Professional real estate photography is crucial to drawing a buyer or a potential tenant’s attention toward your property. Appealing high-quality images can help capture customers’ interest by offering them a positive yet realistic idea of the property. Bad photography, on the other hand, can have the opposite impact. Simply put, real estate photography can either make or break your listing.
That said, you don’t need to be a professional photographer to get good photos of your property. This guide on real estate photography can help you get better results.
Read on to know the inside real estate photography tips without the required experience. All you’d need is an eye for detail.
REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT
Let’s look at the equipment needed to achieve real estate photography that converts. In addition to an interchangeable lens, here is the equipment you’ll need:
A DURABLE TRIPOD
A tripod stand that is strong and sturdy will help you avoid shaky images and position the camera such that it remains consistent across several different shorts for stacking exposure. You may easily find different types of tripods for sale online in the UAE.
OFF-CAMERA FLASH UNITS
Thorough lighting is important for great photography. For real estate photography for listings, every corner must come alive within the image, which is why one extra flash or emergency backup is essential.
WIDE-ANGLE LENS
Professional real estate photography comes with tight shooting situations. A wide-angle lens can be of a focal length of 24mm or shorter, handled with care and ready to be fixed in case of distortion. You can check these used lenses for sale in the UAE that can give you the desired results and are in your budget.
For a beginner or a non-professional photographer, a tripod, camera and lens are the three real estate photography equipment they need. Besides, there are various other tools and equipment that can aid in getting fast and good results, but a certain level of expertise is needed to make good use of advanced equipment.
PREPARING FOR THE SHOOT
Getting ready for the shoot ensures you know what is expected of you. Here are a few steps that you can take to complete your property’s photography timely.
PUT A LIST TOGETHER FOR A STANDARD SHOT
It is better to prepare a list of spaces and areas you want to capture on your property. Generally, real estate photography for listing includes the following:
- Click two wide-angle pictures of each bedroom, living room and kitchen.
- One shot of bathroom(s).
- If it’s a villa for sale in the UAE or for rent, click around three pictures of the backyard for the listing. Also, around two images from the villa’s front.
- Similarly, click one proper image of each facility on the property, for instance, pantry, garage, laundry area, gallery, pool and others.
DECLUTTER
Decluttering is one of the significant real estate photography tips, which is also useful when its about preparing your house for sale. The house can get cluttered, thus, when clicking pictures of the interior the clutter may stand out in the frame. Therefore, make sure to declutter as much as possible. Usually the counter tops in the kitchen and tables get too cluttered.
Also, don’t click pictures of closets, until and unless they are customised, spacious and appealing.
REAL ESTATE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FOR LISTINGS
After the equipment comes the code of real estate photography. Before you start capturing images, here are some tips to help you do professional real estate photography:
EXTERIOR SHOT LIGHTING
When you are shooting the exterior of the property, the position of the sun is extremely important to note. You have to ensure it does not cast any sharp shadows. The exterior of the property is as important as an interior, which is why many real estate photographers select the time of twilight to shoot the external views.
INTERIOR SHOT LIGHTING
Similar to the exterior shots, interior real estate photography requires the right light. It has to have a mixture of light temperatures as the property’s in-built light sources tend to clash with the sunlight pouring in through the windows. Therefore, you have to find a way to allow just enough light that’s essential for photography. One solution is to turn off the property’s interior lights and use multiple flashes to illuminate the dark corners. Alternatively, you can also choose a time after sunset for your shooting.
PROPER HEIGHT AND ANGLE
Learning how to position camera height and angle is crucial for real estate photography for listings. Keeping the camera at or near the chest level captures the right angle of ceiling and floor.
When you are taking a picture of a room from the inside, don’t click from the corner. It is advised to find a different angle to shoot. Try to click the picture from a doorway to capture as much as possible.
GOOD EXPOSURES
Photography that appeals to viewers is a product of balanced lighting. HDR photography makes it possible to capture highlights and shadows in the same image without distorting either one. The pictures that are overexposed or too dark may not be appealing. You can adjust the exposure manually or go for auto-exposure settings, provided in your camera. When editing the images, you can then balance the highlights and shadows, if required.
ARTIFICIAL LIGHTING DIFFUSION
As a rule of thumb in real estate photography, the flash should not be projected at the subject at full power. Make sure you diffuse the light to minimise sharp shadows that can appear at the sides of the image. Diffusion can be carried out by bouncing the flash off a light-coloured ceiling or wall or using a soft-box type of diffuser to capture through a white umbrella.
EDITING IMAGES
Real estate photography for listings prioritises accuracy over artistry. Instead of doing intensive retouching, you will be required to fix light inconsistencies, streamlining colour tones such as brightening up the sky, or corrections to the angle of the vertical lines in case of distortion.
Our beginner’s guide to real estate photography comes to an end. If you are doing it for listing your property for sale or rent on an online portal, these tips might prove helpful.
It is worthwhile to note that you don’t need to get all of the right equipment and accessories, just invest in the items that are required. For instance, you can buy a used camera in the UAE that fits your budget. Also, either the villa or apartment is for sale in the UAE or for rent, be careful when editing the images. As overworking on them may misrepresent the property to potential clients. In case you need to urgently sell your property, you can check some useful tips to sell your house fast.
Moreover, if you want more professional photographs of your property, you may even opt to hire a photographer in the UAE.
Stay tuned to the UAE’s popular property blog for more tips on cleaning and maintaining your home, property buying and selling and a lot more.
