Don’t let bad photography cause you to lose precious sales commissions.
Let’s face it. Realtors and Real Estate Agents are extremely busy people. They sacrifice a lot of their lives away from their families just to be in the business. With the blackberry or iphone constantly ringing off the hook, emails, house showings, and client meetings, a career in real estate is a pretty hectic job. So what about one of the most important features of showcasing the “product”? Does the quality of real estate photography often get neglected? From what I’ve personally seen on a local level, I think it does. I’ve searched hundreds and thousands of real estate listings over the past several years, and the majority look pretty scary. Sure, these are tiny thumbnails sized images most of the time, but even those have drastic room for improvement. The majority of home buyers are browsing these online websites first, so you need to make sure you make a good impression.
Here are some quick tips you might be able to use as a realtor in order to improve the quality of your photos in your online listings (no matter what camera you have).
1. Don’t shoot the exterior mid-day when the sun is highest in the sky. Early morning or later in the afternoon is much more visually pleasing. Save mid-day for shooting the interior, so that the light is more even.
2. Keep the sun to your back. Yeah, we’ve all heard this one… it’s a rule that is meant to be broken. But when it comes to shooting houses it’s a pretty good one to stick by. The sun rises in the East, and sets in the West, so figure out which direction the front of the home is facing before you plan your shoot.
3. Take a look up at the sky. Is it overcast? Unless you’re a photoshop whiz you might want to wait until the weather gives you a nice blue sky, even if it is partly cloudy. Anything is better than looking at a hideous blown out white or “doom and gloom” dark sky. A bright overcast day is excellent if you’re taking features of the building where the sky isn’t showing. It will give you shadows that are less harsh, and a nice diffused style of light.
4. Stop down your lens and place your camera on a tripod. If you have some sort of manual control like Av mode, set your f-stop (aperture) to the highest number possible. Make sure you use a tripod, otherwise the shutter speed will be way too slow, causing blur from camera shake. There are full height basic tripods at the local department stores priced as low as $10. If you have one – landscape mode might also allow your camera to get the smallest aperture possible, allowing for the largest depth of field while shooting handheld. This will ensure that you get the most of the home and property in focus (not just one or the other).
5. Try to remove distracting elements beforehand. Does the homeowner have their kids toys laying all over the front yard? This is just common sense.
6. Keep your listings updated! We’ve established that you’re busy, but if you have a listing that still has snow in the yard when it’s June… I mean come on, do I really need to even explain?
7. Make sure you show enough images, but not too many. You want to leave a little to the imagination while featuring the property’s best features or highlights. 8-12 images is a good number. It’s enough to give a nice overview, but not enough to cause the potential buyer to neglect wanting to check it out in person.
8. Don’t forget to capture the home along with part of its surroundings. Step back… possibly even further than you normally would. Capture the home from across the street, or even further if you think it would help a potential buyer envision its situation or property size. This just may help your property stand out from the crowd in the sea of listings.
All of the above tips will work for commercial or industrial properties as well. With lots of practice and learning your camera, you’re going to figure out what works the best for you. If it’s not working out as well for you, maybe photography just isn’t your cup of tea. You can always consider getting some help from a professional. Higher end listings might be worth the extra cost of hiring a professional, while most mid-range priced houses won’t. Maybe you just don’t feel like being a “jack of all trades” type, because you’re focused enough on selling real estate. It really is a lot of work. To any realtors with listings in the Connecticut area that would like to have me help them out, contact me at the link at the top of the page. I would be willing to work on a free trade basis as long as it is a property with a nice curb appeal and the owner signs a release form. No blown out white skies or crummy lighting, just clean images of the beautiful property you are showcasing so that you can get the maximum return for all of your efforts. Contact me for more details.
