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by on June 11, 2009 · Filed under: Company News

We often get the question “how can I make my photographs look better?” and we thought this video and these tips would help anyone that wants to take better pictures.

Check it out and leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

1. Take the picture from the corner of the room.
2. Avoid having bright lights or windows near the center of the picture.
3. Set your camera to take the brightest and “cleanest” pictures.
4. If you can choose the resolution your camera shoots try to choose the highest resolution possible. The higher the resolution, the better the picture.
5. If there are any lights in the room turn all of them on.
6. Shoot directly across the room, not up or down.
7. Use a tripod if available to prevent any motion blur.
8. Wide angle shots usually look better to home buyers, however try to avoid the “fish bowl” look, as these will not work with virtual staging and can make the picture look awkward.

Have you come across other tips, tricks or strategies to taking better real estate pictures? Leave a comment below and let us know!


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  • Arthur Tillis

    Hi, Thanks for the information. It seems very interesting. However, I do not own a video camera to take the pictures.
    Any suggestions? A.Tillis

  • http://virtualstagingsolutions.com Bryan

    Arthur, If you have any type of digital point and shoot camera that will work fine. You do not necessarily need the type of camera in the video, that camera will just help your pictures look a little bit better.

    If you do not have any camera at all I would recommend making an investment and buying one. If you are in the real estate business it will be a good investment if you will be using it a lot. There is a tone of research online about good, reasonably priced cameras. A good place to start may be amazon.com

    If buying one is not an option than maybe you can borrow one from a friend or family member, or consider hiring a photographer in your area.

    I hope that helps.
    -Bryan

  • http://www.lindabryan.net Linda Bryan, real estate redhead

    With a little practice, you can shoot some great video with a Flip. I bought mine on eBay for $85 and it was the key to selling a condo for me in the first week!

  • http://www.onlinepropertyshowcase.com/realestate.html Jay Groccia

    Hire a professional for the same reasons you want homeowners to hire you to sell their home.

    The days of old-fashioned curb appeal (the only thing that matters is pretty front yard) are long gone. In today’s connected world, buyers simply click their mouse and are suddenly INSIDE the house. That means your online presentation is critical.
    Dark rooms with blown-out windows don’t inspire people to buy, they just get people to click the BACK button.
    Real estate agents and FSBOs that invest in professional photography sell their homes faster and for higher prices. A recent study indicated that homes shot by a professional have an increase of perceived value of 12.8%.
    There are two things you can do to sell your house faster. Lower the price or UP THE MARKETING.

  • http://www.onlinepropertyshowcase.com/realestate.html Jay Groccia

    Here are my tips for improving your real estate photos:
    1. Don’t point the camera down – it makes the room look small.
    2. Don’t use on-camera flash – it makes ugly shadows and hot spots on reflective surfaces.
    3. Set your camera’s exposure (remember, the “P” setting is evil) to keep windows from blowing out and illuminate the room with off-camera slaves
    4. Make sure all lighting fixtures are ON – get new bulbs.
    5. Don’t let the walls splay out – keep them plumb – this isn’t a circus fun-house so don’t make it look like one in your photos.
    6.Take your time. Only a hack will claim they can photograph a house in 30 minutes.
    7. STUDY major magazines (Architectural Digest, Dwell, House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Country Living. Better Homes & Gardens, or Martha Stewart Living) – your buyers do. If you can’t make your photos look like they belong in the magazine, that’s the clue to hire the pro.

    For your viewing enjoyment check out this wonderfully restored Victorian mansion:
    http://www.onlinepropertyshowcase.com/showcase/10275

    Jay Groccia
    Principal Photographer, OnSite Studios™
    Founder, OnlinePropertyShowcase™

  • http://www.rearrangements.ca Martha Stanton-Smith

    I like your statistic: “A recent study indicated that homes shot by a professional have an increase of perceived value of 12.8%.”
    I would like to quote this but being a little ‘anal’ I always like to verify my stats. Could you please tell me the source?

  • http://vlindemann.com Vern

    Comments annoy me – so to get even I am going to annoy you.

    Jay – I am not a hack but yes I can photo a most homes in 30-45 minutes. I will however spend that much time digitally editing the images. Most Realtor are not going to tolerate you spending a lot of time doing your thing.

    The video on how to photo a house is good but please, please take a few minutes in digital editing to correct the parallel perspective and get ride of the fish eye distortion.

    Inside shots should always be done on a manual setting. First do settings for outside exposure, then use fill flash to balance inside. Real estate is about location, location, location. If what is outside the window is a plus, don’t wash it out.

    While your video is great for promoting professional photography, it doesn’t do a great job in the technical arena.

    Vern

  • http://vlindemann.com Vern

    Jay

    I need to follow up with you. Other than the “hack” comment I agree with you on all your other points.

    As for the plumb problem, all people who don’t use software to correct this is to bend their knees. Make the walls plumb in the view finder.

    I checked your site and your photos great. See some of mine at tours.vlindemann.com

    Vern