Real Estate Photography – Quick Tips
Real estate purchases, more so homes, are aspirational buys. Everyone has a dream home and they aspire to buy a house which closely resembles their dream home. The difference between a potential client flipping past your property and deciding to check on it depends on the photograph you use to showcase the property. However great the property be, if the photographs do not showcase the beauty and fail to look desirable, the client is going to walk by. It is very important then to have the perfect pictures that will engage the potential client and make them want to see and know more about the property.
At the outset have a story you want to sell to the client, is it a beach house for a vacation, a cabin in the woods to hide away, an apartment with functional utilities that make living easy and pleasant. It is critical to have a story, for once you know what you want to communicate that will drive the pictures you shoot and how you shoot them. When you are selling a house, you are selling a lot more than just a building and the images need to capture the essence of living, memories and aspirations.
It is important that you have the right equipment. It is also good to know that whatever let the imperfections that may creep in, most of them can be dealt with and photographs perfected using photo editing tools. As for the right equipment ensure you have a tripod, as you are likely to be using different exposures and shutter speeds and will need steady clean images which will later on be magnified by the person viewing the pics. A good external flash, built in flashes hardly serve the purpose and not to forget the wide angle lens that allow you to capture the house into images.
Ensure the subject, the house, the room you are shooting is arranged well, for the whole idea is to make it look attractive and desirable. This is when your story comes in handy. Arrange the room and the furniture and accessories enhance the story you want tell and thereby attract the client to your property. Ideally do not clutter the image or the room, give the viewer a clear neat view
Lighting is possibly the one most critical factor. Use the ambient light and the flash effectively. Use the flash to brighten up dark corners and match the brighter ambient light if shooting during the day. Shoot multiple images and HDR blending can remove many of the flaws and create the perfect picture you are looking for. None the same, be aware of the lights and use the setting accordingly.
Settings on the camera: Have a default setting in mind and then work upwards. Ideally start with an ISO of 100 and aperture of f8 and from there on tweak sets to suit the conditions. Shoot in manual mode and take pictures and images in varying settings of exposure. This comes in handy later while blending or stitching or in sheer choice of images you have with you to use.
Compose the frame well and take your time.. Capture the elements you so want to show case. Here again the central theme and story come in handy and helps you stay focused in shooting the house in the best possible way. This will in turn attract the potential customer to consider your property. Ensure to highlight the unique features and the attributes you so love about the house.
Beyond all of these, experience is the best teacher. The more photographs you shoot and the more options and variations you use the more you learn. Some images turn out good some not so good. Record, analyse and learn from this experience. Use the camera in the manual mode and master it, shoot in the RAW format. Understand the leeway that exists in the form of image editing and enhancements and you are sure to churn out some brilliant photographs of homes that people would love to explore and buy.