Real Estate has been booming!  Maybe its your turn to sell or list a house for sale as a private homeowner or an agent.  In this article then we will focus on 3 tips for taking real estate photos and videos.  They include:

1. Choice of Focus

2. Timing

3. Image Quality - HDR

Choice of Focus:

For many, including myself, what appeals to the eye is often what is looked at first!  This world entices us everyday to look at this or that new flashy thing.  The ideology behind it is, get them hooked and they will buy, doing whatever they need to do to afford it.  While the real estate market is not exactly the same as buying a new purse, the idea is the same for when you are trying to get potential buyers to come see your listing.  Proper marketing with enticing visuals often attract more potential buyers.  So how can you apply ideology correctly?

First, think about any commercials you see today, do they focus on every aspect of the product?  No.  They often simplify the message down to the most appealing aspects.  So if you are new, or a long time agent, think about what houses have sold the quickest, what customers have mentioned in discussions, was it that one photo, or portion of a video that they just had to see in person?  If so, then the marketing is working!

When you take photos or videos of your listing then, focus on what makes it unique!  What are the most appealing aspects of the property?  Highlight them!  Use them as your cover image, or if not appropriate for the cover image, they should be your second and third images.  If you are having a video created on the property, does the video start out slow and boring?  Or does it provide some quick enticing shots of the highlights to entice you to watch the rest of the video, or better yet, get off the internet and come visit the property in person!?

As you personally prepare the property, what catches your eye?  Is it the landscaping?  A unique piece of history?  A chandelier? A beautifully designed room? The mantle or fire place? Focus on those!  Sure, you can always capture everything else,  but this should not be your focus.  People want to see the good stuff!  They don’t care what the inside of every closet looks like.  Think as a consumer, what would appeal to you most.  If you can do that, you’ll be well on your way to capturing a property successfully.

Timing:

Now, lets talk about the technical side of it.  How do you get the best possible images? 

Timing matters for outdoor photos.  Taking them during the golden hour, or about an hour before and after the sunrise and sunset times will make things look the most appealing.  This goes the same for drone photos or video.  About 1 hour before sunset is often just perfect.  While photos can be processed with greater ease if not taken during these times, video cannot.  If you are having a video done, make sure at least some of the shots are taken during the golden hour period.

Additionally, most people like sunny photos. While this is not always possible, if you can choose a time with sun then do so. People also like greenery! This means that if you can photograph the property in a season that things are more appealing and green then do so! Even if you are thinking about listing your home in the winter, perhaps getting the photos or video done when things look their best can go a long way in enticing potential buyers.

Image Quality & HDR:

Image quality and processablitliy is important. Taking photos in the RAW format is essential for best quality.  But the true must is taking HDR photos when indoors, especially when windows are in the pictures. 

We’ve all seen the photos before where the inside is appropriately lit but the windows are completely blown out, white, with little to no detail of what the outside looks like.  To fix this problem you should use the High Dynamic Range setting on your camera.  This is even possible on an iPhone and many Android devices.  For the highest quality image, use a professional camera.  If this is the case, the HDR setting will either take 3,5 or even as many as 7 photos at different exposures while the camera remains in one spot.  This will allow you to later on, combine all the photos into one, providing a large amount of data to edit.  This then allows you to recover the highlight and lowlight areas producing a completely balanced image.

To make this process a reality, put your camera on a tripod.   Line up the angle and take a few practice shots to make sure you like the composition.  Once you are ready, turn on the HDR mode, I usually do the 3 shot function, find the middle exposure for your lighting, and then press the shutter.  Note that you can set your levels of exposure bracketing to meet your lighting needs in extreme situations.  Some cameras will know to automatically take 3 photos consecutively, while others will require you to manually press the shutter 3 times to produce the different exposures.  The combined result will give you a perfectly balanced photo of both indoors and outdoors.

Yes, if you can successfully apply these 3 tips:

Focus on Highlights, Appropriate Timing, and HDR Functionality in your real estate photos or videos, you will be taking your game to the next level, enticing potential buyers to do whatever they need to do to come see your amazing property!