Welcome to the first post in a new series focused specifically on real estate photography (and video)! In this series I’ll be covering everything from preparing a space for a photo shoot, some technical and behind the scenes stuff, as well as ways to get your properties to stand out in an often crowded market. So let’s get started.
Using Editorial Style Photographs to Market a NJ/NYC Area Property
Mix of natural light and strobe, interior lights off, tighter shot. Obviously, its All about the view Here.
If you’ve spent a lot of time scrolling through listings recently, you might start to notice a trend. Super wide shots taken from the farthest distance possible, at an angle. The idea being make the rooms look as big as possible, but often these images look a bit distorted and unnatural. When potential buyers show up, they might be thinking “this place looked a lot bigger in the pictures,” even if they are in a pretty large home. Here’s the thing. How often does anyone stand at the farthest corner of a room? Could it be more appealing if the viewer was getting a more realistic sense of the space?
What I like most about this image: Gives the viewer a good sense of the flow between rooms.
So what do I mean by editorial style? If you flip through the pages of just about any design magazine (or scroll through their Instagram feed), you’ll see tighter shots and more use of natural light. If off camera lighting is used, it is usually undetectable (thats a good thing!), and most of the time the interior lights will be off. You’ll also see a lot more one point perspective shots, sometimes referred to as ‘straight on.’
One point perspective kitchen shot.
Using editorial style photos for listings has started to become popular just across the Hudson, in the New York City real estate market, but you don’t have to be listing a 15 million dollar penthouse to use some editorial style photographs for your marketing. Adding even just a handful of these shots could help your listings stand out and attract more clients. They are especially good for sharing on social media.
Interior lights off - this home had fantastic natural light.
You might be thinking, these are nice and all, but you can’t see the entire room, and we need to see the entire room. I agree, and luckily there are ways to show an entire space without things looking super wide, distorted and unnatural. Having the camera at the right place, and the right height, is important.
What i like most about this image: shows the entire space without an awkward angle.
Take the image above for example. I could have stood in the corner to the right and shown even more of the wall to the left, but the angle would have distorted the table, making it appear really large, and it would eat up a lot of the visual space in the foreground of the image. With this shot, you can see how large the kitchen is while still getting a realistic sense of what it might be like to walk through these rooms.
One of my favorites: the moody afternoon light in this image gives the viewer a sense of the character of this beautiful home in short hills, nj.
Real estate shoot meets design shoot.
Every photo I’ve posted here was taken at a listing shoot. Don’t worry, I’ll get those wider shots, but I love getting the ones that really show more of the personality of a home. And often, I’ll see them being used as a lead image in the listing or Instagram post.
Interested in working together? Let’s discuss how great photography can help set your listings apart and better define your brand a a real estate professional. Photo and video services for real estate are currently available in NYC, Jersey City, Hoboken, Hudson, Essex, Bergen, Union, and Counties. For neighboring counties, availability varies, please inquire.