Real Estate Photography Camera Settings to Shoot Photos to the Next Level
Different kinds of photography call for differing camera settings. When it comes to real estate photos, you must be flexible enough to work with factors that may be beyond your control such as weather, lighting, certain immovable objects, foot traffic, and the like.
Despite these hurdles, there are ways to bring your images to the next level. All you have to do is get better acquainted with your camera and the varying settings that you can use to your advantage.
Below, we prepared a handy guide on the best way to set up your camera for a photo shoot and make your real estate pictures look professional.
Camera Settings For Real Estate Photography
No matter how advanced your camera may be, failing to fix it to the right basic camera settings will not yield the results you are after. Especially with real estate photography, you are dealing with varying property sizes, layouts, features, and other factors – so there really is no one-size-fits-all approach.
However, to start you off on the right foot, first know the fundamental basics:
Always Shoot in RAW Format
All your images should be in RAW format as this is the only one that stores all the unprocessed and uncompressed image data. It stores much more detail compared to other file types, and makes for a higher quality image. RAW images are also much more flexible to edit in post.
It Is Highly Encouraged To Use A Tripod
A tripod is well worth the investment and is definitely on the top 3 camera gears you should have with you on a photo shoot. It not only helps you in getting just the right angles, but it can greatly reduce camera shake and prevent blurry photos from occurring.
Understand Your Metering mode
The metering mode is not a setting that you need to adjust too often, but understanding why it exists and how it works can help you learn your photography preferences better. Metering modes are what help you correct exposure and highlight the details you want to target. There are 3 general modes namely:
Spot Metering: This is commonly used for real estate photography because it maximizes on available light around the focal point, regardless of whether or no the background is bright
Matrix Metering: This mode divides the entire frame into different zones and analyzes the light from dark. It can be used for scenes that are difficult to navigate contrast-wise.
Center Weighted Metering: As its name suggests, this mode prioritizes the middle part of the frame. It is best for portraits or close ups.
Understand Your Exposure mode
There are 4 main kinds of exposure modes, and choosing one depends mainly on how much control you want over your settings.
Automatic: This mode lets the camera analyze the surroundings and do the legwork when it comes to aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and even flash settings.
Manual: This mode is ideal for those who have a better understanding of the camera settings, and also those who need to get bracketed images for HDR photography.
Aperture Priority: Aperture is definitely a bigger deal in real estate photography, and this mode enables you to keep that factor steady while the camera adjusts the shutter speed as you go along.
Shutter Priority: This one allows you to keep the shutter speed ready while the camera adjusts the aperture as your shoot progresses.
Interior Photos vs Exterior Photos
Taking shots inside and outside should have different settings generally because of the amount of light and the type of illumination you are able to work with.
With interior photography, you need to consider the type of lighting you have inside the home, as there can be a variety present in a given space. All of these can create an unbalanced colorcast in your image and make it look unrealistic.
With exterior photos, the main thing you must consider is the weather and how much light you have to work with outside. Are the skies sunny, but not too sunny? Are they dull and gray, which in turn will make your images dull and gray? Perhaps they are overcast and lack depth? All of these factors must be taken into consideration before you start to shoot, and having the right set of camera settings can really help you go a long way.
Exterior Real Estate Photography Camera Settings
Day Time Exterior
ISO: Shooting during the day would generally mean there is some light to work with so having a low ISO should suffice because there is no need for extra lighting. If you increase the ISO too much, the colors will fade out and your image will get white washed.
Aperture: Aperture is essential in real estate because it allows you to capture the entire scene when done correctly. In order to have crisp and in focus images, , stick within F/8 – F/11 range
Shutter Speed: When shooting during the day, keep the shutter between 1/60 to ½ of a second to ensure not too much light seeps in. You can of course adjust based on your scene but this is a safe reference to base on. If instead you choose to shoot Automatic, the camera can determine this mode instead.
Taking all that in to consideration, a good starting point would be the following settings:
- Image Quality: RAW
- Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
- Aperture: f/8 to f/11
- ISO: 100
- Shutter Speed: Determined by the camera
- White Balance: Auto
- Focus Mode: Single-Shot Autofocus
- Metering Mode: Spot
Night Time Exterior
When there is an absence or lacking of light, it will be a little more challenging to get the details into the image. To prevent this from happening, keep the above settings in place but increase the ISO a little and adjust the aperture accordingly.
- Image Quality: RAW
- Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
- Aperture: f/8 to f/11
- ISO: 400
- Shutter Speed: Determined by the camera
- White Balance: Auto
- Focus Mode: Single-Shot Autofocus
- Metering Mode: Spot
Interior Real Estate Photography Camera Settings
Interior photography greatly depends on the lighting at hand. A few guidelines to reference to are:
ISO: Shooting interiors can have the ISO range between 100 to 400, but not any higher as it may cause too much digital noise. Consider your light sources such as the windows, lamps, ceiling fixings, and if you have additional light.
Aperture: Interior photography more often than not requires taking wide frames. In order to get everything in the shot as clear as day, play within the f/8 – f/11 range when it comes to aperture. If you are taking detailed shots of the room, we suggest trying f/2.8 to nicely blur out the surroundings.
Shutter Speed: Similar to shooting exteriors, keep the shutter between 1/60 to ½ of a second to ensure not too much light seeps in. Again, you may choose to shoot Automatic to have the camera determine this mode instead.
