With the ‘Photographic Activities’ industry in the UK being valued at a whopping £1.8bn, it’s no surprise that photography hobbyists are starting to make careers out of estate agent photography.
The truth is, no one starts their photography journey knowing they want to become a real estate photographer. It’s something that many, like our team members, fall into along the way.
At Lens Media, every member of our team has been a beginner real estate photographer at some point in their career. Here’s some useful information and tips we wish we’d had when we started our careers — long before Lens Media came to be in 2011!
Read on for our guide to real estate photography for beginners.
What is real estate photography?
Real estate photography is a specialist type of photography, where the main goal is to capture the ambience and appeal of a residential or commercial property. These photos are then used on brochures, in-store print adverts, online, and on social media to promote the property and help it sell quickly or to the best buyer.
What are the benefits of being a professional real estate photographer?
The main benefit of being a real estate photographer is using your skills and talent to showcase the best a property has to offer.
Many property owners and estate agents can ‘talk the talk’ to sell a property, but not all have the photographic skills needed to really help prospective buyers visualise what life could be like in their future home.
Real estate photos are a first glimpse for buyers, so it’s important to get that first impression right. As a real estate photographer, you have the honour of making that first impression as good as can be — and it’s a very fulfilling role.
A day in the life of a real estate photographer
It sounds cliché, but no day is the same for a beginner real estate photographer. You’re constantly learning on the job, so some days can be more physical, whereas others will be spent editing and touching up shots.
Here’s an idea of what a typical day could look like for you:
- Morning: Equipment checks and travelling to the property location.
- Mid-morning: Walk-through of the property, positioning furniture and décor to enhance visual appeal, and note-taking for reference during the shoot, detailing any prime spots or aspects to omit.
- Midday: Shooting the property in all its glory!
- Afternoon: Post-shoot editing, such as adjusting colour, contrast, and sharpness for a professional look.
- End of the work day: Catching up with clients regarding future shoots, responding to queries, and signing off on any finished projects.
Obviously, as a beginner real estate photographer, your day may include a lot more shadow work, training, and editing, but it all depends! And that’s what makes it such an exciting job.
What kit do you need to be a real estate photographer?
We recently uploaded a blog on how to take professional real estate photos with any camera — but what if you’d like to get all the right kit first time so you’re extra prepared?
Here are the top pieces of equipment you should include in your kit as a beginner real estate photographer:
A full-frame camera
Full-frame cameras have larger sensors, which allow them to capture more light and detail, resulting in high-quality images.
They also have a wider field of view, which is ideal for capturing the full space and feel of a room in one shot. Their wide dynamic range is also excellent for capturing the intricate details of a property in highlight and shadow.
A tripod
When shooting real estate photographs, it’s essential to minimise movement as much as possible. Even the slightest shakes can result in blurry, low-quality images — a no-no for real estate marketing.
Tripods are a cost-effective and reliable way to support your camera, enhancing sharpness and quality simultaneously.
Polarising filters
Knowing how to work with light is probably every photographer’s struggle.
Polarising filters (also known as polarisers) are a type of filter that can reduce reflections, reduce glare from bright surfaces, and enhance saturation, allowing for a true representation of any space.
Wide-angle lens
We recommend having at least one wide-angle lens in your kit. They allow you to fit more of a room or area into one single frame.
By creating an appealing sense of depth in your shots, wide-angle lenses can really help prospective buyers imagine what the space looks and feels like, almost as though they’re in the room with you!
An external flash
Not every property comes with perfect lighting. In fact, they rarely do, so you’ll need to get creative with an external flash.
Property photography means you have to combat shadows, uneven light, and mixed-colour lighting, so an external flash can help create even and consistent lighting throughout all your shots.
Umbrellas
This photography lighting accessory is designed to work with your external flash. There are two types to choose from: shoot-through or reflective. Thankfully, either work for real estate photography.
Lighting umbrellas work by shaping and diffusing light. They reduce shadows and allow you to control exactly how you want the lighting to look and where it hits. You can either use them to bounce light back to a scene for more contrast and depth, or to shoot light through for a soft, diffused, and natural look.
Extra batteries
Last but definitely not least — spare batteries. You never know when you might need them. Always bring spares to a shoot, because you’ll regret it the day you don’t. Trust us!
If you’d like to be prepared for the future, it’s also well worth investing in high-quality video equipment and drones. Once you’ve nailed property photography, you can start to expand on your services with video and drone footage.
Our real estate drone photography service is incredibly popular as it gives an aerial view of the property — something that not many property adverts feature. The same goes for our property videography service, as it offers a room-to-room walk-through that many buyers appreciate.
Camera settings you need to know as a beginner real estate photographer
There are countless camera settings out there, but the most important thing is to nail the essentials first as a real estate photography beginner.
An essential: The exposure triangle
The exposure triangle represents how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO work together to control how much light reaches a camera’s sensor — this is also known as exposure. The most important thing to note is that changing one of the three will affect the other two, and therefore, how your image looks.
- Aperture: The size of the opening of your lens. It also creates the depth of field of your image. The lower the aperture, the shallower the depth of field.
- Shutter speed: How much light features in your shots.
- ISO: The sensitivity of your camera’s sensor to light. The higher the number, the greater the sensitivity.
Exposure mode
Every camera comes with exposure modes. They may have different names depending on the model, but the difference between each should still remain clear.
- Automatic: This is where your camera does all the work of the exposure triangle for you. In this mode, you can snap away and let your camera choose the right settings.
- Manual: Manual mode, or ‘M’, means you can adjust the settings to exactly how you want them.
- Aperture priority: You set the aperture, and your camera will adjust the rest.
- Shutter priority: The same, but different! You set the shutter speed, and your camera will manage the aperture.
LENS Media: North West and Yorkshire’s trusted property marketing experts
We hope you’ve enjoyed our ultimate guide to real estate photography for beginners! With so much to learn and experience, our best advice would be to see this career path as a journey, not a sprint.
We were all beginners once, and we hope our information and tips have given you a realistic insight into what we do. It takes a lot of learning as you go, and a lot of flexibility, but there’s nothing quite as rewarding as seeing your work in action and being the driving force behind a sale.
For more information about our estate agent photography services or to learn more about the different roles you can take on as a real estate photographer, get in touch with our friendly team, and we’ll be more than happy to chat.
