The Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Photo Editing for Beginners
Let us take a step back and ask the question where do the photos of these houses in magazines or websites come from? Surely a photographer captured them and placed them there to real estate businesses can start advertising. The number of buyers and sellers of properties are tantamount to people buying basic needs, making it a huge market for real estate companies and photographers alike. So, here’s the thing, photography is a career you can grow into and there will always be a market for real estate photos.
Table of Contents
This photo editing ultimate guide will walk you through what you need to begin your career as a professional real estate photographer, what equipment you need to invest on, and what techniques you can use. The real estate photo editing guide will be an important part of the journey as this sets apart most of the photographers from one another.
What You Need
Every dream begins with the first step, and this is creating a plan. Going to the camera store with no idea of what you will buy might just cost you more than what you actually need so preparing a list of things to buy can set you off properly on this journey.
- The right DSLR Camera – Your main investment will be a good camera. This is where every other thing you need to buy will revolve around and surely as you go along you will realize that accessories will matter.
- A tripod – While stability might not be your hands’ best assets for now, consider investing in a high-quality tripod to capture steady photos. You can always train your hands to be strong enough to withstand trembles.
- An extra battery – As a beginner the learning curve will definitely be steeper, and photo shoots may take longer as you continue to build your skills and confidence. Having said this, your camera will likely be running longer than the battery life and an extra battery will definitely save you from abruptly ending your shoot.
- A camera bag – There are advantages of getting a camera bag over any other bags you might find. Consider getting a camera bag for the added protection it provides for your equipment. Bringing around your camera and accessories expose it to possibilities of being hit and damaged hence, the right camera bag can pad and protect your gear. Also, camera bags come with organizations custom made for your equipment, making it easier to store and retrieve.
- Real estate photo editing software – No editing is complete without a software. If you are still at the phase where long-term software subscriptions are too expensive, try taking it month on month until you are ready to get that annual deal.
Editing Tips for Beginners
This realty editor guide will take you through the basic tips and techniques you can play around with to find your own creative style. Note that some techniques are foundational and are very powerful to attract potential buyers, so always put yourself in their shoes when doing the editing.
- The lighting and time of day impacts the outcome of your photos. Take a moment to determine what time of the day the sun will be brightest if you are after a very bright ambiance. Conversely, find out what time in the afternoon if you are looking to avoid the sun and use your flash equipment instead. In this photo editing ultimate guide, we emphasize light as the main area of focus to revolve your editing around on.
- Pay attention to colors and how warm they appear. When editing, try to put yourself in the room and visualize how a realistic set of eyes will perceive the colors in the room. Editing a photo that looks too saturated will put off potential buyers as the room or property will look like an eyesore. Making it too warm will eventually make it look like a photo from the 50s and turn off people who are looking for contemporary properties.
- Have an eye out for perspectives as some lenses or angles will tend to create curves along edges. It may seem as if photos will look normal and straightened out after you have taken them, but take extra caution when using wide angle lenses or wide zooms as these tend to compromise perception for periphery.
- Using preset filters might also be an option if you are overwhelmed by all the tools available. Start by selecting what tone and feel you want your photo to achieve and apply the filters to the photos. After all, this real estate photo editing guide would want to set you on your way towards success even if we start with baby steps.
- Layering of multiple shots taken with multiple exposures may also help you in achieving a stunning mixture of lights in one photo. If you are able to get your hands on an HDR (or a high dynamic range) camera, then the possibilities have just skyrocketed for you. And HDR can help you with the layering and stacking technique where the best parts of each photo appear in different takes of the same photo. It will require some form of combining for you to achieve the best photo but nevertheless it is a technique worth exploring.
- Rounding up the photo editing ultimate guide is the concept of basic retouching. The excitement of editing photos is well and good, but keep in mind that basic retouching will give that extra kick of vibrance to your photos. Basic retouching means removing the small unwanted blemishes in the photo, making it look immaculate. This is not considered as deception as long as the items you remove can be physically removed later on, and they do not constitute anything that will mislead buyers.
Conclusion
Doesn’t a career in real estate photography look exciting? The possibilities are endless when it comes to the real estate market and looking for opportunities to work with people in this field keeps on growing. Learning the basics in this real estate photo editing guide hopefully springs you from your chair and gets you into action. Eventually, you can learn the different combination of techniques to build your own style and build your name in the world of real estate photography.
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