Not all photographers have the same skills. Just like any other profession, your photographer will specialize in a certain type of photography. While technically, anyone can take a picture of a building, it doesn’t mean it will be good.

Your photographer needs to have experience taking pictures of buildings both inside and out.

1. Think Ahead

When I make an appointment to take pictures of your house, I plan ahead. I think about the direction the house faces and how the sun will rise. For example, having a bright sun above the house will cast extreme shadows across the house.

I also understand that sometimes the best time of day isn’t convenient for you and the homeowner. This is ok. I can work with everyone to find a time that will work.

Another thing I think about is the expected weather. If I know a big storm is coming through, I’ll advise that we hold off on taking images until the weather clears up. A dreary day will show through in the images, and you don’t want your home associated with a dreary attitude.

2. Elevate Exterior Shots

Elevating your exterior shot is a must to fully capture the exterior of a house. But there is a limit with how high you want the camera to get. You rarely need a shot of the roof.

It can also hurt your efforts to include the yards to the surrounding homes. This kind of shot can highlight how small the yards are. Or it can bring to attention that the neighbor’s yard is a mess.

3. Skip the Rainbow Sky

One of the first thing new real estate photographers learn is how to replace the sky. They almost always go nuts with this ability and end up replacing perfectly decent skies with ones that are overly saturated and every color of the rainbow.

While these bold, dramatic skies are impressive, they also take the attention away from the most important thing, the house. You aren’t in the business of selling sky, so don’t let it take center stage in the image.

Now that’s not to say that a beautiful sunset sky is a no-no. You just need to have a photographer that knows how to enhance the sky without it taking attention away from the home.

4. Light the Interior

The ability to understand and manipulate the light is what makes a great photographer stand out.

This doesn’t mean that every shoot needs a ton of lights set up. A skilled photographer can take some stunning images using natural light.

That being said, those same photographers will still carry a set of lights with them just in case. It’s smart to always be prepared for any situation that may arise. After all, there are times when the only thing that will fix an image is that extra pop of flash.

5. Position the Blinds

As the real estate agent, you have a job, to make the house sell. To do that, you want to present it in the best way possible. This can be a challenge when the view is awful.

Maybe you look out the window, and there’s a solid brick wall. Or worse, what if it’s a parking lot or dumpster?

It can be tempting to close the blinds in an attempt to hide the unsightly view. This is the worst thing you can do, and a good photographer will tell you as much.

It’s painfully obvious you’re trying to hide something when you close the blinds. It’s even worse when you have all of the blinds open except for one window. Now everyone knows that there’s something awful lurking behind those blinds.

What people imagine is likely way worse than reality. Plus, there are better ways of handling this situation. A good photographer will work with you to position the camera in such a way that it hides anything unsightly.

Another strategy is to slightly blow out the window. This still hides view but does so in a much more attractive and less noticeable way.

6. Wide Angle Lens Is a Must

The secret to a successful interior photoshoot is for your photographer to use a wide-angle lens. This is best because it will give the room a more spacious feel.

A wide-angle lens is better than fisheye because it doesn’t have the same level of distortion. The wide-angle lens helps me capture the entire room in a single shot.

There is a balance that I try to maintain. While I can capture the entire room and make it look spacious, this can have a negative effect on your sales efforts. Buyers will show up expecting to see huge rooms and be seriously disappointed when the home doesn’t live up to their expectations.

Misleading photos is a quick way to ruin your reputation among other agents, buyers, and sellers.

I also like to point out that wide-angle images are not always the best image for selling a room. Sometimes, I can create a well-composed shot that will attract more people than if I tried to capture the entire room. Remember, the point is to sell the home, and to do that, you need to attract the most amount of people.

Let Us be Your Photographer Today

As an experienced real estate photographer, these are all things that I think about. I understand that the point of this photography is to sell a home. I focus on featuring the home’s best qualities.

Contact me today and let’s take some amazing pictures of your homes.