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Bear Karry, July 16 2021

Real Estate Photography 101: 5 Tips for Using a Camera Drone 

Attracting potential homebuyers can be tricky. After all, it’s generally challenging to make images reflect the look and feel of the properties you. Thankfully, you can increase your chances of achieving that through aerial photography.

Unlike regular professional real estate photography, aerial photography uses drones to take scenic perspectives on your property. These high-resolution cameras are equipped with smart features that can take photos and videos from very high angles, allowing you to capture the overall appearance of buildings as well as their nearby surroundings. If you decide to utilize drone photography for real estate, here are some tips you should consider:

1. Use Natural Light

Natural light is the best way to frame most photos, so use it to your advantage when shooting your real estate. When you’re creating a compelling visual portfolio, natural lighting can be the biggest asset when taking images outdoors.

To turn your vision into reality and ensure you take the best photos possible, determine the specific times of the day to shoot. Noon is ideal for taking photos from low angles and top-down shots as it minimizes shadows. Since the lighting at noon can get harsh, bring neutral-density filters with you to avoid glare and overexposure.

On the other hand, you can shoot during sunset or sunrise If you want to make your pictures appear more dramatic.

2. Pick Which Parts of the Properties to Highlight

In real estate photography, not every part of the property has to be showcased. There should only be one or several areas that are allowed to stand out from the rest. Some exceptionally gorgeous spots that will make unique focal points for photos are a cozy rooftop terrace or a backyard pool. To highlight these focal points, draw the viewers’ attention to them by utilizing leading lines or increasing lighting in those areas.

3. Back up Copies of Photos

Shooting with a flying camera requires you to prepare for different scenarios. For example, the drone can catch a glare from a window, or strong wind could suddenly blow at it. Additionally, besides taking photos, you have to pay attention to flying the drone itself. 

Slight changes in the lighting or angle can instantly ruin a perfect image. Since there are several challenges you may encounter that can hinder you from focusing on image quality, make sure you take several shots right after you locate the perfect angle. Don’t forget to save backup photos to avoid flying your drone for another take.

4. Shoot With a Wide Variety of Shots and Angles

Real estate properties are such massive subjects that allow you to experiment with different angles. Remember, just because you are shooting with a drone doesn’t mean you will just limit yourself to shooting photos from a high angle. For this reason, let yourself be creative. For example, you can hover at around 20 feet to strike a balance between a level of detail and scope. You can also fly inside your property by remaining at eye-level to showcase your interiors.

5. Shoot In RAW and Post-process

Just like in other types of photography, half of the work is done during post-production. This is because aerial photography may require some tweaking to produce the best photos possible. Shoot your photos in RAW format to retain color information in your images. Since the files will be larger than usual, prepare spare SD cards. For post-processing, you can use Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, or any photo editing software that works for you.

Conclusion

Shooting with a camera drone is one of the best ways to showcase real estate properties. Although aerial real estate photography may sound simple, it requires a lot of skills to produce quality output. Instead of attempting to capture and edit your photos all on your own, it’s advisable to hire a reliable real estate photographer who specializes in drone photography. 

If you are looking for real estate photographers in Florida, our professionals can help you. At Bear Karry Productions, we can make your properties stand out from the rest through high-quality photos. Contact us today to book an appointment!

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Bear Karry

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