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In today’s digital, online market, knowing how to best photograph each room for real estate photography makes a huge impact in selling houses. Sharp, alluring images are needed to help a listing stand out and attract buyers to go see the home.
Knowing how to photograph each room for real estate is vital for compelling marketing!
In this post, you’ll learn the 6 most important rooms for real estate visual marketing and how best to photograph them.
How to Photograph Rooms for Real Estate
Before we go any further, let’s talk about some of the basics of how to photograph rooms in real estate photography:
1. Making the Most of a Room’s Perspective
No matter what room you are about to photograph, know how to seek out the best perspective:
- Use the room’s elements such as furniture, windows, and layout to create visual flow.
- In general, try to avoid large elements in the foreground that prevent the eye from flowing through the room.
Proper perspective and flow will make rooms looks spacious and welcoming.
2. Ensure That Your Verticals Are Correct!
Most interiors feature plenty of verticals — meaning the lines of the edges and corners of walls, door frames, and windows — and these lines need to truly be vertical for your photos to look great.
Here are some tips for getting your verticals right:
- Wide-angle lenses that are not level will make vertical edges converge or diverge and not appear straight.
- Try to level the camera — ensure it’s not tilting up or down — a level camera will record straight verticals.
- Height matters — a level camera at chest height can cut off foreground subjects and leave too much ceiling at the top.
- Lowering the camera height will help, but going too low will ruin your perspective in the room.
3. Lighting Is a Key Element
The correct lighting is essential for knowing how to photograph rooms in real estate photography.
Here are some basic considerations:
- Flash is the perfect tool. Master using direct on-camera flash to fill in a scene as well as bouncing on-camera flash for great results.
- Keep in mind lighting color temperatures and color balance — a concern when indoor lighting is combined with ambient outdoor lighting.
- Use both light sources — artificial lighting can result in finely lit portraits, while many interiors benefit from being bathed in natural, external lighting.
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4. The Advantage of Remote Triggers
Holding the camera in your hands — no matter how steady they are — easily leads to blurry photos.
Here is where remote triggers provide the advantage:
- Remote triggers let you take the shot without even touching the camera.
- This is important at low shutter speeds were even slightly touching the camera can lead to camera shakes and unfocused photographs.
An adjustable tripod and remote triggers go a long way in knowing how to photograph rooms for real estate marketing.
5. Prepare Each Room for Photography
Preparing each room ahead of time saves effort and leads to better results in your photography.
Send your clients a checklist for prepping the home before the photo session.
The list should include these basics:
- Cleaning all the surfaces in each room thoroughly
- Make sure each room is also uncluttered
- Placing personal items out of sight
- Minimizing distractions by making sure children and pets are cared for and occupied
Learning how to photograph rooms in real estate will lead to beautiful images.
And beautiful photographs invite buyers to take notice and visit the house. Conversely, poor photos lead to expired listings.
The 6 Key Rooms in a Home for Real Estate Photography
Now, let’s talk about the 6 most important rooms in real estate photography:
1. The Kitchen Is Room Central
The most important room in the home for real estate photography remains the kitchen.
Buyers consider this the focal point of the house, where meals are prepared and eaten, and where the company gathers.
Here are some ideas for the best possible photographs of this important room:
- Clear off all the counters — less is more
- Take all notes, magnets, and pictures off the refrigerator
- Hide the dish-cloths, sponges, and soap
- Make sure there are no visible dirty dishes
- Clean every surface, appliance, and the floors
- If you have under-counter lighting, use it
2. Bathrooms Help Sell Houses
Second in importance to the kitchen is the bathroom, especially the master suite bath.
Buyers recognize that bathroom renovations are costly and are looking for these to already be done.
Even if your baths have not been upgraded, you can still make them look their best.
Here’s how to do that:
- Make sure there are no visible tooth-brushes
- Put out a fresh soap bar, or better yet, a decorative soap dispenser
- Hide all cosmetics and personal items
- Hang fresh, lush towels on all the racks
- Place a full roll of toilet paper on the dispenser
- Clean everything, especially the toilet, and help it all sparkle
3. A Comfortable Living or Great Room
This room can go by a few names — the living, great, or family room — and it should look comfortable, inviting, and relaxing.
Follow these suggestions:
- Dust and vacuum everything
- Place a few decorative pillows on the furniture
- Check that all the lighting works properly
- Remove any excess furniture and clutter
- Make sure curtains, drapes or blinds are even and clean
4. A Relaxing Primary Bedroom
In the mind of many buyers, the primary or master bedroom is their sanctuary.
Therefore, know how to photograph this room to make it look relaxing, uncluttered, and comfortable.
Here are a few tips on how to best photograph this room for your real estate marketing:
- Remove all items from dresser tops
- Night-tables should have no more than a lamp and maybe a book
- Make sure all the lighting works and has bright enough bulbs
- The bed should be made properly and be as straight as possible
- Use a solid colored or minimally patterned duvet and accent pillows
- Make sure curtains or blinds are clean and straight
- Walk-in closets should be organized and well lit
5. An Inviting Dining Room
Many families use the dining room as a multipurpose room.
Because of this, many dining rooms often look like a library, project room, or even a computer room.
Declutter the room and follow these tips:
- The room should only have a table, chairs, and a hutch
- Less is more: Remove excess chairs and nick-racks
- A simply, yet elegantly set table can be impressive
- Flowers in a glass vase as a centerpiece is a plus
- Again, clean the entire room, and dust all the furniture
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6. The Exterior of the Home
The last room on our list isn’t a room.
The front and back yard are important in real estate photography because they provide the first impression of the home.
Follow these steps:
- Curb appeal starts with the front yard — make it look its best
- Rake leaves, clean the driveway, walkways, and the roof
- Curb appeal also includes the backyard — make sure it’s tidy
- Mow and edge the grass and fill in any bare patches
- Put all toys and tools away and out of sight
A couple of final considerations for how to best photograph rooms for real estate:
- Tour the house as an objective outsider. Notice any issues or things that look a little off.
- Ask the owners about any special features or spaces to also highlight. There could be other rooms in the home, such as a library, office, or large walk-in closet that you might want to also photograph.
Ensure That Your Real Estate Photos Are Truly Stunning
You don’t have to master real estate photography alone!
Let PhotoUp’s skilled real estate photo editors save you time and effort while improving your results.
We’re a global leader in socially responsible image editing for real estate photography and our detailed photo editing can be customized exactly to your needs.
We offer a full range of affordable and fast services including:
- Expert photo editing to deliver outstanding images
- Virtual staging to make any room look spectacular
- Single property websites to better showcase your photos and listing
- Virtual assistants and transaction coordinators to help you balance your workload
Get started with PhotoUp today, and let us help you make your real estate photography truly stunning!
We hope this post helped you learn how to best photograph rooms for real estate photography as well as which 6 rooms are the most important.
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