Did you know that most people – more than 80 percent – start their hunt for a new home online. It is absolutely essential to have amazing pictures to make a good first impression on prospective home buyers. Online listings with bad photos get quickly passed over by house hunters.
Taking great real estate photos is a matter of following a few key strategies:
Use the right equipment.
Make sure to use a high-quality camera – any DSLR should work well for you, but even some point-and-shoots can take great real estate photos. It's best, though, if use a wide-angle lens, as it will allow you to shoot in smaller spaces like bathrooms and bedrooms. You'll also need a tripod to keep the images steady.
Stage the home.
Great real estate photos start with staging your shots. Get rid of anything that you wouldn't see in a show home, such as mail on the coffee table or a mug by the coffee pot. Plump up the sofa cushions and put the toilet seat down. Your photos of the home need to be free of distracting elements, so straighten everything.
Use the right lighting.
For indoor shots, open the curtains and turn on the lights. If there is too much glare, close the curtains and add extra lighting to the room to bring out warmth in your photos. As for exterior shots, take photos on an overcast day. This is the best way to minimize shadowing of any architectural features of the home.
Taking great real estate photos is a matter of following a few key strategies:
Use the right equipment.
Make sure to use a high-quality camera – any DSLR should work well for you, but even some point-and-shoots can take great real estate photos. It's best, though, if use a wide-angle lens, as it will allow you to shoot in smaller spaces like bathrooms and bedrooms. You'll also need a tripod to keep the images steady.
Stage the home.
Great real estate photos start with staging your shots. Get rid of anything that you wouldn't see in a show home, such as mail on the coffee table or a mug by the coffee pot. Plump up the sofa cushions and put the toilet seat down. Your photos of the home need to be free of distracting elements, so straighten everything.
Use the right lighting.
For indoor shots, open the curtains and turn on the lights. If there is too much glare, close the curtains and add extra lighting to the room to bring out warmth in your photos. As for exterior shots, take photos on an overcast day. This is the best way to minimize shadowing of any architectural features of the home.
Choose the right angles.
Standing in a corner or doorway allows you to capture as much of the room as possible in one shot and makes a room look more spacious. It is a good idea to try taking photos from a lower point of view as well; this can better show off the features of a room, such as a ceiling fan or crown molding. For great real estate exterior photos, stand at an angle rather than head-on to give potential home buyers to see the depth of the home.
Make the verticals vertical.
Walls and door frames are made of straight vertical lines, so make sure they appear that way in your photos. Crooked lines are less pleasing to the eye – and, therefore, less pleasing to home buyers.
Think about your backgrounds.
Great real estate photos do not include power lines, telephone poles, or dumpsters in the background. Take a look around before you begin your shoot to determine the best ways you can avoid having these eyesores in your shots.
Take a lot of different photos.
Prospective home buyers want to see everything about a home, not a dozen shots of the same basic view. Make sure to shoot photos of every room and from every doorway. Try getting several perspectives of the same area. It's better to take too many photos than not enough – you don't want to have to schedule another shoot session to get more photos.
Edit your photos
It pays to take the time to edit each of your photos. Crop them, adjust the brightness, correct the color, whatever you need to do to make every photo the best it can be. You can get great real estate photos by using any of the major photo editing software platforms.
Standing in a corner or doorway allows you to capture as much of the room as possible in one shot and makes a room look more spacious. It is a good idea to try taking photos from a lower point of view as well; this can better show off the features of a room, such as a ceiling fan or crown molding. For great real estate exterior photos, stand at an angle rather than head-on to give potential home buyers to see the depth of the home.
Make the verticals vertical.
Walls and door frames are made of straight vertical lines, so make sure they appear that way in your photos. Crooked lines are less pleasing to the eye – and, therefore, less pleasing to home buyers.
Think about your backgrounds.
Great real estate photos do not include power lines, telephone poles, or dumpsters in the background. Take a look around before you begin your shoot to determine the best ways you can avoid having these eyesores in your shots.
Take a lot of different photos.
Prospective home buyers want to see everything about a home, not a dozen shots of the same basic view. Make sure to shoot photos of every room and from every doorway. Try getting several perspectives of the same area. It's better to take too many photos than not enough – you don't want to have to schedule another shoot session to get more photos.
Edit your photos
It pays to take the time to edit each of your photos. Crop them, adjust the brightness, correct the color, whatever you need to do to make every photo the best it can be. You can get great real estate photos by using any of the major photo editing software platforms.