Why virtual twilight photography is a good investment?

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Real estate agent and businessman customer, Image taken at average residential area with multiple ownership block of flats type of buildings.

Photography is arguably among the most important real estate marketing strategies at your disposal. Homes with quality photographs – and plenty of them – tend to sell faster than other listings. Across some price ranges, they even sell for more money. Why? Well, consider what a twilight photo might do.

Virtual twilight photography is alluring. Appealing. Eye-catching. With an air of mystique, magnificent twilight shots set themselves apart from the crowd when buyers scroll through thumbnails, browse through listings, or search social media. 

Elegant twilight images also allow an agent to showcase features of a home that are not visible during the day or that might be less-than-impressive without some help. For instance, accent lighting does not show well in the sunlight. Still, when matched to the level of the interior lighting of a home and the level of light from the sun just before it goes dark, the exterior lighting can cast eerie and enticing shadows to add an element of interest. Many features – a deck, a pool, or a patio fire pit – can come to new life in the light of the rising or falling sun. At the same time, defects are de-emphasized in a twilight photo.

Nearly ninety percent of homebuyers who searched for a home on the internet (according to the NAR) found photos among the most valuable features of a realtor’s website. That means not only will your listing photos garner more views for a home, but they also make an excellent addition to your portfolio and boost interest in your business.

How do you prepare for a virtual twilight shoot?

Because the “golden hour” lasts for such a short time, a home must be prepared so the photographer can start snapping pictures once the time has come. Everything happens very quickly once the shoot begins, and it is easy to underestimate the time it takes to get everything set up, especially if the homeowner will not be home to show you where all the switches are. Here are some helpful hints to help a homeowner get ready for virtual twilight photography:

  • Turn on all of the interior lights.
  • Turn on all of the exterior lights and landscape lighting (you might need to cover up the photocells on any solar lights in the yard so that they come on before dark)
  • Reduce lighting that is too bright by unscrewing select bulbs that throw off the balance
  • Have a ladder handy so that adjustments can be made in a flash when the photographer arrives
  • Consider staging various areas of interest – the patio, pool deck, etc.- with the house in the background.
  • If your photographer prefers, have a hose handy to wet down the driveway or cement areas, so they are set for a twilight shoot.
  • If you are doing the shoot yourself (as opposed to hiring a professional real estate photographer), make sure to use a tripod and a quality camera. Use a low ISO setting and shoot raw; you can edit your photos later.

Once you have selected and submitted a photograph to be converted to twilight, a photographer or editing technician will add light in all the windows and a brilliant dusk sky and fix minor imperfections – ready to go in a day or two.