The Best Settings for Real Estate Photography
The best settings for real estate photography will make for a combination of focus and brightness. These camera settings will only work if you have your camera on a tripod since you won’t be able to hold it perfectly still for as long as you need.
If you don’t already have a tripod, check out our article featuring the 7 Best Tripods for Real Estate Photography. It’s best to use a tripod and learn the best camera settings for real estate photos so your images don’t come out looking like those nightmares we’ve all seen on Zillow.
Table of Contents
Best Settings for Real Estate Photography
General Settings to Start With
In general, the best camera settings for real estate photography are as follows:
- Manual Mode
- ISO:250
- F 8.0.
Having your ISO at 250 keeps the noise to a minimum and F8.0 allows everything to be in focus while achieving some nice depth as well. Your exposure time will depend on how much light is available in room.
If you just want the camera to do the work for you, then put it on a tripod, switch it to Aperture Priority (or the “A” on the dial), set your ISO between 250 – 400. Aet your aperture to F8. Then let your camera decide the exposure for you.
This will not yield the best results and photos taken using Manual mode will come out better, but if you’re in a pinch and just need to get a photo fast, this is the best way.
Best Settings for Real Estate Photography in Low Light
It’s always best to keep the ISO as low as possible, but sometimes there won’t be enough light available to properly expose a room. Depending on what camera you have, pushing up the ISO is not always a bad thing to do. I commonly shoot with my ISO between 200 – 800, although I very rarely find myself shooting at ISO 800 or above.
If you have the ISO pushed all the way to around 800, then you many need to adjust your aperture to F6.3 or even as low at F5.6. Going any lower than that will, in general, leave parts of the background out of focus and we want everything to be in focus when photographing real estate.
Also, it’s always best to just set a longer exposure time before adjusting your ISO or Aperture. This is why using a tripod is so important. As long as your camera doesn’t move at all, you can expose photos for as long as you’d like. I’ve taken 15 second exposures of dark rooms before needing to adjust any other settings.
The Settings for Real Estate Photography that I Use Personally
The best camera settings for real estate photography truly will depend on which camera you’re using and what other gear you have. To see the camera and gear that I use every day, check out this article featuring everything Inside a Real Estate Photographers Camera Bag.
When shooting with my Nikon d750, I generally shoot at ISO 250 and at F7.1, then allow the amount of available light decide my exposure time. I find that I like the depth achieved at F7.1 and that ISO 200 doesn’t really have an impact on the amount of noise at all.
I only use Aperture Priority Mode when photographing exteriors. It’s just an easy and fast way to get perfectly exposed exterior photos.
Additional Resources
If you’re brand new to real estate photography and are looking to turn it into a side hustle or even a full time business, check out our Beginners Guide. It’s full of articles that will help you get started on the right path.
Additionally, if you are looking for real estate photography courses to help you learn more, check out our article Best Real Estate Photography Classes. Our Business Resources page will help to get you started in the industry as well.
Finally, if you’re thinking that maybe you need a camera upgrade in order to shoot at the best camera settings for real estate photos, then check out our Gear page. It’s full of articles that feature and review all of the best and latest gear for real estate photography.
Frequently Asked Questions
What settings should I use for real estate photography?
You’ll want to figure out how to shoot Manual before anything else. Once you’re comfortable shooting on Manual, you can just follow the tips above.
How do I take sharp pictures in real estate?
The best things you can do is use a tripod. After that, it’s best to shoot at f8 to make sure your photos come out sharp.
How do you take good quality pictures in real estate?
Read this article covering the answer to this question: 5 Tips to take Better Real Estate Photos