It is a great way to grow your photography career and add variety to your portfolio. Real estate agents need high-quality images to rent or sell a property. This is due to the hectic housing market. Best real estate Photographers can make a living selling space photos.
Are you interested in learning how to take real estate photos? We’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to help you get your real estate photos to the next level.
The Best Gear for Real Estate Photography
Real estate photographers invest in essential gear to capture great shots for their clients. These gear tips will help you prepare for your real estate shoot.
Get a DSLR camera with a wide-angle lens and a Wide Angle Lens
Full-sensor DSLR cameras are great for real estate photography. They allow you to take photos manually and have quick responses. You can also see the shots you took as they are being taken. A DSLR camera allows you to edit real estate photos after the shoot.
A wide-angle lens is essential for real estate photography. Wide-angle lenses allow you to capture stunning images even in small spaces. This lens also makes rooms appear larger, a huge advantage for real estate photography.
Use a Tripod
A tripod is an essential piece of gear for real-estate photography. It allows you to set up your camera at the same height from room to room. A tripod will ensure that your real estate photos are sharp and clear, without blurring or haziness from the sudden movements of your camera or shaking hands.
A tripod is also a must if you intend to take long exposure shots of the exterior of your house. This can make a stunning shot that real estate agents will love.
Flash Investments
You never know what you might find when photographing real estate. It is important to be prepared for low-light situations. To make bright and clean photos, you can use a flash, such as a monolith, flashgun, or flashgun.
Before you buy a flash, make sure it has a built-in receiver. This will allow you to trigger the flash with a touch of a button. You can attach a flash trigger to your flash if it doesn’t have one.
Purchase a Remote Trigger for your Camera
Real estate photography requires you to use a slow shutter speed to capture the light and detail of each room. Inadvertently touching the camera in this setting can cause blurred images or other imperfections. You can avoid this problem by purchasing a remote trigger for the camera to make it touch-free for the shoot.
Buy a Drone for Aerial Images
A basic set-up of a camera and wide-angle lens, tripod, flash, and a flash is sufficient for most real estate photographers. You’ll need a drone to take your real estate photography to the next level. Drone photography is a great way of getting stunning exterior shots of property from the air, showing the entire area.
Agents often appreciate aerial photos to show potential buyers the full extent of the property. A drone is a great way to improve your real estate photography skills. Drones can be expensive, around $1,000, so it’s worth considering investing in this equipment once your real estate photography business is up and running.
Shooting Real Estate Photography
After purchasing your gear, you are ready to start taking real estate photos and practicing your photography skills. To capture amazing images, follow these estate photography tips:
Schedule the Shoot for Late Day
Both weather and timing are key to great photography in real estate. Poor lighting can cause interior and exterior photos to look dull if you shoot too late in the day. To ensure beautiful photos, schedule the shoot during the day when the sun is behind the house. You also have the option to shoot the exterior at the golden hour, right before sunset. This can produce some amazing photos.
Make sure to check the weather forecast before you shoot. These factors could make it difficult to get the lighting you require.
Before you Shoot, do a Walk-Through
Take 30 to an hour to tour the property to get a feel for each room. You should also pay attention to how the apartment or home is decorated. Most real estate agents will show the property of Capital Smart City to showcase its best features. Ideally, every room should be well-lit and clean with enough decoration and furniture to feel comfortable and live in.
Take note of any tricky rooms during the walk-through. These areas may require more work to photograph in the best possible light to look like the rest of your property.
Make a Shot List
Make a list of the shots you want to take for the property so that you are organized. Your shot list will vary depending on what property you are shooting, but the basic elements of a photo shoot for real estate should be:
- Two wide-angle photos of the bedrooms, the living room, and the kitchen.
- If the bathroom is large enough or spectacular enough to warrant more than one photo, you can only take one picture.
- One photo shows features such as the garage, laundry room, pantry, or walk-in closets
- Three to four photos of your backyard
- To highlight curb appeal, take one to two photos of the front of your home
You can include a drone you use to take aerial photos in your shot list.
Make your Rooms Bright and Well-Lit
Low lighting can make a room difficult to see, leading to potential renters or buyers being turned away. To let natural light in, open windows and blinds. You can adjust the lighting in any room by switching on or off specific lights. Avoid using overhead lights in a room, as they can create a rugged look. Instead, use natural light and your flash to capture the scene. To ensure that your photos receive enough light, ensure you have the correct white balance and shutter speed.
Real estate photography should be bright and warm to attract renters and buyers. The rooms must be well-lit, so they don’t appear dark or cold. You should ensure that the lighting in all rooms is the same. Also, ensure there are no varying light temperatures from one shot to the next. This can make it difficult to edit your photos properly.
