The demand for professional real estate photos is now stronger than ever, and you’d be wise to start thinking about adding real estate photography to your website’s services page. In this guide, we’ll have a look at some gear recommendations, how you can build a portfolio, as well as general guidelines when shooting real estate photos. So if you’re just about ready to break into the field, this quick-start guide for your real estate photography business can help you get your foot in the door and start producing amazing client work.

First things first, there are levels to this game. The best of the best, shooting luxury real estate, are charging thousands of dollars for real estate photography and video. We’re talking staging, models, drone video, editing, production and more.

Take this example, this is the house Minecraft’s creator, Markus “Notch” Persson, purchased for $70 million, outbidding famed power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z!

 

Most of us, however, will be starting out making $100-$500 for real estate photography per home depending on your area. And $70 million homes are few and far between, you’ll most likely be shooting homes priced around the median home sales prices for your area. Where most people just want photos… no need for drones, much less for a full production as shown above.

But that’s the beauty of real estate photography, it’s relatively simple. It’s all subjective, but much easier than portraiture in my eyes (my primary focus). Little interaction with clients, little variability from shoot to shoot. It’s the perfect niche to support your overall photography business. It’s competitive, yes, as most real estate firms now have their own photographers and such. But adding this niche to your portfolio could add a few hundred, to a few thousand dollars to your bank account at the end of the month.

And if you’re reading this post, you already have the camera. You most likely just need a lens appropriate for real estate photography…

What is the Best Lens for Real Estate Photography?

Let’s talk about gear for a second. More than your camera body, the lenses you use will make the most impact on your work. That’s why we’re going to dedicate a little section discussing what to look for if you’re deciding on investing on a new lens for real estate photography.

Primes vs. Zoom Lenses – I’d advise going for zoom lenses if you’re planning to buy a new ultra-wide-angle lens. You’ll often find yourself working with tight spaces when shooting real estate, so the versatility a zoom lens offers could mean the difference between getting the shot you want and dropping the composition you want altogether.

Which Focal Length? The great thing about zoom lenses is that you can cover a wide variety of focal lengths in just one lens. In saying that, how do you know just how wide do you need to go? In most “normal-sized” interiors, you can get the job done with a lens starting at 24mm. For detail, tighter shots, you should look for something that could go to at least 35mm. Then there are tighter spaces, such as small bathrooms, where you’ll need something that goes as wide as 14mm to 16mm.

Crop Factor –  Another consideration is what field of view you’re going to get with a lens, relative to your camera body. If you shoot full frame, then it’s pretty straight forward; you get exactly what the focal length says. For APS-C and micro four thirds sensors, there’s a little math involved:

For APS-C sensors, a crop factor of x1.5 is applied = A 14mm lens (14 x 1.5) will give a 21mm field of view.

For Micro Four Thirds sensors, a crop factor of 2x is applied = A 14mm Lens (14 x 2) will give a 28mm field of view.

Here are some lens recommendations for the most popular camera systems as well as some third-party options:

Canon

• Canon EF 16–35mm F/4 L IS — EF Mount (Full Frame/APS-C Canon DSLRs)
• Canon RF 15–35mm f/2.8 L IS — RF Mount (Full Frame Canon Mirrorless Cameras)
• Canon EF-S 10–18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM — EF-S Mount (APS-C Canon Cameras)

Nikon

• Nikon 14–24mm f/2.8 G — FX Format (Full Frame/APS-C Nikon DSLRs)
• Nikon Z 14–30mm f/4 S — Z Mount (Mirrorless Nikon Z Cameras)
• Nikon AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G — DX Format (APS-C Nikon DSLRs)

Sony

• Sony 12–24mm f/4 G — (Full Frame Mirrorless Sony Cameras)
• Sony 10–18 mm F4 OSS — (APS-C Mirrorless Sony Cameras)

Fuji

• Fuji XF 10–24mm f/4 R OIS – X-Mount (APS-C Fuji Cameras)

Micro Four Thirds

• Olympus ED 7–14mm f/2.8 PRO
• Panasonic 8–18mm f/2.8–4

Third Party Lenses

• Sigma 12–24mm f/4 HSM Art – (Available in Nikon, Canon mounts. Can be adapted to Sony E mount.)
• Tamron 15–30mm f/2.8 VC – (Available in Nikon, Canon mounts.)
• Tokina AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 PRO DX – (Available in APS-C Nikon, Canon mounts.)

There’s no real “best” lens for real estate photography, and it only comes down to what you need; more importantly, what you can afford. Hopefully the suggestions above helped you narrow down your choices for your next lens purchase.

How Do You Take Interior Pictures for Real Estate?

Now, assuming that you have a reliable tripod, a camera, and an ultra-wide-angle lens to get you started, we can move on to the actual picture-taking part of the job. How do you approach real estate photography if you’ve never done this before?

Nobody starts off great. That means you have the license to scan through hundreds of real estate photos and try to pick and choose what you like and what works, and then apply it in your photography. Finding good listing photos should be easy enough, so spend some time familiarizing yourself with the photos that have the style and direction that appeals to you the most.

Here are some tips and critical things to keep in mind when shooting real estate photos:

Inspect the Room Before Shooting – Give every room you’re shooting a quick once over. This allows you to pick out distracting items that could ruin your shot, such as brightly colored shampoo bottles, personal photos, etc. Making sure the room is clean and clutter-free before taking photos saves you a lot of time tidying up in post.

Secure Safe Shots – Get at least two wide-angle shots for every room in the property’s interiors. This usually means gunning for a couple of photos for the master’s bedroom, bathroom, living room, and so on. You can start by shooting from one corner of the room, and then move on to the opposite corner. By covering two corners of the same room, you’ll be able to showcase the entirety of the current room and how it connects to the next living area.