Taking all that in to consideration, a good starting point would be the following settings:
For Bright Interiors
- Image Quality: RAW
- Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
- Aperture: f/8 to f/11 (entire room) or f/2 (detail shots)
- ISO: 100 (without flash) or 320 (with flash)
- Shutter Speed: Determined by the camera
- White Balance: Auto
- Focus Mode: Single-Shot Autofocus
- Metering Mode: Spot
For Partly Dark Interiors
- Image Quality: RAW
- Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
- Aperture: f/7 – f/11
- ISO: 200 – 400
- Shutter Speed: Determined by the camera
- White Balance: Auto
- Focus Mode: Single-Shot Autofocus
- Metering Mode: Matrix
For Dark Interiors
- Image Quality: RAW
- Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
- Aperture: f/8 to f/11 (entire room) or f/2 (detail shots)
- ISO: 400
- Shutter Speed: Determined by the camera
- White Balance: Auto
- Focus Mode: Single-Shot Autofocus
- Metering Mode: Spot
Aperture
As mentioned, aperture is an essential part of real estate photography because this is the setting that controls depth of field. This means that how high or low you set your aperture determines how much detail you can include in your image without blurring out its surroundings.
It determines how much light reaches the camera sensor and directly affects the brightness of your photos, and while the amount of light surely shifts based on your surroundings, there is a good range to stick by when it comes to real estate.
For both interior and exterior photography, we recommend playing around the f/8 to f/11 range as this can get you the most detail in your shots each time. However, if you need to highlight certain features and zero in on an object, narrow it down to f/2.
Lighting
This is the main factor that drive the camera settings up and down when it comes to real estate photography. The general rule to follow is that if you have sufficient lighting, maximize it. However, if you are lacking in it, use your settings wisely and make sure not to over compensate by ending up with grainy photos.
Allowing artificial lighting in your image can be tricky and should only be done with a purpose, as if to add value and character to the scene. Otherwise, it is best to keep them off and avoid colorcast. You can always enhance what needs to be adjusted in post.
For both interior and exterior shots, natural light will always be a winner. Planning your shoot around the best times of day would go a long way when it comes to how much exposure you can get through.
Exterior shots have a little more wiggle room when it comes to lighting, as they also look great during sunset, sunrise, or twilight hours. Just be sure to adjust your camera settings accordingly!
Focal Length
The focal length of your image should be a balance between enhancing the features of the listing while keeping it as realistic as possible. We recommend choosing a focal length not exceeding 22m, since this may cause varying distortions and perspective issues with your images. If you make the property look too wide, the house may end up looking too small and disappointing in reality.
When understanding your focal length, you first have to consider the camera you are working with – is it a full-frame or cropped sensor? For full-frame cameras, the focal length of your images will rely on the lens that you are using. For cropped sensor cameras, your pictures will have a magnification of the focal length of the lens you are using, and this is based on a predetermined ratio.
We highly recommend using a wide-angle lens for real estate photography, which captures at a small focal length and gives you a good control over your angles.
Shutter Speed
This setting determines just how long the lens stays open to allow enough light to come in and hit the camera sensor. The slower your shutter speed closes, the brighter your photos will be, and the faster your shutter speed closes, the less light can seep through.
This can be the last setting you fix up on your camera while you prioritize aperture and ISO. In fact, you may even leave it up to the camera to determine what shutter speed to use so long as you shift to Aperture Priority mode.
Other tips to remember are:
- When shooting real estate on Manual mode, keep your shutter speed between 1/60 to ½ of a second.
- Use slower shutter speeds to compensate for narrow apertures.
- Especially when using slow shutter speed, always utilize a tripod to prevent blurred and shaken images.
- If you need to use a low ISO, compensate with a longer shutter speed.
- When taking HDR real estate photography, you may utilize the shutter speed to adjust the exposures of each frame.
Auto White Balance
Putting your white balance on automatic is something a lot of professional photographers do. This is a great way to save time and energy in finding the perfect setting for your shot since the lighting can heavily vary throughout the entire shoot. Relying on just one white balance for the photo shoot may have some shots looking colorcast compared to the rest.
At the end of the day, the white balance can easily be fixed on post and this should not take up too much of your time – this applies to both interior and exterior photography.
ISO
ISO pertains to how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to the light. By increasing the ISO too much, your photos will gain more image noise and grain, lowering the overall quality of the shot.
In order to get sharp and clear photos, we recommend keeping your ISO range between 100 to 400 maximum. When utilizing higher ISO such as 200 and up, play around with the shutter speed to balance it off.
Focus
There are two kinds of focus modes in real estate photography, namely manual focus and autofocus. Both are perfectly fine to utilize and it all depends on what you are most comfortable with.
If working with manual focus, you gain more control over the subject you are trying to target. If working with autofocus, ensure that you set the camera to Single Shot AF in order to choose a focal point while the camera finds the contrast within it. This gives you the power to lock in the focal point and have the camera automatically adjust the settings to complement it.
Wrap Up
Understandably, that was a lot of information to take in. Just remember, the three main points to practice when learning more about your camera settings are:
- ISO
- Aperture
- Shutter Speed
These 3 are what help you get the right exposure levels, white balance, clarity, and color in your image. There will be some trial and error, but that is by the far the greatest way to learn. Feel free to use this guide as a reference while you explore all that your camera has to offer!
