Most Common Real Estate Photography Mistakes

Not all real estate photographers are the same. Take a look at magazines like Architectural Digest or Good Housekeeping and you will see quality pictures of homes. Why not expect similar quality for your listings? Sure, you are not working with huge budgets and a multi person crew for your real estate photography, but that does not mean you have to settle for images that are just “good enough”. There are many common mistakes made by inexperienced photographers that can easily be avoided. Here are some of the most common mistakes.

Light temperature is measured in Kelvin. Daylight on a sunny day is around 5600K where tungsten (incandescent) bulbs are around 3200K. Daylight is more blue where tungsten is more orange. There are also many other types of lights used inside homes including LED, Fluorescent, Halogen and the vintage style (Edison) bulbs. Every type of lighting puts off a different color light. Understanding light temperature, camera settings and how to process for mixed light is vital in getting accurate interior colors.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography is a process of blending under, over and correctly exposed images to help preserve the details in the shadows and highlights. Although the HDR is widely used in real estate photography, HDR is not the most accurate way of shooting and processing interior images. HDR tends to oversaturate colors, make the walls and ceilings look “smokey” and gives an overall surreal look to the images, rather than what it looks like in person. There are other blending techniques or use of multiple flash units they give a much better result.

Keystoning is the sloping effect on walls from the camera not being level. There are three ways to prevent keystoning. The easiest way is to make sure your camera is level when shooting the image. There are also tilt/shift lenses that will allow you to have the camera tilted, but correct for the angle by tilting the optics separately from the camera body to correct for the angle. Keystoning can also be corrected in the editing process, but does have its limitations. By correcting in editing, it either stretches or squishes the images to compensate for the changing angles.

Over saturation in colors, especially the orange in cabinets and wood floors is a very common mistake in real estate photography. Although it is a simple fix in editing, it’s one that many photographers overlook.

Other Common Photography Mistakes

Blown out windows where little to no details can be seen outside

Poor angle choices that make rooms look smaller than they are

Incorrect camera height to properly show the space

Use of a single flash that only lights the foreground

Not moving simple items like trash cans, pet toys, etc.

All of the above mistakes can be avoided by using a photographer that understands lighting, camera settings, composition and image editing.

The Red Tail Difference

Here at Red Tail Photography, our approach is about quality, not quantity. We strive to create the highest quality images for every property to ensure they stand out from the competition and attract the most potential buyers. We start by using Nikon professional camera bodies and lenses. Then dependingon the house and available light, we determine what if any additional lighting is needed.Once photographed, every images is individually edited utilizing different blending techniquesand software to get the highest quality, most accurate results possible.

We also understanding we are representing the agents that hire us, and our professionalism is a direct reflection on their business. We are always professional in our appearance and our interactions with the homeowners.

Click HERE to see our full services and pricing.

The Eight Second Rule Of Marketing.

In todays visual world, you have less than 8 seconds to capture the attention of your online audience. This is not only true with websites, but with MLS listings as well.

So what does this mean as a Realtor?

As a listing agent you have multiple jobs and ever changing listings you are selling. Not only are you trying to sell your listings, but you are trying to build your “brand” (you are the Realtor to use). With most home buyers start their search online and many home sellers looking at similar home listings in their neighborhood that are for sale prior to deciding to list their home, your active listings must stand out from the competition. Having your listings staged and professionally photographed is a must in todays market. Some might say in todays market the listing will sell even with cellphone photos, which may be true, but how is that building your brand? Is that showing you are professional in your marketing? Does it show you have the sellers best interest in mind and you will go the extra mile to get them the most viewings and highest price? If another upcoming seller sees your listing online with poor quality pictures compared to other homes that were professionally photographed, do you think that home owner is going to contact you to list their home. The answer to all those questions is absolutely NO! To grow your business and bring the highest price for your listings, you must have professional quality photos! With the average seller paying out $20k-$30k in commissions and the average cost to have those listings professionally photographed $150-$200, that is less than 1% of the commission going towards the marketing of the average home, and the photography is a tax write off for the listing agent.

Drone Photography - Should I or Shouldn't I?

The use of drone photography is becoming more prevalent in the marketing of homes, but it should not be used on every listing. The object behind every listing is to drive the most potential buyers to view the property which then brings the highest price. I have recently seen more and more listings of smaller homes on small lots having drone photography, which I don’t understand. Showing how close homes are together and how many vehicles are parked on the streets does not benefit the listing. In fact, it is more likely to show things that will turn potential buyer off then give them a reason to view the listing in person. Drones are great for showing homes on large lots, ranches, bare land, homes with view or back to a green belt or if the homes sits on a hillside and you need to get up higher in order to get a good shot, but not much else. I own a drone and have my FAA part 107 license to legally fly a drone. If you have a property you are thinking about having aerial photography done of, give me a call. I gladly pull the property up on Google Earth and give my opinion if having aerial shots would be beneficial or not.

I've Been A Realtor, So I Do Understand

I have been shooting architectural photography since the mid 80’s and real estate photography since about 2006. Although my photography experience far exceeds most other real estate photographers, what I feel helps me more then my photography experience is, I’ve been a Realtor so I understand the listing agents side of the business more than other real estate photographers. I have not had my license in over 10 years, but I have been a license Realtor in both California and Utah. The experience I gained helping buyers and sellers has given me a greater understanding of how to market homes to attract the most potential buyers. Along with my real estate photography, I also shoot for several advertising agencies and work directly with other businesses creating images to improve their online marketing. That work can be seen on my commercial site Red Tail Photography . Real estate photography is not just about getting good pictures of the home. It’s also about showing how the rooms flow and setting the mood so potential buyers have an emotional response when they see the images. You want potential buyers to get excited about the house. The images should make potential buyers feel like they could see themselves living there prior to them seeing it in person.

