Top 10 Real Estate Photography Tips

Real estate photographers are in high demand, and the pay is pretty good too. If you’ve ever thought of becoming a real estate photographer and are wondering where to start, here are my top ten tips for taking great photos of houses and land.

1. Use a wide angle lens

Wide angle lenses are ideal for real estate photography because they allow you to capture more space and detail. This makes sense—if you want to show off your home’s spaciousness, it helps if your photos can capture that. And if you want to show off all the lovely design elements in a room, then again, having a wide-angle lens on hand is going to be helpful.

By using a wide-angle lens when photographing your home, this will enable the photographer to take in large portions of your property without feeling the need for any kind of digital stitching or cropping images later on after editing them. In addition, using an ultra-wide angle lens can help capture multiple rooms within one shot which is great for showing off larger properties as well as allowing clients who might be looking at multiple properties side by side (like apartments).

2. Consider Framing

Framing is one of the most important aspects of real estate photography. The framing can make or break a photo, so before shooting, you should take some time to think it through. Consider the background, foreground, middle ground and subject. What lines do you want to emphasize? Where would you like your viewer’s eye to go first? Will there be enough contrast between these elements for an interesting photo? What about perspective—are there any angles or vantage points that could make your shot stand out more than others?

It may seem daunting at first but don’t worry! We’ll walk through some examples below so it doesn’t seem quite as complicated anymore!

img: Multi Point Composition

3. Choose the Right Exposure

How does a photographer choose the right exposure?

“For starters, I always make sure my camera is set to manual mode,” says professional photographer and educator Dave Williams. “This way, I can control all of the elements that go into making an image.”

In photography terms, “exposure” refers to how much light strikes your camera’s sensor (or film). It’s measured in f-stops; smaller f-stops mean more light hits your sensor and makes for brighter photos; larger ones mean less light hits it and makes for darker photos. Your shutter speed also plays an important role here—it determines how long each shot is exposed for before it’s taken. The ISO setting tells you how sensitive your camera sensor is to light: higher ISOs make images clearer when there isn’t much available illumination (like indoors), but they can also cause grainy results if used too aggressively.

4. Learn How to Use Your Camera

• Use manual mode. Manual mode is your top friend in real estate photography and will help you get the best results out of your camera. You can use it to set all of the above settings yourself, which allows you to tweak them until they’re just right for what you want to capture.
• Use a tripod. This goes hand-in-hand with using manual mode because if your shutter speed is slow enough for long exposures, there’s no way that handheld photos will come out looking good—they’ll be blurry and lifeless at best (and unusable at worst). A tripod not only helps keep things still while taking pictures but also makes it easy to take multiple shots so that you have backup options when aiming for perfection!
• Set exposure correctly depending on light conditions. If there isn’t enough light available, increase ISO; if there’s too much light available decrease ISO; if white balance needs adjusting either warm up or cool down depending on whether outside during day time hours or inside someplace else like an office building where artificial lighting serves as primary source of illumination.”

5. Fix Lighting Issues

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of a photo. You can have a great camera and lens, but if you don’t know how to use it properly and fix any lighting issues, your photos will turn out bad.

One way to fix lighting issues is by using reflectors or flashes. Reflectors are easy to use and can be used anywhere because they’re small and portable. They come in different shapes and sizes so you can find one that suits your needs the best!

6. Don’t use HDR

HDR, or high dynamic range photography, is a technique used to combine multiple exposures into a single image. The aim is to capture the best parts of each exposure and combine them into one photo where you have enough detail in both the shadows and highlights. However, HDR images look unnatural because they’re not really how we see the world. They can also be distracting because they make us notice things that aren’t normally there—like an unnaturally bright sky or a reflection on glass that shouldn’t be there at all. As such, HDR is not suitable for real estate photography; stick with natural lighting as often as possible!

7. Emphasize Space, Not Clutter.

Your real estate photographer should be able to help you emphasize space, not clutter.

At first glance, clutter and the absence of it can both have the same effect on a room: they make it look smaller than it actually is. Clutter is usually seen as an impediment to buyers; therefore, as a seller you want your photographs to show that your home has ample space for living and entertaining. If buyers can’t see how much space there is in your home because of all the stuff scattered around (or not in sight), then you won’t sell as quickly or for as much money.

8. Camera Position For Indoor or Aerial Photos

• Be aware of your camera position when shooting indoor or aerial photos.

When you’re taking a photo inside, don’t just stand in the middle and shoot straight ahead. Try to be more creative! Move around and look for different angles that can highlight certain features or capture the essence of the space better.

• Take advantage of natural light where possible, especially when shooting outdoors in daylight. When taking pictures outside, try to find some shade so that you won’t end up with bright white spots on your image due to harsh sunlight shining directly into your lens (the same goes for anywhere else you might be using artificial lighting).

9. Gather Information About the Listing Before You Arrive On-Site.

• Gather information about the listing before you arrive on-site. Before a photographer arrives at any property, he or she should have all of the details about it: location, condition and amenities, price point, and so on. This is why it’s so important for real estate agents to provide their photographers with as much information as possible about each listing they are going to photograph.
• Do research on what makes a good photo from an artistic perspective (not just from a technical perspective). Just because you have great equipment doesn’t mean your photos will look good—you need more than that!
• Be very aware of lighting and other environmental factors before even stepping foot onto your client’s property!

10. Find Character of Listing

Search for interesting features and focus on them. For example, if the property has a beautiful fireplace, give it a spotlight!

• Search for interesting features and focus on them.
• For example, if the property has a beautiful fireplace, give it a spotlight!
• Don’t be afraid to shoot from unusual angles, such as above the fireplace or from below it. This can give you some great shots that will make your listing stand out in the crowd!

Shoot from all angles It’s important to shoot from every angle possible. You may want to shoot the rooms from the doorway, but also include shots of each room in its entirety. This will give prospective buyers a better idea of what they’re getting into!

Real estate photography is not only about capturing great pictures with fancy gears, but also about creativity and techniques of how you capture a perfect picture.

What we discussed today:

• Shoot in natural light. Nothing beats natural light when it comes to creating beautiful images. If you’re shooting inside the house, make sure that there are no shadows on any part of your subject’s face or body. Make sure that there’s no shade casted on their face as well; otherwise, it will make them look older than they really are!
• Use wide aperture (f/1-2) lenses so that your subjects appear sharp.*Check out this article for more information on aperture settings in photography.
• Use backlighting to create drama in your photos.
• Backlit photos tend to have an elegant look about them, especially if you use warm colors like reds and oranges for the background.
• Use long exposure shots at night time to capture ambient lighting effects.
• Long exposure shots can help create some effects like streaks of light shining through windows or doors etc., adding visual interest to otherwise drab photographs.
• To take long exposure shots outdoors at nighttime, use rapid burst mode instead of continuous shutter mode because continuous shutter mode would cause too much noise when taking photos with long exposure times (8-10 seconds).

It’s not just about the gear or the technique, but rather it’s also about your creativity and how you can use these techniques to take a great real estate photo. It takes time, effort and patience to master the art of real estate photography, but once you’ve got it down pat then what more could one ask for? So if you want to start making money as a professional photographer with your own unique style then this article is here to help guide you along the way!