How Real Estate Photos Are Taken
There are many ways to take those real estate photos, and if you’re thinking of becoming a real estate photographer, it’s important to understand what equipment you will need and how to shoot the best possible images. You can start small by investing in a decent camera and tripod, then build up to more advanced camera systems and additional lenses.
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A wide-angle lens is ideal for real estate photography, as it makes rooms appear bigger and more spacious. A lens with a focal length of 10-24 millimeters is the most effective, though you may also want to consider getting a fisheye lens for those asymmetrical or unusual angles in a room.
Composition is critical to a great real estate photo. It’s essential to create a vertical line that runs straight from the top of the image to the bottom, with no corners or crooked lines. Avoid angling the camera, as this can throw off the composition and make an area feel out of balance or cluttered.
Exterior real estate photos need to be taken at the perfect time of day and in the correct lighting. Oftentimes, the best times to shoot are around sunset and dusk. The natural light of these times is very soft, which can be the best type of lighting to capture a beautiful photo of a house for sale.
Using a tripod is a must when shooting real estate photographs, as it provides stability and ensures that the photos you take come out sharp. Stability is especially important if you’re going to be taking bracketed shots for HDR or exposure blending.
A good tripod should be sturdy enough to support your camera’s weight and give you a minimum extension height of eye level so that you can use the viewfinder without bending over. You’ll also want to experiment with different heights and see what works best.
You’ll also want to have a cable release or a wireless trigger so that you can take multiple shots and guarantee that the photos are perfectly aligned, avoiding blurry camera movement. Some apps that allow you to trigger your camera will even show you the results of your photos on your smartphone or tablet so that you can see how they look before you commit to them.
Interior real estate photography requires a different set of skills and equipment, as there is not as much external light to work with. However, some photographers choose to add supplemental lighting to their interior shots to highlight features in dark areas of the property and bring out details that would otherwise be hidden.
This can be done with exposure blending or by shooting bracketed images and then post-processing them to blend together. You can also employ image staging, which uses digital technology to add furniture and other elements to a photograph.
If you’re interested in becoming a real estate photographer, consider attending college, university or art school and earning a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a focus on photography. This can help you learn the skills and techniques necessary to become a professional, and it may also help you get more clients.