How To Take Photos Of Rental Property

If you have a vacant rental property, your goal is to get the best tenant possible for your rental. To get a good tenant, you want to get many people interested and apply. Good photos of your rental property will help you do just that. Have no fear! Good photos don’t mean spending thousands on a beautiful camera, there are excellent cameras everywhere that are on a landlord-friendly budget.

The Importance Of Good Rental Photos

Every photo is a selling point. As a renter, or even someone purchasing a home, it’s essential to ensure you have good images to let the renter or the buyer know what they are getting into.

Before showing your property, pictures are the first impression that a potential tenant sees when they are apartment shopping and it can make all the difference in whether or not they want to apply. No, you don’t need to be a professional photographer, but you can take some simple tips and make them your own when taking photos.

The best pictures will have a home that is furnished. If you’re taking photos of the exterior of your home, morning and dusk, have been called the “Golden Hour.” This is when there is a soft ambient glow cast on the home which is a great time to capture a warm, inviting photo of your rental property.

Photography is an intense field where you can learn and experiment for years.

If you’re a landlord on a budget, I suggest getting a DSLR camera setup so you can take good photos of your rental property. The cost of DSLR cameras has come down in recent years and a camera bundle like the one you see below can be purchased for under $500.

One word of advice, a tripod can go a long way in producing better picture quality. One feature of a DSLR is the ability to control the shutter speed. The slower the shutter speed you have, the longer it is open and movement can cause image blur. A tripod will allow you to create crisp photos for your rental listings.

For even more information on how to take photos for rentals, check out this in-depth video:

What Equipment Is Used For Rental Property Photos?

Well, it used to be a nice DSLR camera, but smartphones are all the rage nowadays. It’s obvious when you look at a smartphone with three or four cameras that it has to have some magnificent camera capability. Today’s smartphones take high-resolution photos just as much as a fancy camera would.

Get Different Perspectives

Only some people want to see that glorious fireplace you love in the rental! Instead, they may want to see the walk-in closet area on the other side of the room because they have so many clothes. It’s important to remember to take photos from different perspectives within a room. Make sure you move around the space to get multiple vantage points so you can highlight the various features of each room.

Be Careful Of Mirrors

This one is my favorite. How many times have you sorted through craigslist or Facebook marketplace and gotten a giggle out of someone taking a mirror photo, but they are in it? Or maybe, you’ve been that person. No worries, it happens. For rental images, however, we want to ensure that mirror shots with a landlord are not a thing.

In this particular shot, you want to position yourself so that you and your flash aren’t showing up in the mirror.

If you have a fancier flash, you can adjust its direction. In the video, the photographer angled the flash to the left so you wouldn’t see it flare across the mirror. Here’s an example of an adjustable flash that Amazon makes for only $28:

Stage Your Rental Property

Staging! If there are no renters in your unit, you can set up your rental how you want without the tenant’s things being in the way. If there are no tenants in your unit, you can set up the unit however you like and take photos whenever you want! If the unit isn’t empty, the space can look less inviting because natural light can be blocked, etc.

When you’re taking photos and want to try and add simple yet elegant touches, here are a few ideas and tips:

-Natural lighting is crucial

-Adding property photos to tv’s or laptops in the space adds a nice touch

-Consider putting flowers out

Choose Lighting Carefully

We can’t express how important lighting is. Even if it’s not a bright, sunny day, turn all the lights on so that it allows for a more natural flow. Okay, okay, I get it. If you were to chat with an interior designer, they might opt for turning the light off. But, why? It’s all in the shadows. When taking photos, you must be careful of lingering shadows, and when turning on all the lights, watch out for dark shadows hovering around furniture.

Where You Take Photos Is Crucial

Also, this is very important, consider where you are taking the photo from. Typically to make the room look larger, you want to take it from the broadest vantage point which a lot of the time is from the corner of a room. It’s best to include at least two walls and some floor and ceiling.

Location Matters

Alright, think about when you bought your home or rented your apartment. Did you pay close attention to the location? Chances are possible. Community is essential to come people. Maybe it’s the fact that the grocery store is five minutes down the road or the pool that comes along with a rental, or perhaps the nightlife surrounds the property or the dog park right down the road. Whatever it is, don’t be afraid to include photos of the location! If you have access to a drone or know someone that has one, drone photos are popular when showing off a rental location.

Take Honest Property Photos

We see it all the time. You go on something like zillow.com or realtor.com, look at the photos, think it’s a great place (excellent lighting, big rooms) then you go to check things out in person and BOOM, not what you expected. Think about this ideology with your tenants too. Although we want our rentals to look the best they can be, it’s vital to ensure the photos match how things look in person.

Don’t leave rooms out! Give tenants the full view and perspective of what to expect when they show up to see your rental. Get photos of every room they’ll be putting their dollars towards. For example:

• Bathroom
• Bedroom
• Living Room
• Dining Room
• Kitchen
• Laundry Room
• Common Areas
• Outdoor Areas
• Laundry Room

Don’t Be Afraid Of Video

No need to focus on photos nowadays. With YouTube building up its reputation as the second-largest search engine, you could always consider using your camera to shoot some video to go along with your listing. A video virtual tour can help hype up a potential tenant regarding what they are getting when they step foot on your property.

Unleash Your Property’s Look

Let’s get this photo party started! Hopefully, now you have a solid base on where to start when photographing your rental property. Simple tips, right? But, such simple tips can go a long way in this case and can help you further attract the tenants that you want.

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