Because the photo is the first contact of a potential buyer and also because it the universal support of a real estate ad, the agency Leforestier we invest a lot on our photo reports. They are the basis of a successful communication. Here are some basic principles we follow.
A successful report in 5 points:
- Quality material
- Adapted material
- Good practices on the spot
- The use of "HDR"
- Sorting and photo editing
1. Quality material
It goes without saying that making beautiful photos to sell your home requires quality equipment. Although smartphones now produce amazing photos, they are nevertheless limited by their small objectives, especially to capture all the light of a room. That's why a professional goal is needed.
The case will also have an important role, offering multiple possibilities on opening, speed and ISO.
Reminder of the basics:
- Aperture: This is the aperture aperture size of the lens. The more it's open, the more the camera will capture light. A large aperture gives a shallow depth of field on the rendering and conversely a small aperture gives a greater depth of field.
- Speed: This is the speed at which the shutter opens and closes, like a curtain that opens to let in light.
- ISO sensitivity: This is the case's ability to be more or less sensitive to light. This setting compensates for possible lack of light due to the settings mentioned above.
Finally the camera tripod is the essential equipment in real estate. To take the best photos of your home for sale, the tripod can be stable when shooting the shot and especially it allows a large opening to capture all the light, while avoiding a blurred image. In addition, it ensures to be at the right height and to be well horizontal compared to the plan. Too often we can see on real estate sites pictures taken too high or not right ...
The equipment of Leforestier agency
- Canon 600D, tripod manfrotto
- Canon 650D, tripod manfrotto
2. Adapted material
Maybe you have a reflex camera at home that can be used for photo reporting to sell your house? It will then be necessary to watch if you have the right objective. Many of these devices are sold with a standard lens because it is often the most expensive part of the camera equipment. For real estate you will need an ultra wide angle lens to be able to offer a view of the parts as close as possible to that of the human being. This is not a standard for all real estate professionals but it is at the Leforestier agency.
3. Good practices and a trained photographer
The habit does not make the monk, it is not enough to be well equipped to realize good photo report real estate. At the Leforestier agency, the entire team empowered to take on sales mandates followed a training course with a professional photographer (real estate specialist) on good practices to make a successful photo report.
4. The use of "HDR": High-Dynamic Range
The HDR photo is a pretty simple principle eventually. This makes it possible to capture all the light of a room or even outdoors. First, the camera's "bracketing" mode captures three different photos: Underexposed, moderately exposed, and overexposed. Then using editing software we can "compile" the three photos to get a single shot that will have optimal exposure based on these three photos. The effect is amazing ...
Photo with HDR
Photo without HDR
5. Sorting and photo retouching
Last but nevertheless long step to complete a photo report; sorting and editing. During the photo shoot it is best to take a maximum of photos from different view angles and not hesitate to change the basic exposure of the photo. A photo failed and you will be obliged to start the whole process so it is better not to be stingy on the shots. Then reprocessing is essential on the computer to keep only the best. There is no point in flooding the potential buyer with photos that look alike. Choose the best angle!
Once the photos are sorted we can proceed to photo retouching. Beware of the "fake" side of the photo! Pushing the saturation and contrast to the bottom accentuates the colors but you will disconnect from the natural. At the agency Leforestier the photo editing is to bring the final touch and can be compensated for the weather conditions on the day of the photo report (eg lack of light). Finally, it is necessary to export the photos to the optimal size to be published on the net. Not too small not to lose in quality, nor too big not to be penalized by the search engines due to a loading time too long.
Example of retouching:
