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.
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