The term ‘photography’ is synonymous with ‘writing or playing with lights.’ Therefore, in real estate photography, it’s imperative to understand and use the potential properties of light to click great shots of a property. Light while clicking pictures is not limited to just the exposure. A good exposure might do the trick, but the proper lighting makes your photos distinct and they stand-out from the rest. A photographer needs to understand the science of light to take advantage and control the light according to their requirement. The basic understanding of the different components helps in fine-tuning the creative expression, which results in fantastic listing photos.
The 3 essential properties of light real estate photography:
1) Quantity of light
When you walk into a room, where you will snap a photo, how much light is present? When you enter an overly lit room, you’re bound to cover the eyes because the intensity of light is in excess. Similarly, on entering a dim lit room, everything would be underexposed. You might have to squint your eyes to understand and visualize the surroundings. A real estate photography camera works similarly. The only difference being that unlike human eyes, which adapts to the changing light condition, the photographer controls the quantity of light using shutter speed and aperture. Therefore, when clicking a house photo on a bright sunny day, keep the shutter speed high and lower the aperture. It will ensure that the images are not blown out. In short, the intensity or the quantity of light will determine the vibe of the property photo.
2) Quality of light
As a photographer, you cannot perceive the quality of light as discreetly as the quantity. The quality is dependent upon your visualization and perception of light. When it comes to quality – light is either soft or hard. Soft lighting comes from a completely diffused source and does not have a proper direction. Soft light helps in making the photo smoother by removing the dark shadows of the background. You can click snaps in soft light on a cloudy day or through a window where sunlight streams in. Harsh lighting, on the other hand, has a proper direction and casts shadows in the background. It is rarely used in real estate photography because it adds a dramatic flare to the photos. Such a dramatic flare is unnecessary for real estate photos. The quality of light imparts a significant level of depth and contrast to the pictures.
3) Direction of the light
The direction from which the light hits the property affects the final output of the image. When shooting in a studio, you have the power to move the light around, but it’s not the same case when clicking photographs of a house. When shooting outdoors, you have to rely on the sunlight and wait until the intensity of the sunlight fits your requirement.
With the basic understanding of light, you can control the scene and get amazing real estate photography, which will attract buyers to your listing.
