Techniques in Real Estate Photography

Written by: Larry M. Lynch • Edited by: Rhonda Callow
Published Jul 23, 2009 • Related Guides: Real Estate

Wherever you live, real estate photography can be a lucrative field. Buildings and property of all types need to be photographed to emphasize their best features. From high-rise office buildings to rental homes, cabins, condos, resorts and shopping centers, here's how to photograph real estate.

The World’s Tallest Building

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You can almost always tell a tourist to NYC. Why? It’s because when they get to West 33rd or West 34th street near the corner of Fifth Avenue, they start walking, crab-like, down the street near the curb, while constantly looking straight up. They’re trying to see the top of the Empire State Building, of course. You can’t see the top of the building from the street, but they keep looking anyway, that is until they bump into something. Native New Yorkers smirk at them, especially the ones who are trying to take photos. This building has to be one of New York City’s most photographed ones, dating back to its completion in 1931 in only one year and forty-five days, when it was officially declared the world’s tallest building.

Looking for a unique, profitable field to get some quick cash flowing your way? Why not delve into real estate photography? It can be lucrative no matter where you live and can vary greatly from one area to the next. No, you aren’t even necessarily limited to sales in the area where you live either. Here are some suggestions on how to get started and keep going in this often overlooked photographic field.

Photography of Real Estate Features

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Real estate photographers can be assigned to get digital images of a wide variety of buildings and architectural structures. In addition to the photos of houses and apartments published in magazines, brochures and real estate publications, there are distinctive features to be considered such as:

Location – is the property on or near a body of water – a stream, river or lake? Does it have a view? Is the location unique or special in any way?

Architectural style – is the building a particular architectural type such as Colonial, Spanish, Mediterranean, high-rise, Art Deco or modern?

Function – what specialized function might the structure have: residential, commercial, offices, etc.? The Empire State Building is designed to serve as an area lightning rod, so it gets struck by lightning more than 100 times each year.

Construction – is the building specially constructed featuring a particular material like: wood, concrete, glass, polished steel, masonry, adobe or stone?

History – does the edifice have a unique history attached to it? (Historic, religious, museum, sports, civic, associated with a famous person, time period or special event)

Photographs of Special Features

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Be sure to consider interior, exterior and close-up, detailed images of any special features of buildings like doors, roofs, windows, lawns, yards and interior arrangements, lighting, and safety features. Resort, inns, motel and hotel real estate consider resort themes, entranceways, foyers, reception, guest facilities, room interiors, elevators, garages, carports, gardens, fountains, driveways and access roads. For chalets, mansions, condominiums, vacation rental homes, you should provide photographic coverage of patios, gardens and leisure area spaces such as illustrated here at the George Eastman house. Townhouses, cabins, beach houses and bungalows might call for additional digital imagery of special construct materials in use, location or setting overviews and treatments of their interiors. Shopping centers and commercial real estate zones rely on location feature shots, walkways, passageways, parking areas, store entrances, maintenance areas and public facilities as part of their principal features.

Camera Equipment Needed for Real Estate Photography

For successful entry into real estate photography you’ll need to have good camera equipment which can cover a broad range of photographic situations. Most quality DSLR cameras have many of the required basic features, but in addition you might want to plan on photo equipment additions including:

Wide angle and fisheye lenses will be indispensable for very tall or extra-wide buildings or building features both exterior and interior.

Zoom and telephoto lenses for photography of architectural details indoors or outdoors on high ceilings, upper floor exterior abutments, entryways, window trim, windows, archways, ceiling trim and paintings, façades, etc. which cannot be accessed without a scaffold.

Lens filters for ultra-violet, hazy conditions, florescent or colored lighting, glare and reflections from shiny building surfaces.

Both on-camera and exterior or slave flash units for fill lighting, feature modeling and illumination of building features too distant for your on-camera flash unit.

Please continue on to page two, where you will learn tips and techniques on how to capture the best real estate photos, including suggestions on exposure settings, composition, and tips on breaking into the field of professional real estate photography.

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