How To Take Real Estate Photos: An Essential Guide For Brokers And Real Estate Agents

Whether it’s for listings, your website, or social media posts, your real estate photos need to be excellent. In fact, almost 73% of Realtors report that high-quality photography helps them win more listings.

Great real estate photos can help you:

✅ Attract more potential buyers.

✅ Create a great first impression of your brokerage.

✅ Show off the finer details of properties that your listing description might not be able to.

According to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), home buyers on the internet find images to be among the most useful features of listing websites when looking for new homes.

However, consistently producing stunning real estate photography can be challenging, especially if you’re just starting out as a broker or agent. Hiring a professional photographer can also be expensive, especially when you’re launching a new business.

Luckily, you don’t necessarily need pricey equipment and specialized expertise to shoot great real estate photos.

In this article, we’ll guide you through how you can take eye-catching real estate photos using your phone or a camera. We’ll also share some tips on how to work with a professional real estate photographer if this is your first time doing so.

8 Real Estate Photography Tips When Using Your Phone

If you don’t have the budget to purchase high-tech equipment or hire a professional photographer, there is another option. If you know how to do it right, you can use your smartphone to shoot high-quality real estate photos. 

Take a look at this shot by House Beautiful of the living room area of a property taken with a phone:

As you can see, your phone’s camera can take good real estate photos that capture beautiful details.

Here are some simple steps to follow when taking real estate photos with your phone:

1. Ensure the lens is clean

Our smartphones can get dirty quickly, and any debris or smudges on the lens of your camera can create blurry, low-quality photos. So, before taking any photos, ensure the lens of your phone’s camera is clean. 

Rather than just using a finger to wipe the lens clean, use a microfiber cloth or lens cleaning solution for best results. Regularly cleaning your phone’s lens is essential if you want to take real estate photos, especially if it’s been in your pocket or bag.

2. Use natural light

If you’re not using lighting equipment, you need to leverage natural light to your advantage when shooting with your phone.

Ideally, you’ll want to take your real estate photos during the day so that there is natural light to work with. It’s also a good idea to open curtains and blinds to allow more light to fill the property.

On lighter days, you may want to turn off artificial lights in the home to avoid color inconsistencies and harsh shadows.

The best time of day for real estate photography is early morning or late afternoon. The light available at these times is soft and flattering, providing a warm and inviting atmosphere. These times of day reduce harsh shadows and create a more appealing overall look.

3. Stabilize your phone

Using only your hands to hold your phone when taking photos of homes can sometimes result in skewed or clumsy shots. We recommend using a tripod to keep your shots steady and sharp and prevent motion blur.

Take a look at Wirecutter’s list of the best tripods for iPhones and other smartphones to find the right tripod for you.

If you can’t invest in a tripod, ensure you hold your phone with both hands and keep your elbows close to your body. You can also lean against a wall or another stable surface to reduce movement while you take your shots.

4. Use HDR mode

High dynamic range (HDR) mode helps balance the light and dark areas of your photos, making them look more detailed and realistic. HDR is particularly useful in rooms with large windows or significant contrasts between light and shadow.

Property listings featuring high dynamic range (HDR) photos sell 50% faster and increase online views by 118%.

Take a look at this great real estate photo taken by Reliant Homes using HDR on a smartphone:

If you want to give this a try, here’s how to activate your HDR settings on your phone:

How to enable HDR on an iPhone

1. Open the default camera app.
2. Go to Settings > Camera.
3. Toggle on ‘Smart HDR’.

How to enable HDR on Android

1. Open the default camera app.
2. Tap the settings gear icon to find your camera settings.
3. Look for ‘HDR’ or ‘Rich tone’ and toggle it on.

5. Get your focus right

On smartphones, you can typically tap on the screen to focus on a specific area or object. This ensures that the key elements of the room that you want to showcase are sharp.

You can also manually adjust the exposure if the image looks too dark or light. On most smartphones, you can do this by sliding your finger up or down on the screen after focusing.

6. Use landscape mode

When taking photos with your phone, ensure you use it horizontally to capture wider views, which makes them look more professional. Landscape orientation is especially important for interior shots as it provides the viewer with a better sense of the space.

7. Avoid zooming in

Zooming in on an area or feature using a smartphone can reduce the quality of the image you’re taking. Rather, move closer to the subject of the photo to avoid grainy and less detailed images.

If you need to capture a distant object, consider taking the photo using standard settings and cropping it later instead.

8. Take multiple shots

Take several photos of each area of the home from different angles to ensure you have plenty of options. It’s possible that not all your smartphone photos will turn out great, so having a couple of options from each angle will help you if one or two shots don’t work out the way you wanted them to.

Additionally, you’ll want to include more than one photo in your real estate listings. Homes with a single photo spend an average of 70 days on the market, while listings with at least 20 images sell within one month. Taking multiple shots may help you sell properties faster.

4 Tips for Shooting Real Estate Photography with a Professional Camera

If you’re going to use a professional camera to take website, social media, or listing photos, follow these tips to ensure you get the best shots:

1. Choose the right camera

The first step is to choose a camera that’ll work best for real estate photography. Here are some specifications to look out for:

📸 Camera body: Choose a DSLR or mirrorless camera with a good resolution of at least 20 megapixels.

📸 Lens: Look for a wide-angle lens (16 to 13mm or similar), as this is essential for capturing entire rooms and making spaces look larger. Consider a tilt-shift lens for reducing distortion.

📸 Tripod: Invest in a sturdy tripod for stable shots, especially in low-light environments.

📸 External flash: An external flash or speedlight can help provide additional lighting without harsh shadows.

