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A Complete Guide To Taking Great Photos Of A Property Listing

Shooting real estate photos looks easy on the surface but in the process taking property listing photos requires ample preparation than it tends to look.

It must be so because through real estate listing photos a potential buyer and client have a glimpse of the property. A simple photo can have the power to inspire buyers to either go for a viewing or make an investment. Through great real estate images, they can know whether a certain living space makes the cut from a variety of choices.

Professional real estate photographers and even real estate agents must consider factors such as time of the day and equipment to be used to have a smooth flow of the photoshoot to produce quality real estate photography work. From preparation to editing, here are real estate photography tips to craft your great listing photos as your jump-start your real estate photography business.

Pre-production

For a professional photographer, the process of a photoshoot doesn’t just happen in a day. Beginner or not, it is always best to plan ahead before going to condominiums for sale or house and lot properties for sale for property listing photos. In this way, you can have an understanding of basic things that may affect the quality of your listing photos.

Schedule your shoot

Another piece of advice to a real estate photographer is that one of the first steps in pre-production is to schedule your shoot. Make sure that it is the time of the day when the photos can get enough natural light inside the most beautiful houses in the Philippines so that they can have a fresh and crisp look. Avoid settling for light bulbs or any artificial lights. Moreover, schedule not just your production day but also your post-production (editing).

Create a shot list

Making a shot list keeps you organized throughout your shoot. Tested and proven by real estate photographers. Real estate photos usually have the following shots in taking pictures:

• Wide-angle lens shots of house and lot properties for sale focusing the living room, dining room, and the bedroom
• Photo of the bathroom of the house and lot for sale (it can also be a wide-angle shot if it is spacious enough)
• Shots that feature other amenities of the house and lot properties for sale (such as a garage, laundry room, pantry, or walk-in closets)
• Wide-angle shot of the front of the home, highlighting the curb appeal

Remember that shot lists depend on the property type and it would be best to adjust the list based on what home buyers must see and what needs to be featured in the property.

Declutter the space

A professional real estate photographer values decluttering the space whether it’s a condominium for sale or house and lot for sale . No one likes a messy photo especially if there are unnecessary elements in the foreground of your shot. This is why cleaning the space is necessary in ensuring that photos show the full potential of the place.

A real estate photographer can start by neutralizing it, by clearing off the counters and placing minimal decor on the walls. Staging it also, by simply rearranging the furniture, would be beneficial for your real estate photos.

Doing these things will make your real estate photography shine and help potential buyers envision the living space of the most beautiful houses in the Philippines.

Do a walkthrough around the place before shooting

Real estate photography includes walking around the area. This may give you the essential vibes in taking the shot especially if you are around house and lot in Nuvali, house and lot in Daang Hari or condominium in Tagaytay. Bring a real estate agent with you to walk you through the house and lot properties for sale.

Not only that it will give you a vibe, but it will make you more familiar with how to move around during your real estate photo shoot. As you walk through the place, list places such as rooms with poor lighting and tight bathrooms that are potentially challenging to shoot. This can be tricky but consider how you can showcase it in the best light possible to avoid artificial lighting.

Production

This marks your day to start shooting. During this well-prepared day, remember to execute basic photography principles of the most beautiful houses in the Philippines to make the most of your time in the area, and to produce many real estate photos.

Use a tripod

Whether you’re using a phone or a DSLR camera while shooting, using a tripod can help make your photographs vertically aligned, and your camera or phone steady. It is recommended to use a tripod in shooting real estate photography as it relies on precision.

Lighting is everything

Have you noticed how the best real estate photos are always shot during the day? This is because professional photographers make most of the natural light around the subject and avoid using the camera flash. In taking photos in the area whether it’s indoors or outdoors of house and lot for sale, make sure natural light filters come in your photo.

This may mean opening the front door, curtains, windows, and blinds, and adjusting light indoors to produce different exposures. Real estate photos with a warm and bright light attract prospective buyers, while cold and low-lit photographs may turn them off. In outdoor shots, make sure the sun is facing the front of the house as this highlights the curb appeal. However, check that it receives just the right amount of light. Balancing the shutter speed and white balance in your camera is the key.

Shoot a variety of angles

A variety of angles will benefit you during post-production as this will give you pictures to choose from when you edit. Furthermore, it adds visual interest to your final line-up of listing photos when you present them to potential buyers.

When shooting different angles you may go at the center of the room or take a shot towards or in the doorway of the most beautiful houses in the Philippines. Always check that your camera stands straight and stays at a height of five feet. Going below that will give you cramped pictures while going above may slant the pictures.

Post-production

Most beginners overlook this phase but post-production is also an essential part of real-estate photography. Giving time to compile and organize your pictures makes your presentation with clients smooth and at ease.

Editing matters

There are times when using a wide angle lens camera may give you warped-off or distorted pictures. Sometimes you will encounter pictures that have great angles but inconsistent lighting. While it is a disappointment, there are editing tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to rule out these inconveniences.

You can easily patch up those issues by using the lens correction feature in your editing software and remedy them by adjusting light temperatures to make it warm and bright. Using the adjustment brush feature will do wonders in editing your pictures to perfection. Free presets are also available in your editing software that will enhance the contrast, vibrance, and photo sharpness of your real estate photos.