The Power of Editing

A long time client in El Dorado County called me last week in regards to a listing that they were not getting much action on. She did not want to do a full twilight shoot on the exterior of the house, but wondered if I could somehow edit the original image of the front of the house to look more dramatic. I knew I could make it more dramatic, but wondered if I could turn a complete daylight image into a twilight image. Not only was I able to turn it into a twilight, but it raised the ranking on the MLS (based on views) to the number one spot! Below is the original image and the same image after editing into a twilight.

Why Planning & Preparation Matters

One of my shoots last week was for a new client that had a property listed, but was not getting many showings. They contacted me reshoot all the interior images that another photographer had shot and to do some dramatic images to improve their online presence. For me “dramatic images” that meant twilight images. I wish I could say everything went a planned, but I never know what to expect when arriving at a new location. They had given me the lockbox code and I was not met by anyone at the location, so everything was left to me to create the final images. I always arrive early to twilights to make sure all lights are working and everything is in order. My first obstacle was the control panel for the pool had combination lock on it, which they had not given me the combination to. With a couple of calls, I was able to get the combo and turn on the lights and water features on the pool. Next there were multiple lights not working on the front of the house, so I had to improvise and move some interior lights that were not needed for the shots to the exterior. They were not the same types of lights, so I knew that would mean additional editing to get them all to match, but it was my only choice. End results, the client was very happy. The new had images gave them better marketing of the property witch led to an excepted offer less than a week later!

twilight real estate photography

Vacaville Real Estate Photographer

Pool Twilight - Vacaville Real Estate Photography

Vacaville/Fairfield/Napa Real Estate Photography

Red Tail Photography is moving towards the north bay! We are still serving Sacramento and El Dorado Counties, but are now expanding into Vacaville, Fairfield, Napa and the surrounding areas. Booking are now available, so give us a call or email to schedule your next photo shoot...

Vacaville Real Estate Photography

Vacaville Twilight Real Estate Photography

Sacramento Real Estate Photography

Fairfield Real Estate Photography

Keystoning and Lens Distortion

One of the most common mistakes I see in both real estate photography and architectural photography is what is commonly know as keystoning. This is the perspective issue that causes vertical surfaces (walls) to look like they are leaning. The is usually caused when the camera sensor (or film plane) is not on the same angle as the subject. By keeping your camera perfectly level is one way to avoid this. There are times when you can not have your camera perfectly level, maybe when a house is on a light hill and you are downhill from it. You do not have a choice but to look up at the house. In this situation, there are two options to deal with the situation. The first way is with what is called a perspective control lens, or tilt-shift lens. This gives you the ability to change the angle of the lens, without moving the camera body, to correct for the keystoning. Though this is the best way to correct for the problem, perspective control lenses are very expensive and do not come in ultra wide angles. The second way, and most common is in the post processing. In programs like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, you can change the angles to fix any keystoning. Below is an example of keystoning along with what the images should look like with all angles correct. 

Red Lines Show Incorrect Angles

Luxury Real Estate Photography

Real Estate Photography White Balance

I always amazes me how many real estate images have terrible color. Some times it is do to images being processed in HDR (High Dynamic Range), but most the time the images were just not color corrected. A lot of photographers are doing HDR real estate photography, which is okay, but does not give accurate colors. The problem is due to different color temperatures from different light sources. Most common is a yellow/orange color from tungsten lights, but you can also get a green tint from fluorescent lights, or blue from daylight. There are several different ways of dealing with color temperature. There are color correcting filters that can be added to the light sources, or your lens. Accessories like the ExpoDisc can be used to set custom color temperatures in your camera, but is very time consuming. Color meters can be used to measure the color temperature, but they are very costly. The most efficient way of dealing with incorrect color temperature is by correcting it in post processing. This process can also be assisted by placing a color calibrator (X-Rite ColorChecker Passport) in the scene, but is not necessary. Below is a sample of what a typical tungsten lit scene looks like out of the camera, and what it looks like after color correcting in post processing.  

Granite Bay Real Estate Photographer

Twilight Real Estate Photography

Twilight Real Estate Photography

Twilight images are a great way to make your listing stand out on the MLS. When done properly, they add dramatics to the house and landscape that you can not get during the day. The key to getting a great twilight shot is balancing the house and landscape lights with the sky. Shot too early and you lose the dramatics from the house lighting. Shot too late and you lose the blue in the sky. 

Real Estate Photography

Not every twilight image needs dramatic landscape lighting. A beautiful sunset as the backdrop can set the mood and create the dramatics in an image. 

El Dorado Hills Real Estate Photography

The Golden Hour of Real Estate Photography

The first and last hour of light each day is know as the "golden hour". This is when the light is the softest and the colors are the richest. Although there is a small window of time, it is a great time for shooting real estate. With no harsh shadows and vibrant colors in the sky make for beautiful images.

Cameron Park Real Estate Photography

Exterior Real Estate Photography