A few weeks back, I was hired to shoot a luxury home for a real estate listing, and it brought me back to when I first started. In an industry where a picture is worth (over) a thousand words, you never want to take it lightly. Whether you are a first-timer, have done dozens or are a wily veteran, you can never over-prep. Take each opportunity to learn and mold yourself into a better you. I hope the following tips and tricks for beginner real estate photographers will help you avoid some of my past mistakes.

Tripod Up!

Camera technology has improved greatly over the years. They can handle low light areas well, and can even light up large spaces when you don’t have a flash handy (more on that shortly). But tripods are essential for large-based shots, and imperative for HDR shots.

Flash, Flash, Flash

A flash is not only a nicety, it is a life-saver at times as well. Capturing large areas, like great rooms and kitchen combos, two or more lights will be ideal. Natural light can only do so much!

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Be Trigger Happy

If shooting at low shutter speeds, it’s best not to touch the camera at all, as even engaging the shutter to take a photo can induce unnecessary camera shake, blurring the shot.

The solution? Remote trigger for touch-free operation.

Umbrella Brackets are Key

The more shoots you’re on, the more you’ll notice that the further you place your umbrellas, the less light will come through it. Changing the position of an umbrella will affect the power of flash, so play around with it until you find the right shading and the right light.

Be Flexible

If weather isn’t on your side or the lighting isn’t on-point, be prepared to come back at another time. You may also consider learning how to create a High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery, which involves taking different exposures and combining them to get fine details of a landscape or architectural image.

Photo Editing, For the Win!

It happens. You may not have the time to edit photos yourself. Consider using a real estate photo editing service. For $2-10/per photo (depending on the work needed), you can get a finalized product within a few hours — potentially saving you more than that.

Have a Quick Turnaround

As you know, the real estate market is driven by location, price and most important, timing. Communication with the agent who hired you is key to ensuring you get your images to them in timely fashion, and evading any deadlines they may have. Generally, the faster the better.

For those looking to specialize in real estate photography, send me a note here, and check out Metro Virtual Tours!