The Best Real Estate Photography Tips for The Bay Area
Real estate photography in the San Francisco Bay Area is unique due to the history and style of the Bay Area’s buildings. We have an incredibly unique set of architectural types ranging from the old Queen Anne and Italianate buildings to the Monterrey Revival houses in San Fran’s garden suburbs and the many Marina family homes dotted throughout the Bay Area.
In real estate photography, a picture is literally worth a thousand words and can be worth many more dollars as this is the real selling point of a property. The images of a property are what bring in potential buyers to investigate in person, or in some cases, to buy a property sight unseen. With such a pivotal role in the sale of real estate, it is important that the right photos are taken that show the best side of a property and allow potential buyers to see themselves in that space.
Use a Wide-Angle Lens
If you are doing real estate photography, you are going to need to use a wide-angle lens. This is because you want to capture as much detail as possible and highlight the flow from room to room throughout the house. A wide-angle lens generally captures an angle between 64° and 84° which, in many of the properties found throughout the Bay Area, is a must-have since you will be dealing with small and tight interior spaces that just can’t be captured with a regular lens without making the space feel cramped.
Anything between a 24mm and 35mm lens will work, like the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM. Putting in some time to research a range of different lenses and find what you particularly like is the best way forward.
Tripods Are Your Best Friend
Tripods are a must-have for any photographer, however sometimes when we are in a rush to get to a location, we grab our camera but forget the tripod. I have also seen other photographers forego on a tripod thinking that it is optional, but for real estate photography, these things save you time shooting and give you the best HDR images. Quality images are easier to edit in postproduction and they capture light better, all of which is key for capturing the best side of a space.
Think About the Buyer’s POV
While every photoshoot should aim to capture core aspects of a space, you should also be taking some audience-specific shots as well. Consider who the property will be marketed to and who the likely buyers are going to be, and make sure to include shots of specific spaces in the house that will appeal to those people. Are they going to be obsessed with the amount of storage space? Will highlighting the extra guest room or reading room appeal to them? Where are kids going to play?
You can develop a set of questions that the average buyer is going to ask about the property and try and answer them with specific photos of the house.
And remember that your goal is to capture aspects of the space, not the stuff in the space. Buyers want to envision themselves and all of their belongings in the house so provide them with the template to do so that doesn’t focus on the previous owner’s belongings.
Use the Property’s Exterior Beauty to Your Advantage
The Bay Area’s real estate boasts over a hundred years of architectural history which is what shapes the character of each neighborhood. The specific property types found in this area of the West Coast can’t be found anywhere else in the country, such as the Queen Anne houses or the Gothic and Tudor revival styles from the 1920s. Many of the houses built in the early 1900s after the famous 1906 earthquake have left a lasting impression on the character of the Bay Area, and it can be captured perfectly in exterior shots of a property and the surrounding buildings.
You should also try to include exterior shots that capture any part of the amazing cityscape in the background, if possible. This is easier done using a drone but make a habit of checking if you can catch a glimpse of the bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Angel Island, or any other well-known feature that is sitting in the background which can frame the property and highlight its location and atmosphere.
Capture Some Feature Photos of Nearby Amenities
When people by a property, they are also buying the lifestyle that comes with the local geography and neighborhood. If there are any amazing or memorable places within easy driving or walking distance of the property, such as the vineyards and microbreweries of Santa Rosa and Sonoma County, or the art galleries, restaurants, and beaches of Sausalito, then make sure you take a few pictures of whatever is close by and include them in the collection.
The Bay Area is home to some of the best tourist attractions, parks, restaurants, and bars in the USA, and by showing potential property buyers what they have access to in their local area, you will be doing a great service to your client.
Be Quick and Efficient
Timing can mean everything in the real estate industry. It is important that you not only communicate with the agent so that you understand where their deadlines are but that you generally practice delivering your photos quickly so that you aren’t the one holding up the process.
Being able to quickly deliver your product involves combining all of the above tips, from having the right equipment, agreeing on the scope of work from the start, having enough time to be flexible in the face of unexpected interruptions, and streamlining your post-production process. Doing so will make you a superstar in the real estate industry.
Be Flexible with Your Time
Flexibility is what gives you the best chance to adapt to unforeseen circumstances like bad weather or interruptions to your schedule like unforeseen staging work. This is why it is generally bad practice to try and overbook yourself in a day, because when you arrive at a property for a shoot, you might not have the best natural light due to the weather.
Waiting for better lighting in the day, or having the freedom to reschedule quickly and easily, will allow you to come back as soon as the conditions are perfect without holding anybody up with your full schedule.
Quality Over Quantity
While you do want to include quality images that show every room of the house in great detail, you also don’t want to send hundreds of similar shots that cover a scene that can easily be shown with two or three images.
A well-curated collection of photos that efficiently conveys the feeling and space of the house and property will be better received by everyone involved rather than a large book of every photo you took. Being efficient as a real estate photographer and focusing on quality photos rather than the quantity of photos will make a huge impact on the end result.
Use a Formal Contract
We can start off this list of tips with a rather basic but particularly important practice to get in the habit of doing. As a photographer, I have designed my own standard contract to give to clients which I can then alter if needed so that everybody, including myself, is aware of the scope of work and the cost.
We always need to open a dialogue about what our responsibilities are going to be, because sometimes I might turn up to a property and find that there is cleaning that needs to be done, or that the house hasn’t been staged properly for me to start taking photos. Discussing this beforehand and agreeing on what kind of prep work is required lets me form an accurate quote and understand how long things will take.
Get Insurance
Insurance is a must for any professional photographer, and it’s not just to protect the equipment we have invested so much in. Professional liability insurance covers photographers for claims against their business, and since we are moving throughout somebody’s house and will most likely be moving things around to get the best shot, insurance will protect both me and my client against any unfortunate accidents should something break.
Without insurance, photographers can sometimes feel anxious or timid about how they move around the property which directly effects the quality of the shots. We do obviously need to take every step to avoid something bad from happening, but insurance gives us that extra bit of confidence to do our job right.