Good real estate photos depend on a sophisticated way of working, a.k.a. the right workflow. After all, it’s about achieving the best possible result in a short time, using the right tools and techniques. The time factor is not only important for your own cost calculation, but also for the time effort on the side of owners or users of a property. The following report gives an insight into my workflow during a recent real estate photo shoot in the Southern German Allgäu region (in English also known as Allgovia or Allgau).
Professional Real Estate Photography
PrimePhoto takes professional images of architecture, interior design and real estate for agents and brokers, interior designers, architects, craft businesses and home owners. The photo studio is located in the metropolitan area of Berlin, Germany, but also serves clients all over Germany and even worldwide.
PrimePhoto also runs photo workshops, team-coachings and personal trainings, for real estate professionals who shoot their properties by themselves.
Read more about PrimePhoto ➜Current References
(German words but international images ☺ )
My Workflow: Real Estate Photo-Shoot in the Allgäu
Technical terms, that everyone should know (who photographs real estate)
When photographers speak tech, laypeople usually don’t have a clue what they are talking about. Well, photography is not just a creative process. It is often determined by sophisticated pieces of technology like camera, lens and some accessories. This is always accompanied by technical terms. Real estate photography in particular, with its special light and space conditions, is not only about the creative eye, but especially about the right technical solution to take realistic and still inviting images. For this reason, anyone who creates real estate photographs should try to understand the relevant vocabulary.
Here follows an explanation of general photographic terms that play a role in real estate photography. I will try not to flood these explanations with further technical jargon, but to keep them generally understandable.
Dream Combination for Real Estate Agent Photos finally there: Nikon Z 30 and Nikkor Z 12-28 mm
Smaller, lighter, cheaper and better image quality. The current dream combination for real estate professionals, consisting of camera and lens, has finally become true with Nikon* since the end of May 2023. The new couple Nikon Z 30 + Nikkor Z 12-28 mm combines all the technical and tactile characteristics that real estate agents expect from their equipment when it comes to produce their real estate photos by themselves.
They had to wait for a long time for this technology in this size and price range. Bit by bit, however, what has now come true was realized.
In this article you can read about the rocky road to this duo and find out what makes this dream combo so special.
Real Estate Photography produces Commercial Photos
For whom is Real Estate Photography Important?
There are several reasons for real estate photography. Real estate agents want to induce a successful sale of a property with great pictures. Moreover you as a real estate professional can use images of high tier properties for your own marketing. And thus show other owners that you will be their real professional partner. Some use real estate photos to illustrate market valuation judgements of properties. Others need them for any sales operation that starts from these premises. This applies to single realtors, but also to interior designers, home stagers and private sellers.
In addition to this my service is of great interest for those who own restaurants, hotels or office spaces. They’ll get appealing images of their location, too.
And of course construction firms profit from my professional real estate imagery. Any business from an architect’s office to a craft firm can use my great real estate photos for their advertising. I portray their current work to arouse interest on the client’s side. Also for them strong real estate pictures serve as a great reference for their business and present their competences.
But still: There are so many bad real estate images out there. Homepages, Facebook and real estate portals are full of negative examples. Their owners seem to forget that real estate images are commercial photos. To differentiate from these competitors I give the advice to hire a professional real estate photographer especially when it comes to your higher tier properties.
What Does Real Estate Photography with PrimePhoto Consist of?
Professional real estate photography means more than just shooting good pictures of houses, premises and interiors. PrimePhoto’s standard is to present these objects with all their advantages. Instantly these photographs become a handy and effective tool for the seller’s marketing. Professional real estate photography with PrimePhoto already starts before the shutter clicks the first time. On-site I show all my expertise and our eye for what will later make an impressive presentation and exploit my professional photo gear for strong images. My professional post production workflow in the studio then makes your digital images sing and produces extraordinary results.
What Makes a Good Real Estate Photo?
If you want to describe a real estate property with photographs, the reader of a property description expects that all relevant information on the structure and its surroundings will by directly visually transported. The real estate professional on the other hand wants to close the deal as soon as possible with the help of these images. That’s why any property has to be photographed in an attractive manner.
But it is always the whole package that should convince the buyer. For a residential property a complete set at least consists of a front view, maybe in portrait mode, and interior shots of the living space, bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom. More often than not these are completed by images of a balcony or a terrace, the garden, corridors, children’s rooms and details of shiny faucets, a fireplace or stucco elements.
Of course the real estate agent expects from the photographer that he produces tack sharp images and that the photographs are rich in contrast, without distortions or converging lines and that they are perfectly exposed. A professional photographer can also deliver special forms of image generation like elevated and panorama photography or real estate video. PrimePhoto feels obliged to these quality and product requirements with all their photography formats.
Is it Worth to Pay a Photographer for Real Estate Pictures?
From the economic point of view investments into professional photos of real estate properties of a lower six-figure sales value will pay off already. If you check accounts for the cost for producing the images on the one side and the saved time (there will be left more time for more business) and the perfect result (advantageous for maintaining the own image) on the other, this effect rises extraordinarily and affects your whole business model in a positive way.
What if I Want to Learn to Photograph Real Estate Objects myself?
This is another option, of course. But it requires some special knowledge that sits beyond everyday photography. Also the photography equipment should have a higher standard than usual. And you have to be aware that it takes time on-site and later on the computer to produce shining results. For real estate professionals who want to be their own photographers PrimePhoto offers a workshop, that teaches the basics of real estate photography. Learning photography with PrimePhoto is especially comfortable because I’ll come to your place and work in small groups or coach single individuals.
Real estate photography is a genre, which demands special skills, experience and professional equipment.
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