Highlight the Best Feature of Each Room or Area
When you are shooting, focus on the area or selling point. It could be a large window in the room or a wide walkway. You might also notice great features like built-in bookshelves or a curving window frame. You could also consider shooting with vertical lines in a room to highlight these features. To make the property stand out to potential buyers, highlight the best features of each room.
Take a Variety of Angles When Shooting
Real estate photography is not about focusing on one angle or composition. It will help if you strive for variety in your photography to have many options when packaging them for clients. Mix it up, and don’t limit yourself to shooting from one corner of the room.
Shoot towards the doorway or in the doorway. You can either position yourself in the middle of the room or at an angle. It would help if you aimed for a maximum height of 5 feet. Too high or too low could cause blurred images.
No matter what angle you shoot, ensure that your camera is stable and straight. This will ensure that your images are clear.
Flexibility and Adaptability are Key to Success
You can learn many great tips for real estate photography. Be flexible and be open to changing your surroundings. Even though you might try to schedule the shoot for a sunny day, it is possible to arrive at the property to find that there are clouds or storms. You may have to return later or another day to get the shots you want. Sometimes you may be asked to photograph a home with a difficult living space or unusual feature. Your job is to make it look great and make your client happy.
You can succeed as a real-estate photographer by being open to changes and adaptable to them. Clients will appreciate your ability to pivot and come up with great shots regardless of the situation.
Always Edit Your Photos
A downside to using a wide-angle lens in real estate photography is the distortion it can cause in your photos. This can make certain parts of an image look distorted or warped. This issue can be corrected with a program such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. If you don’t have the time or the resources to edit your photos, shoot them raw.
You can easily correct distortion issues using the lens correction feature of the editing software. This will ensure that your images are clean and free from distortion. Also, you can correct any light temperature problems in your images. For example, if one room has too much yellow or hot lighting, this feature will fix it. This issue can be fixed using the adjustment brush function in the editing program. Ensure that all real estate photos are consistently lit to make them look professional.
You can also use free presets to enhance the vibrance and contrast and sharpen certain areas of your real estate photos.
Pricing Your Real Estate Photography
Pricing photography can be difficult, especially if it’s your first time in the real estate business and you need to figure out standard rates for photographers. Here are some tips to help you price your real-estate photography services accurately and fairly.
Consider your Services, Gear, and Time
Consider your pay rate when calculating your final rate. It will cover your photography services, equipment, and time spent on the project. You can also include travel expenses, fees, and photo editing time. A flat rate is preferable to an hourly rate—for example, 10 photos of a property.
Whether you pay an hourly or flat rate, make sure it covers all aspects of the project. You want to feel that your expenses and time on the project were covered. Also, you want your photographer business to sustain itself and invest in it with every project you take on.
You Can Set your Rates Based on the Property Type
A rate sheet might include the rates for each type of home or space you will photograph as a realtor photographer. You might charge $200 for a 500-square-foot apartment. You may also charge more if you shoot a 1,500-square-foot home. Add $50 for every 100 square feet.
This is a good approach because it considers the time and equipment required to photograph a larger space.
Base your Rates on the Time of Day
Sunset photography requires more equipment and preparation time than late-day shooting with natural light. Editing time for golden hour images can be longer than for a daytime shoot. Set your rates for extra gear and time depending on when you shoot. Give your clients the option of a golden hour or daytime shoot to choose how much they want to spend.
Higher-End Listings are Charged More
You will need to produce photography for a high-end listing, such as a mansion that sells for millions of dollars. You will need to spend more time, energy, and gear on these images. Your rates should reflect the price of the project. This will show buyers that you are willing to do extraordinary work to create images that attract their attention.
If you shoot a home worth $1 million, your standard rate may increase from $200 to $500. You can also use the 9 cents per foot formula to calculate your rate based on the home’s size.
Drone Photography and Video: Increase your Rates
Real estate drone photography can raise your rates and allow you to charge more than regular photos. A professional drone video session can typically cost $200-$400. You can also offer video tours of your property for $1000 or more. They can be a powerful selling tool for agents and make a greater impact than static images.
Before you Shoot, Sign a Contract.
A great tip for real estate photography is to get an agreement in writing with your client before you start any gigs or projects. Before you start a shoot, create a simple contract with your fees, gear, and time. Ask the client to sign it. As an agreement, this will ensure no problems once the project is complete.
Real estate is a fast-moving industry. Sign a contract with each client to ensure you are paid promptly and on time.
Start Building Your Real Estate Photography Portfolio
You might be ready to book clients and take on real estate shoots now that you have learned some real estate photography tips. A portfolio online that showcases your amazing real estate photography is one of the best ways to connect with clients. You can direct potential clients to your online portfolio and take on more real-estate photography projects.
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