Smartphone photography is becoming predominant no matter what field you are in. These pocket devices are now packed with great features that allow anyone to become photographers even without spending on expensive gears. Smartphones are now powerful enough to take amazing photos. These can even be used in real estate photography.
The real estate industry is big on photography. Photos and videos are used for sales and marketing. If you’re in real estate and you want to sell properties effectively, you need to have great photos on your listings. Instead of investing in expensive photography gear or paying someone else for photos, you can use your own smartphone to take photos. You just need to know the tips and tricks to hack your Android phone for real estate photography.
Basics of photography
Make sure that you are familiar with the basic photography first. This will be your guide to taking strong images for real estate. No matter what kind of gear you’re using, the rules of photography are pretty much the same.
Here are some basics that you need to be familiar with when shooting with a mobile phone:
Lighting. No matter what your subject is when you’re shooting, it’s best to shoot with a good lighting situation. This can be especially beneficial when you’re shooting an interior in a project. Make sure that you shoot when there is light so you wouldn’t have to go through the pains of editing the photo. Shoot in the early morning or late afternoon when the natural light is diffused and soft. If you’re taking a photo of a room, ensure that the blinds and curtains are open and all the lights are turned on.
Strong subject. You need to make sure that your subject or main focus stands out in the photo. It needs to be the most pronounced in your image. Viewers should be able to tell what your subject is. In case of real estate images, capture as much as you can of the room.
Composition. How you compose your image will make or break you. Knowing the basic composition techniques will help you up your game and improve your overall photography. No matter what gear you’re using, if you don’t know how to compose your photo, then you wouldn’t get the results that you want. The most common technique is the rule of thirds. This is where you will divide the frame into nine rectangles and place the most important element along where the lines intersect. Putting your subject off center will create a more interesting composition. Other composition strategies are symmetry, leading lines, frame within a frame, and diagonals and triangles among many others. With composition, you have to train your eye to look at the scene from a different perspective and find out what makes it interesting.
Apps for real estate photography
If you’re shooting with an Android phone, there are a few apps that can help you up your game and improve your photos. Just having a few reliable apps under your sleeves can help you in taking better images and help you in editing your photos afterward.
1. Snapseed. This software is made by Google’s subsidiary. Snapseed can be a great starter editing app for those who are new to photography and post-processing. Its user interface is simple. It has the basic editing features, such as rotate, crop, brush, white balance, rotate, text, select, transform, and curve. You can easily make adjustments and edit your photo to make it look even better.
2. Diptic. When you need to create collages for a listing, you can use Diptic. This app has an easy-to-use design so you can quickly create a collage of the photos you’ve taken. It has 179 different layouts and filters that you can use in editing your work. Just select the layout that you prefer and add the photographs that you want to use. You can use Diptic collages in creating before and after images of a property or make a collage for a presentation.
3. 360 Panorama. This app is a favorite among many smartphone photographers. It provides you with creative features to create more interesting photos. You can use the app in photographing panoramic sceneries. Apply this in real estate by capturing the exterior of the property to show the curb appeal. You can also use this app to capture the entire room.
4. LightTrac. Because lighting is essential in real estate photography, you need to know where the sun is when you’re out for a shoot. This app is helpful when you need to take outdoor photos. To use the app, just put your location information and the app will calculate the position of the sun based on your location. LightTrac will also give you information regarding the moonrise, sunrise, and sunset.
Tips for using a smartphone
Once you know the basics of photography and have downloaded the needed apps in improving your images, make sure that you keep practicing to improve your photos.
Here are other tips that you could use when photographing with your Android phone:
a) Take multiple images. Even professional photographers don’t get the best image with their first shot. Take multiple photos of your intended subject and never settle for the first photo. You might get the best photo on your fourth try.
b) Try various angles. Whatever you’re photographing, experiment with different angles to find one that’s most appealing. If you’re shooting a room, try shooting from all four corners with a high angle.
c) Edit your work. The above-mentioned apps will help you in editing your work. Apply filters and editing features effectively to create better images. However, it’s best to not over-edit. Make sure that everything still looks realistic instead of over-processed.