Tips & Tricks

5 Easy Tips for a Real Estate Photography Beginner

5 Easy Tips for a Real Estate Photography Beginner

Capturing professional quality real estate photos can be challenging, especially for beginners or those that are relatively new to real estate photography.

In this article, we will discuss 5 tips for a real estate photography beginner. From understanding the basics of real estate photography to tips for running a successful real estate photography business.

Table of Contents

The Most Important Things to Know as a Real Estate Photography Beginner

As a real estate photography beginner, there are 4 key areas you should focus on to make sure you’re able to capture high-quality, professional-looking photos and get your real estate photography business started on the right path:

  1. Composition: Paying attention to the composition of your photos is key to making them look polished and professional. This includes things like using the rule of thirds, aligning horizontal and vertical lines, and making sure that the subject of the photo is clearly in focus.

  2. Lighting: Good lighting can make a property look warm and inviting, while bad lighting can make it look dark and unappealing. As a beginner, it’s important to learn about the different types of lighting and how to use them effectively. You can use our article Lighting for Real Estate Photography as a great educational tool for this exact purpose.

  3. Marketing: Marketing is going to be what lands you your clients and gets the ball rolling in terms of actually making some money. From the very start, you should have a marketing plan in mind.

  4. Proper Business Practices: From the very start, you must do your absolute best to use proper business practices like bookkeeping, invoicing, and expense tracking. Without these practices, you’ll have a very difficult time keeping your business going.

5 Tips for a Real Estate Photography Beginner

1. Use the Correct Lens

I commonly see beginners asking if the 50mm or 24-70mm lens that they already own is good enough to get started in real estate photography. The answer is a very loud NO. You need a wide angle lens, at a minimum.

The most popular focal lengths are anywhere between 12mm – 30mm. I would personally recommend a 16-35mm lens as I find it to be the best focal lengths for real estate photography.

Check out our article Best Lenses for Real Estate Photography to get a good idea of what type of lens you need and the prices you might be looking at. There absolutely are cheap options that can get you started.

2. Use A Tripod

I don’t care what anyone tells you, you need to use a tripod in real estate photography. Lighting is the most important aspect of photography, and it’s extremely common for interior photos to be lacking natural light.

You’ll need to have your camera steady enough for long enough to let in the proper amount of light and the only way to do that is by using a tripod.

Check out our article Best Tripods for Real Estate Photography to see the best options and what you should consider in terms of budget needed.

3. Good Marketing is the Key to a Successful Business

Good marketing skills are essential if you want to build a strong client base and grow a successful business. A real estate photographer who can effectively market their services is far more likely to attract new clients and generate repeat business.

Marketing helps real estate photographers differentiate themselves in a crowded market as well. By effectively promoting your unique skills and services, you can stand out from the competition much easier.

The simple truth is that without a good marketing strategy, you are going to have difficulty landing clients and growing your business.

4. Stage Your Photos

Staging your photos can be accomplished as easily as decluttering the space. The first thing I do when I get into a house I’m about to photograph is a quick walkthrough. I identify how much staging will need to be done and then start to put things into place.

Sometimes this is as simple as moving a few curtains or fluffing some pillows, but other times it can mean rearranging a kitchen or even moving some furniture. Either way, properly staging a room is something that will greatly increase the quality of your photos.

Here is a Free Home Staging Checklist you can use. I give it to the realtors I work with so they know how to prepare the house, but you can use it to make sure you’re staging a home properly as well.

5. Find the Best Natural Light

Lighting a space properly can be one of the hardest things to do for beginner real estate photographers. Finding the best natural light and then using it to light your frame is a sure fire way to get great photos.

If the space you’re photographing has windows letting in a decent amount of natural light, you’ll surely be able to come away with some quality photos. Take note of where the windows are, how the light is coming through them, and where it looks the best.

Use the natural light as often as you can in your real estate photos. It won’t be possible in every shot or every room, but take advantage of it when you can.

Always remember, lighting is the most important part of photography. For a deeper explanation, read this article explaining why natural light is so important and how to best use it to photograph interiors: Comprehensive Guide to the Best Lighting for Interior Photography

Additional Resources

Check out our Beginners Guide. It’s full of helpful articles just like this one with tips that will guide you in the right direction as you begin your real estate photography journey.

You can check out our Gear section as well to see reviews and recommendations on the latest real estate photography gear.

If you’re more interested in other resources that can help your real estate photography business, check out our Business Resources page.

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About author
Matthew Digati is a professional Real Estate and Architectural Photographer. Matthew has worked as a Real Estate and Architectural Photographer since 2015 and has photographed properties and projects all over the United States.
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