People say a picture is worth a thousand words. That remains true even in real estate. How you present your rental property can affect how many tenants you attract. Professional-looking photos are preferred when creating rental listings, and there are several ways you can achieve those with or without a professional photographer.
Preparations Before the Photoshoot
Declutter and Clean
Before snapping photos, you "set the stage" by cleaning and decluttering. Remove unnecessary objects that could take attention away from the property's unique selling points, and then start cleaning all the areas you need to take photos of.
You can always hire a professional home stager to make it seem like a home right out of a catalog. You can also draw inspiration from online platforms like Pinterest. The outcome should always make the place a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Make a List of Rooms
Make a short list of the rooms and areas to take photos of to ensure you don't miss anything. Don't forget to include exterior shots when taking real estate photos since many tenants value curb appeal. Rooms and areas you need to walk through include:
- Living Rooms
- Dining Rooms
- Kitchens
- Bathrooms
- Bedrooms
- Closet Space
- Garage
- Outdoor Space
- The Front of the Property
Remember the features you want to highlight in your photos, such as new kitchen countertops, new light fixtures, and other unique features that can catch a prospective tenant's eye. Scribble them on your notes in case you forget them once you start shooting.
Even the smallest details can persuade a potential tenant to rent your unit or home. For open floor plans, include both rooms in one photo to highlight this particular selling point of the property.
What You Need to Do During the Photoshoot
Use the Right Equipment
While a smartphone with a high-quality camera is acceptable, professional-grade equipment will greatly enhance the photo shoot. Certain camera lenses such as wide-angle lenses can help capture an entire room in one photo.
You’ll have more options for adjustments such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and more, which can be handy if the lighting is not ideal for shooting real estate photos. Using the right camera produces high-quality images for advertisements and listings.
Some real estate photographers use high-tech equipment for drone photography to capture the entire property; however, the ones that produce high-quality visuals don't come cheap, so you might consider hiring a real estate photography business for that.
Mind the Lighting
While cameras usually have low-light settings, natural light is still ideal for shooting real estate photography. You can rent lighting equipment or schedule your photo shoot during early mornings or the golden hour.
The right lighting conditions make all the difference for stunning real estate photography. Even in closed spaces like walk-in closets, you should use artificial lighting or interior lights to get the best photos.
Shoot from Different Angles
After setting the stage and arranging the optimal lighting for your photos, real estate photography begins. Find the angle that shows the best light and take one to three photos to choose which one is the best shot. The rule of thumb is to watch out for vertical lines like wall corners and keep them straight.
Use the appropriate lenses or settings for the photo. For instance, macro lenses are better for close-up shots, while wide-angle lenses are better for wide shots. The best angles are usually opposite or at the side of the light source, so your back should be facing openings like windows and doors.
Post Production Process
Editing
After taking the real estate photos, the editing process begins. You can use photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom to enhance your images. One of the most common real estate photography tips you'll hear is to have great image quality for minimal editing.
Some software allows you to combine different exposures into one image. When you combine multiple exposures, you can cherry-pick which photos have the best aspects and turn them into one shot per room.
Using It for Social and Virtual Materials
It's important to curate a real estate photography portfolio that stands out for social media posts, and most importantly, your listings stand to gain more attention. The better your real estate photographs are, the higher your chance is to attract buyers or tenants.
With the right tools and software, you can also use them for virtual tours, which are becoming increasingly popular in the real estate industry as they allow prospective tenants to view properties remotely.
Should You Hire a Professional Real Estate Photographer Instead?
Real estate photography tips can only go so far, and it cannot beat the years of experience and expertise a professional photographer can provide. While you might save money by doing it yourself, hiring an expert can be a good investment.
Their real estate photography skills include knowing the right settings for listing photos, having access to better editing software, and utilizing natural light for detail shots. They have more than a few key pieces of equipment to generate stunning images for potential buyers and renters.
Some businesses even offer virtual staging, where they can add virtual furniture to an empty room to help future buyers or tenants envision what the space can look like. It can also be used to create virtual tours.
Calculate the costs and efforts you need to put in when you do it yourself, such as renting the needed equipment and taking time out of your own schedule. You might find that you're saving more by simply hiring someone to do all of these for you.
How Property Managers Can Help
Just as a professional real estate agent can help potential buyers, companies like Green Tree Property Management can help your property get rented faster. With our marketing services, you can expect professional, high-resolution photos of your rental.
We can take care of your online listing needs by advertising your rental listings online to over 170 websites including mainstream ones like Zillow and Trulia. All you have to do is hire us and we will do the rest.
You can schedule a free consultation now to begin the first step to filling your rental units through attractive and effective marketing.
