When to Take Outdoor Photos of Real Estate
- The Importance of Quality Real Estate Photos
- Real Estate Photography Tip: How To Photograph Exterior Elements
photo by sl-f via iStock
Real Estate photography is a solid business genre of professional photography and also an entrenched part of most realty businesses. Many professionals, full-time and part-time, have tried their hand at real estate photography, and many of us are appreciative of real estate photography tips for outdoor photos of real estate and indoor photos of the properties, too.
Have you tried adding real estate photography to your offered services? If you’re in a busy enough market, maybe you’re thinking about specializing in real estate photography. There are techniques for marketing, exposing, and processing real estate photography that are somewhat different from other types of professional photography.
We have lots of articles and tutorials on these various aspects of real estate photography, we will examine capturing outdoor photos of real estate in this article. You don’t have to be a pro photographer to benefit from these real estate photography tips; these will work as photography tips for realtors, too.
Exposure and Lighting for Real Estate Photography
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Proper exposure and good lighting are essential elements in real estate photography, this includes both indoors and outdoor photos of real estate. Some of the same techniques and methods work either way.
Time of day is an important factor to consider, especially so with the outdoor photos of real estate. You want to present the property in the best possible light, literally as well as figuratively speaking.
If you show up at a time of day when there are harsh, contrasty shadows on the house, this can obscure a clear view of the property.
What Time of Day?
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Based on what we talked about concerning shadows, you might consider High Noon or any time close to that as out of consideration, but sometimes you may have time constraints on when to shoot due to deadlines and availability. Besides, there are some techniques we can use to help tame contrast such as HDR.
If we have the timing open for us, Golden Hour is a great time of day for outdoor photos of real estate. Knowing what direction the important side of the house faces will help us decide whether we should shoot morning or afternoon Golden Hour.
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Use Blue Hour, Too
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Since Golden Hour and Blue Hour are linked by mere minutes, might as well make use of both times to capture those outdoor photos of real estate. Many realtors love using twilight views of the property as the beauty shot for the listing.
The twilight time, predawn or post sunset can also be used for interior shots that incorporate views of the exterior such as a patio or a large picture window.
Exposure Techniques
photo by sl-f via iStock
Since we are dealing with unusual exposure situations, HDR photography becomes a major technique we should use. Not just for those outdoor photos of real estate but also for interior. By using the bracketing and exposure merging of HDR we can actually eliminate requiring a lot of equipment such as lighting for real estate photography.
Along with capturing the multiple bracketed exposures for our realty images, we will need to merge them together in order to get the best results. Several excellent programs exist specifically designed for HDR photography. Here is a great tutorial for one program that explains the technique and how to control the variables involved.
YouTube is also a source for instruction on HDR merging and other real estate photography tips. In the video above, learn how to easily merge bracketed exposures to get a well-exposed final composite image that is sure to wow your clients.
Other Useful Tips
photo by Justin Horrocks via iStock
Other beneficial real estate photography tips include using drones, staging the areas (real life and virtual), what lenses to use, and creating virtual spherical panoramic tours. Follow us for hints, tips, and some in depth instruction on the real estate photography business.
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