Staging your home for an open house may be a bit of a no brainer, but what are the best ways to capture your home for real estate photos before any potential buyers even enter the house? Though hiring a real estate photographer may be a good idea, taking your own images is always an option. Good real estate photography comes down to five elements: angles, lighting, staging, distance, and quality.
Angles
Good real estate photos are almost always taken with a wide-angle lens. This lens allows the camera to capture more comprehensive pictures. Potential buyers want to see the house before they ever visit it. The photos should show everything. What are the views of the windows like? Where is the light coming from? What’s the size of the room like? Helping customers answer these questions will allow them to decide how they feel about the house.
Lighting
Lighting is key to taking any good picture. With real estate photography, good lighting can help potential buyers understand what a room looks like. It’s best to take photos using natural light from windows and glass doors as they will cast a softer glow around the room instead of creating harsh, yellow shadows from artificial lights. Natural light will also keep any colors a purer tone.
Close Up
If there is an interesting detail in a house, show it off! Does the kitchen have a cool backsplash? Is the crown molding of the living room detailed? Try capturing these details in a closer manner, but far enough away so the viewer can still decipher what they’re looking at and where the feature is.
Stage It
Try staging your home for photos as if you’re doing an open house. Be sure to declutter countertops and bookshelves before taking any pictures. It’s best to do a deep clean of the home too. Make sure no stains or rust are visible in the photos. Once the house is clean, consider staging different rooms and locations with props. A fruit bowl in the kitchen or a wine glass on the patio table are great, simple options.
Crisp & Steady
Taking the time to figure out lighting and angles won’t matter if the photos are blurry or grainy. Before capturing the house, use a tripod to help steady the camera and create a clearer picture. Make sure that the camera has enough light so that there is no grain to the photos. Customers need to see what they’re looking at, and a lousy picture may reflect poorly on the house.
Taking the time to capture good real estate photos is a great way to jumpstart the process of selling your home and can easily give the house a competitive edge.