It’ll be better if you can ask for a list of rooms or features the client wants to cover to eliminate some of the guesswork in your shooting day.

Once you’ve secured your safe shots, you can now experiment with new angles. It’s at this point where you can also consider taking slightly tighter, detail shots of an asset you want to highlight, like a gorgeous mantelpiece, for example.

For your exterior shots, aim to get at least 3 to 5 strong images. Make sure to include the property’s front yard and backyard. If the property has nice outdoor features such as a patio or a pool area, then it’s best to allocate a couple more detail shots for these.

Shoot at Waist Level

Now, this rule isn’t set in stone, but as a beginner real estate photographer, you’d do well to start with waist level shots and adjust as the scene necessitates (such as when the property has high ceilings, or when there’s furniture blocking your composition).

The idea is that waist level shots will give your photos a good floor-to-ceiling balance in your frame. Shooting at eye level (or higher) will normally exaggerate the ceilings in your composition. Go lower than waist level and you’ll run the risk of showing more floor than you need to.

Mind Your Verticals

Delivering photos with skewed and distorted vertical lines is a cardinal sin in real estate photography. Messing up verticals in a shot not only looks unprofessional; it also miserably fails at connecting with your viewer’s imagined ideal home because slanting verticals trigger alarms in the subconscious which tell you something does not feel right.

To counter this, make it a habit to check for skewed verticals in your shots and adjust as necessary. See if your camera is tilting up or drooping down; set it so that it’s perfectly straight on. A good, sturdy tripod with a bubble level will plant your camera securely on the floor and help a lot with leveling your camera. Most cameras today have electronic levels so don’t forget to consult it as well.

Messed up lines in your photos could be remedied by your editing software, but only to a certain degree. It’s always better to get it right in camera!

How do I Get Started with Real Estate Photography?

Now that most of the technical stuff is out of the way, let’s talk about your portfolio. There’s no getting around this. You need a body of work to show potential clients what you can bring to the table. Building a strong portfolio will be your “in” and it’ll teach you all the skills you need to further your real estate photography career.

I realize it’s the classic catch-22 in every creative field; how can you put your book together if you don’t have any paying clients? How could you land your first real estate photography gig without a portfolio to show for?

Building your Real Estate Photography Portfolio

Starting your real estate photography portfolio might be easier than you think. Well, it’s at least easier than finding willing non-model friends to star in your mock editorial shoot. For real estate photos, you only need permission to shoot someone else’s home.

Start with Your Home

Shooting your very own interior and exterior has many benefits. First, it’s readily available for you to shoot; you might just need to do some minor cleaning and decluttering. Second, there’s zero pressure and you can get a good feel for the job with ease.

No matter how “boring” you think your place is, you’d have to figure out how you’ll come up with a solid album that showcases a property’s strongest assets to potential buyers. That’s the job, after all.

Shoot your Friends and Family’s Property

After getting at least 5 good photos from your own home, it’s time to move on to your friends or family’s properties. Your own living space had been easy. It’s the environment you’re most familiar with, so you should now aim to flex your creative muscles even further by taking on your buddy’s bungalow and producing stellar work.

Approach Real Estate Agents

You should be more than comfortable with the whole process by now. If you’re happy with the photos you’re getting with the first two homes you’ve shot so far, then you’re ready to make some calls.

Start approaching local real estate agents and get to pitching. Scout for open houses in your area and see if you can spot listings that could do with better real estate photos. If you know realtor friends, even better!

Now you might have probably guessed where we’re going with this. It’s one of the most polarizing topics out there for budding photographers. Should you or should you not work for free?

I’m in the latter camp. But only on the condition that you should be 100% confident that the photos you’ll get out of that property will take your portfolio to the next level. Higher-priced properties will be often professionally staged, which makes padding your portfolio with client-ready shots that much easier.

Remember: you’re going to work for free anyway, so be sure to make the most out of it and aim for nicer property listings in your area.

Think of this stage in your portfolio-building as a practice round. You should be able to get a taste of what’s it like to plan your shots to cover the essential parts of the property and just get comfortable with how a real estate shooting day will usually go. It’ll also help you build soft skills such as cold-calling and building relationships with home-owners and realtors.

Getting Real Estate Photography Clients

Once you’ve completed your first real estate photography portfolio, and have built enough confidence through continuous practice working on said portfolio, then you’re ready to start taking your first paid gigs.

The first thing you can do is to ask around friends and family for a realtor they may personally know and ask for referrals. Word of mouth is still as powerful as it was a hundred years ago, and it’s just as effective as a marketing tool for real estate photography.

Another way to get the ball rolling is to start browsing through real estate listing websites and picking out listings with shoddy iPhone photos. You’ll of course charge a fair fee this time, but the key is to sell yourself and backup your expertise with your freshly finished portfolio. Going this route will involve a lot of cold-calling and cold-emailing, and the trick is to keep it personal and always include a link to your work so they can get a good idea of what you can bring to the table. Tip: When meeting potential clients in person, bring an iPad or any tablet device where you can easily show off your work.

From your first few paid gigs, make sure to have your clients leave you reviews on Google and Yelp, that will arguably be your biggest source of leads.

You’ll also want to make sure people will be able to find you when searching for a real estate photographer. Setup a dedicated webpage with your portfolio and implement all the SEO basics, including setting your title tag, here’s mine:

Real Estate Photographer in Vancouver, WA

Shifting careers or entering a new industry and progressing through the ranks may not always be as quick and easy as we want it to be. But with the demand for professional real estate photography on an all-time high for the last 5 years, it’s only a matter of time till you get the ball rolling. With enough patience and portfolio-polishing here and here, you’ll surely grow your network with high-value clients and regular realtor friends who’ll always have the next project for you on the horizon.