It is no secret that the primary exterior photo of a real estate listing is by far the most important. It is the one photo that will determine whether someone scrolling through online listings will click or continue scrolling. That's why it is important to make the primary photo for your listing stand out.

 

Above, you can see two photos taken of the same house. The image on the left was taken in the afternoon under ideal lighting conditions on a cloudy day. Such opportunities are rare. More often, a daytime exterior photo must be taken in direct sunlight, which casts harsh, distracting shadows across the house and yard. While we are able to at least partially tame these shadows with the use of powerful strobes, they are still usually apparent and detract from the aesthetics.

 

However, the ideal solution is to photograph the building at twilight, when direct sunlight no longer casts shadows across the property and the fading ambient light "balances" with the warm artificial lights of the home to create a warm, inviting glow as you see in the second photo. This warm, inviting glow is what a potential home buyer wants to see when they come home from work in the evening. The downside to taking twilight photos, of course, is that there are only two times in a day when they can be taken and most photographers are not awake at both sunrise and sunset, especially during the summer! During much of the year, twilight also comes at a time when most photographers would like to be at home eating dinner with their families. Consequently, twilight photos tend to be relatively expensive and many photographers do not offer them at all. However, at Keith Holland Photography, we take great pride in our twilight photos and look forward to photographing your property in the best possible light. Twilight photo shoots typically include one to four photos, depending on how many shots we are able to take when the light is perfect.

 

Please make sure all your interior and exterior lights are turned on before sunset. Ideally, all lights should be the same color temperature. Warmer "daylight" bulbs are preferable to cooler flourescents. Be prepared to stay for about 45 minutes after sunset. The exact time to photograph each home with the perfect light varies by location, design, etc. For more information or to book a session, you can contact Keith Holland at 207-358-4448 or send an e-mail to info@keithhollandphoto.com.