Back it up

Backing up files may always be the last thing on everyone’s mind but it will definitely save you from the hassle of technical accidents. Make sure that your photographs and other necessary files are organized in systematic file names when you back them up in the cloud or google drive folders.

Real Estate Photography for Different Gadget users

The constant update in modern technology has enabled novice and professional photographers to use different gadgets that suit every occasion there is. Whether real estate professionals looking for a real estate photographer are on a tight budget or tight place, it is the concern of the real estate photographers to focus on their camera settings and not the kind of gadget they have.

Real Estate Photography for Android users

The professional property listing photos can also be produced from android phones. All it takes is the right camera lighting setting and grid lines and you’re good to shoot. You can try it on Brittany Corporation’s properties such as house and lot in Nuvali, house and lot in Daang Hari, or condominium in Tagaytay.

Grid Lines

To keep your vertical lines straight, android phone cameras have a grid line feature that you can turn on in the settings. In this way, you can follow the rule of thirds. If you tend to have a shaky hand, investing in a phone tripod will be a smart choice.

Turn On High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mode

Make use of the HDR feature that can shoot dynamic range. This feature perfectly blends the light and shadows seen in the photo which is usually the case when photographing real estate properties.

Shoot photos horizontally

Whether indoors or outdoors, taking photos in landscape form conveys more space and detail in one frame. This is preferable as it shows much of the room and/or area. Another tip is to find corners where space can be seen as much as possible.

One of the limitations of using an android phone camera is that it offers a narrow-angle view. One solution for this is to position the camera in the corner of the room where it will have a greater sense of space in a single image. You can also make use of the panoramic feature of your android phone, just make sure that the photo doesn’t get distorted when taking the shot.

Use editing apps during post-production

There are tons of editing apps available for free in the app store that can further enhance your real estate photos. Apps like Snapseed and Lightroom give you the instant power to adjust light settings, and color contrasts, and sharpen images to highlight the details.

When editing, make sure that your lighting is consistent especially when you move into different interiors where the actual lighting can differ between rooms.

Real Estate Photography for IOS users

iPhone users have better camera settings that can be used to make the best real estate photos. Just like android, it is advantageous for beginners to get to know its camera settings to make the most out of it.

Shoot in RAW file

To begin with, a RAW file is different from JPEG or HEIC file images. Setting the camera to shoot for a RAW file gives you better options such as enhanced editing where you can retain details in the photo like shadows under the furniture and highlights around the lights.

Not only that but shooting in a RAW file can add dramatic effects to your editing resulting in stunning photos that attract prospective buyers.

iPhone 12 and 12 max users can benefit from the native camera app called ProRaw. Simply head to Settings, select Camera, go to Formats, then turn on Apple ProRaw. If ProRaw isn’t supported on your iPhone, third-party camera apps like Lightroom, ProCamera, ProCam 8 offer this feature.

Turn On HDR Mode

The iPhone camera has an HDR mode also that balances the light and shadows of a photo. This is an advantageous feature for rooms that have uneven lighting. This is why it is always better to make the most of natural light by shooting during the day.

Enable Grid Lines

Grid lines make your photo follow the rule of thirds and it also shows you if your verticals are still straight. One way to make the most of this is to capture two walls whenever possible.

Taking a shot of one wall will look blank and non-dimensional while a shot of three walls will give off a narrow vibe of the place. However, a photo of two walls sits in the perfect spot as it also captures a corner making the place look spacious.

Real Estate Photography for Digital Single-lens Reflex (DSLR) camera users

DSLR users really do have the edge in real estate photography as this is also the kind of camera professionals use when listing photos. But just like any other gadget, you must be familiar with its technicalities as using this gadget requires effort to master.

Set aperture, shutter speed, and ISO

These three camera settings are heavily dependent on the available light in the place. It is always beneficial to get to know these settings beforehand.

The aperture controls the light that is coming in through the camera lenses. This is the opening of the lens and is measured using f-stops. The larger the opening the more light comes in, and vice versa. In your camera, a larger aperture means a smaller f-stop, while a smaller aperture has a bigger f-stop.

Shutter speed controls the amount of time the shutter speed remains open as light reaches into the sensor. Short shutter speed is used for cityscape photography as it highlights the moving subjects in the photo such as people and cars. Long shutter speed is used for blurring a moving object.
Lastly, ISO is sensitivity to light. It is recommended to have your ISO setting to 100-200 if you are in a high-lit outdoor shoot. An ISO setting of 400-800is enough if it is a low-lit indoor shoot. These three are dependent on each other so make sure that both of them blend well.

Make the most of day shots.

Nothing beats the natural light that only a shot during a sunny day has. It does not only benefit photography outdoors but indoors as well. Make sure to open all curtains, blinds,  and windows so that your real estate photos are not only well-lit but are breathable, pleasant, and inviting as well.

Investing in Real Estate Properties?

Filipinos are naturally family-oriented; this is why it’s not surprising that 50% of property seekers prefer to own a house. Due to the onslaught of the pandemic, even millennials aim to own property later on. Brittany Corporation, an award-winning luxury estate developer pursues to make this dream possible for property seekers, both family, and young professionals alike.

From their strategic location in places such as Alabang and Sta. Rosa matched with an elegant luxurious house with the perfect instagrammable scenic view, this is luxury living made possible.

Check out Brittany Corporation’s official website and social media pages to learn more.