The Exterior Real Estate Shot is Vital to Making a Good First Impression
When people look at a real estate listing, what is the first image they see? Ninety percent of the time, it will be a photo of the property, apartment, or office building’s exterior. If clients find the exterior image attractive, they are more likely to call the agent for a closer inspection of the property. If exterior images are shot poorly (or are non-existent), prospective buyers will typically pass on the property without giving it a second thought. Actually, photographing real estate exteriors is a special skill that not everyone possesses as it requires the photographer to have a very keen eye and take into account many factors when shooting the property.
The real estate sector relies on first impressions, since they are critical to closing a deal. Potential homebuyers and real estate professionals alike are positively and permanently influenced by beautiful and realistic exterior photographs. At the end of the day, if your photographs can help sell homes more quickly, you will receive more business from your clients, and the more likely they will be to refer you to others. In this post, you will find a number of strategies for taking excellent exterior real estate photographs.
(You may firstly read our Real Estate Interior guide here)
Make Sure You Time Your Real Estate Exterior Shoot Well
The time of day you are shooting may very well determine how you frame the image as well as the shooting position you take when composing the shot. But first of all, before shooting, work with the realtor or property owner to ensure that the space is prepared for photographic representation. Make sure that walkways and driveways are free of leaves, dirt, and other debris. If children live in the home, pick up the toys from the exterior spaces. Make sure that the lawn is freshly mowed. Patio and lawn furniture should be clean and neatly arranged as well.
The photograph above could have been taken at midday or dusk, when the sun would have entered the frame from the left, eliminating all of the shadows that extend into the image from the trees behind the photographer. This would have produced a cleaner image with fewer shadows to distract the viewer. If you are taking exterior photographs at dawn or dusk, your shadow might appear in the foreground. You can mitigate this by taking a tighter shot by zooming in and eliminating some of the foreground, or by taking the shot from another location altogether.
Take dusk or early-evening shots.
It’s also important to remember that you may need to make multiple visits to a property at different times of day to get the best shots. While the front of the property might look beautiful in the early morning, late afternoon light might be better for photographing the back of the home. The best time to shoot the exterior of the house is when the light is softest, usually at the beginning or end of a shoot, whether noon is at the beginning or end of a shoot. Avoid shooting at noon when the sun is directly overhead, creating extreme highlights and shadows on the outside of the house.
If it is an overcast day, don’t worry. The overcast sky serves as a huge diffuser, dissipating shadows and providing even lighting. The position of the sun can help you showcase the house’s exterior in the best light. As the sun sets, many property exteriors come to life. Turn on all exterior and interior lights as the sunsets. The brightness of the property’s lights should match that of the sky. Additional dusk shots can be a superb way to up-sell to agents, enabling them to showcase the home at different times of the day. Furthermore, it can be advantageous to photograph properties on cloudy days. The clouds act as a giant diffuser, resulting in softer light and consequently fewer harsh shadows cast by architectural elements such as eaves and covered porches. Likewise, cloudy days minimize the glare of the sun off of the property’s windows.
Photographing the Exterior from Unique Angles can Improve the Property’s Visual Appeal.
Once you’ve established your “safe shot,” experiment with taking the picture from different angles in order to discover which side of the property looks best. Taking an imaginative approach to exterior photography can help you stand out from the crowd of real estate photography providers.
A common feature image for a property listing is one that shows the house directly in front. However, taking a photo from this perspective is not always the optimal choice. Many properties feature an exterior photo taken directly in front. In these situations, the driveway or sidewalk tends to dominate the foreground. While leading lines are advantageous in many photographs, concrete and asphalt are not ones that you want to showcase in your photos. Instead, take images from the corner of the house as shown above. It not only presents more yard space but also makes the house more three dimensional. As a result, a photograph taken from the front porch emphasizes its extent considerably more than one taken directly in front.
When photographing a property’s exterior, you should strive to capture an accurate representation of its appearance. However, you may still want to take steps to minimize distractions. For example, you may attempt to compose your photos in such a way that unsightly items such as garbage cans, air conditioning units, gas mains, storage sheds, and other items are not visible.
Capture the Property’s Unique Features
Are there any architectural elements or a pool that make the property special? Do you think these elements are important in showing each property’s unique personality? When photographing a property for sale, make sure to include these elements to make them more appealing to real estate agents. Be sure to get in close on a prospective buyer’s walkthrough of your home to showcase the house’s unique features – whether they be architectural elements, interesting materials such as stone work, or amenities like a pool or beautiful garden space.
Does the property have a nice view?
It’s worthwhile to present a beautiful view in context in instances where a property has one. You can see in the picture above that this property has a beautiful deck with landscaping that enhances the view of the ocean. Rather than shooting the ocean from the property’s edge and isolating it, this shot offers some context to the view and makes it more impactful.
Use a Drone
A single drone picture of an entire property might be quite beneficial. An aerial perspective of a home can provide prospective buyers with an overall sense of the property’s layout and its relation to other homes and businesses. Check with your local authorities to find out if you need a permit or license to operate a drone in your area. Some states have strict FAA regulations on the use of drones for commercial purposes.
Conclusion
The rules of shooting real estate exteriors are essential for creating effective images that are appealing to the eye. These rules include researching the location ahead of time, utilizing natural lighting, capturing the property from multiple angles, and not forgetting to include landscaping and outdoor design elements. You can also benefit from using HDR shooting and editing techniques to create a consistent look and feel throughout the shoot. These rules will help you shoot the best images possible, and they will make your clients happy with the final product.
