the interplay of lights and adjusting temperatures, you’ll master the art of creating captivating images that make the property look welcoming.
9. You’ll Need a Flash
Capturing the perfect shot in interior photography can be tricky with shadows, uneven light, and mixed lighting colors posing as challenges.
To overcome these hurdles, use a flash.
- An external flash provides a stronger and more controlled burst of light, helping you effectively combat shadows and achieve a well-lit interior
- Don’t stop at just one – include several external flashes in your photography toolkit to provide options for lighting any space
- Try bouncing the flash off the ceiling for an even look and feel
For more details, check out this article about the best external flash for real estate photography.
By using a flash, you gain greater control over shadows and ensure an even distribution of light throughout the interior.
10. Adjust Your Camera Settings
When faced with all the variables and possible lighting challenges of real estate photography, consider these camera setting tips to improve the quality of your photos:
- Start by setting your aperture between f/7.1 to f/9 for optimal results – adjust as necessary
- Target a shutter speed ranging from 1/60 to 1/2 a second
- Additionally, aim to keep your ISO below 400 to minimize the risk of digital noise harming the quality of your images
By fine-tuning your camera settings, you’ll navigate lighting and other constraints and capture real estate shots that showcase your property in the best possible ways.
Okay, our last real estate photography tip for beginners is about the importance of straight lines.
11. Keep Your Lines Straight
It’s extremely important to pay attention to both vertical and horizontal lines in all your shots.
Maintaining their straightness without bending or curving is vital for a polished result. If you encounter issues, don’t panic; consider the following tips:
In cases where your lines aren’t perfectly straight, post-processing tools like Photoshop offer the ability to retouch and realign them.
Also, steer clear of capturing photos from the corner of a room, as this often distorts perspective. Opt for a more engaging angle to accurately convey the size of the room.
Finally, to ensure a sense of realism for each image keep the camera at eye level, capturing the perspective that a buyer would see walking through the property.
Lastly, as we conclude this post, we want to share one more real estate photography tip for beginners – let PhotoUp edit your photos.
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As a real estate photographer, editing your images is not a choice – it’s a must to create captivating property photos that will boost sales!
PhotoUp is the industry leader in real estate visual marketing. Our large team of skilled and experienced photo editors is ready to help you produce outstanding real estate photography.
Our real estate photo editing services can address any issues or errors in your images, including:
- Image correction and enhancement
- Color and tone adjustments
- Lawn greening and sky replacements
- Clutter and object removal
- Line and angle corrections
- And much more!
We even offer tips on how to market yourself as a real estate photographer.
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Moreover, it’s extremely easy to work with PhotoUp as this video shows:
Plus, our photo editing is affordable, starting at the low cost of $1.10 per image, depending on your photo editing needs.
Also, for a limited time, you even get 10 free edits when you sign up for a PhotoUp account!
Further, PhotoUp offers effective and affordable real estate marketing tools and solutions such as:
- Virtual staging
- Virtual house tours
- Video editing
- Real estate photographer websites
- Single property websites
- Floor plans
- Custom house portraits
- Property flyers
- And Virtual Assistants
So, sign up for a free PhotoUp account today and let our highly skilled editors help you achieve professional-looking images every time!
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