Photographing inside the property
While you may want the property to appear as spacious as possible, be aware that your photos need to give an authentic representation of size and appearance. It is a waste of everyone’s time if viewers are consistently disappointed when they arrive at a property.
When shooting a room, think first about how you want it to feel. A large kitchen / breakfast room, for instance, should appear light and airy, whereas you may wish to portray a small sitting room as warm and cosy.
Indoor shots – Setting up
Take your photos from the corner of the room. Use a wide-angled lens to take in as much of the space as possible, and make sure you set up a tripod to avoid camera shake and a blurry photo. Don’t shoot towards the window – you may find the picture becomes overexposed as the camera won’t be able to deal with the differences in light between the room and the brightness outside.
Don’t be afraid to move items in the room if you feel they create a more pleasing image. And look for opportunities to show particular features of the room off. For instance, if a room opens onto a terrace, throw the doors open to show people how they could use the space.
Depending on how confident you are with your camera settings, you have a number of options. For best results use an aperture of between f5.6 and f8 and focus manually to give you nice sharp shots. But if that sounds too technical, make sure that at the very least you choose the correct automatic setting on your camera for indoor use.
Indoor shots – Getting the lighting right
Lighting is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of indoor photography. The safest way to get it right is to use as much natural lighting as possible. Open blinds to flood the room with as much light as you can.
If you feel more light is needed don’t be tempted to turn on the overhead light, as the harsh light cast downwards will tend to flatten your image. You should also avoid using a flash as it will cast harsh shadows in the room. Instead, use small lamps and side lights to create warmth and cosiness in a smaller, darker room.
Photographing outside
Often external property shots are the first photos that online viewers see. So getting them right should be a high priority.
Try to persuade your client to cover off any small paint jobs that will improve the look of the building. A shabby property can be a real turn off and you don’t want to give a potential buyer any reason to overlook your listing.
Don’t forget, while you’re outside you will also want to take shots of swimming pools, gardens and beautiful views from the property.
Outdoor shots – Setting up
When photographing the property’s exterior, first look around for the most pleasing aspect. This may depend on where the light and shadows are falling at the time of the shoot. Use a wide-angle lens and steady your camera with a tripod.
If you are photographing a house in its grounds, where possible try to show it on its own without including neighbouring properties. And try using the ‘rule of thirds’ to help you compose your picture. This involves mentally overlaying the image with a 3 by 3 grid, and then making sure the important aspects of the shot appear on the intersections of the grid. For example, the bottom third of the photo might be occupied by gardens, the top third by sky, and the middle third by the building itself. For the most visually pleasing effect this could be set slightly to the left or right in the frame.
Outdoor shots – Choosing the best time to shoot
It is not advisable to take photographs in strong sunshine as it can create extremely dark shadows, so it is often said that an overcast day can produce better results. However, it’s pretty important that you show off clear blue skies to international buyers who are looking for the sun-drenched dream. So our advice is to shoot either earlier or later in the day when the sun is not directly overhead. This will create a much softer light.
Finishing off your photos
Once you’re back in your office, improve your photos further using basic editing software. Make sure the photos are level, crop them for best effect and make sure that you level the image so that any walls are parallel to the vertical edges of the shot.
Following these simple steps and making small edits will enhance your photos, making them look more professional and stand out against other property listings.