📸 Remote shutter release: This is typically a remote control or button that allows you to take photos without handling your camera. This is useful for reducing camera shake when taking photos.

2. Use proper lighting

Like smartphone photography, you should plan to take shots of the property during the day to maximize natural light. Again, open curtains and blinds to let in as much light as possible.

If you can, brighten darker areas with a combination of ambient lighting and an external flash. You should avoid using only overhead lights, as they can cast unflattering shadows.

You may want to consider taking sunset or twilight photos of the property, especially if it’s surrounded by attractive scenery. Listings with a twilight image as the main photo averaged 76% more views than listings without twilight images.

3. Choose the right camera settings

To get the perfect shot, you need to choose the right settings on your camera. Here are some guidelines:

⚙️ Aperture: Use a small aperture between f/8 and f/16 for a deep depth of field, ensuring the entire room is in focus.

⚙️ ISO: Keep the ISO low (between 100 and 400) to reduce noise and maintain image quality.

⚙️ Shutter speed: Use a slow shutter speed if necessary, but ensure your camera is on a tripod to avoid motion blur.

⚙️ White balance: Set the white balance according to the lighting conditions for accurate color representation.

⚙️ Use HDR mode: As mentioned above, HDR mode helps balance exposure in high-contrast areas such as rooms with large windows.

4. Use photo editing software

If you can afford photo editing software, it’s a worthwhile investment as it can help you improve and enhance your photos for even better quality.

Homes featuring professionally edited photos receive 47% higher asking prices per square foot. 

Professional editing software like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop is ideal for post-processing, which is when you edit photos after taking them. These tools allow you to make basic adjustments, ensure the colors are accurate, and correct any distortion. 

How to Hire a Professional Real Estate Photographer

Real estate listings that include professional photography sell 32% faster than those that don’t. 

Additionally, listings with professional-quality images close between $934 and $116,076 higher than similar listings with low-quality photography. This is why hiring a professional photographer is worthwhile if you can afford it.

Real estate photographers typically have the professional equipment and expertise to shoot real estate pictures that pack a punch.

But how do you find the right professional photographer to take high-quality photos? Follow these tips:

👉 Do your research and ask for referrals

Ask colleagues, friends, or other real estate professionals for recommendations for professional photographers. Referrals from people you trust are the best way to find someone who knows what they’re doing.

You should look for photographers with positive online reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, or photography websites.

You can find photographs on online marketplaces and platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Thumbtack, and Bark. You can also check professional photography websites like SmugMug, Zenfolio, and Behance.

👉 Look for specific experience

It’s best to choose a photographer who specializes in real estate photography. This is because they’ll understand the nuances of shooting properties and highlight their best features.

Even better, try to find a photographer who is familiar with your local market, as they may understand what appeals to buyers in your area.

👉 Evaluate their work

Once you’ve found some photographers you’re interested in, ask to see their portfolios. This will help you ensure their style aligns with what you want. 

When viewing a portfolio, look for consistency in their work and determine if their attention to detail is good enough for real estate photography.

Check portfolios for clear, well-composed images with good lighting and color representation. Ensure their portfolio includes a range of property types and sizes, demonstrating their versatility and adaptability.

Look for well-staged rooms, balanced compositions, and photos that highlight the unique features of the properties they’re shooting.

👉 Discuss services and packages

Once you’ve found a photographer whose work you like, contact them to inquire about their packages and pricing. Some photographers offer comprehensive packages that include interior, exterior, aerial, and twilight shots.

You may want to ask them if they offer any additional services like shooting virtual tours, video walkthroughs, drone photography, or floorplans. Homes with drone photos or aerial photos sell 68% faster, so these additional services can help you improve your listings and get more scheduled viewings.

Additionally, you’ll want to confirm that their services include post-processing and editing. Professional editing can significantly enhance the quality of the final images, as discussed above.

👉 Set expectations

Meet with the photographer you’ve chosen and discuss an expected timeline for the shoot and the delivery of the edited photos. Ensure that this aligns with your schedule for marketing the property—you don’t want delays when you have a specific date that a listing needs to go live.

Next, develop a detailed shot list of any specific requirements or features you want the photographer to highlight. It’s a good idea to do a walkthrough of the property as you make this list.

👉 Review and approve

Typically, a professional photographer will send you an initial set of photos so that you can provide them with feedback. This is when you’ll want to ensure the photos meet your expectations and the specific details you’ve agreed on.

Now is the time to request any revisions or edits you require. Most photographers offer a limited number of revisions as part of their service, so ensure you give them all your feedback before they start editing your shoot.

👉 Consider a long-term relationship

It can be hard to find good real estate photographers, so when you find one that you like, consider establishing a long-term working relationship with them. 

You may even receive discounts on future photoshoots if you form a partnership with a good photographer.

Remember, if you’re satisfied with their work, it doesn’t hurt to leave them a positive testimonial about it online.

Elevate Your Real Estate Business with Paperless Pipeline

If you’re using high-quality images in your listings, on your website, and in your social media posts, you’ll soon start generating new leads for your agents.

As you start receiving new transactions, you need the right tool to ensure you can manage them and that no deals fall through due to misplaced documentation or missed deadlines.

Paperless Pipeline is purpose-built transaction management software designed to help you automate and simplify the real estate transaction process.

Our powerful software has been created to help brokers, real estate agents, and transaction coordinators ensure that the transaction process runs smoothly from listing to closing.

Visit our website to learn more about Paperless Pipeline and to get a 14-day free trial. We won’t ask for your credit card details, not even for setup.