The benefits of a twilight photo shoot for real estate marketing

Written by Posted On Monday, 04 July 2016 18:36

If you're selling a house the photography can greatly influence the sale price and the time it takes to sell.

However, are you better off with a daytime shoot, or photos taken at twilight?

Photos taken during the day when it's bright and sunny are perfect for properties with ocean views or bold colors on the outside. However, it is important to have the photos taken at the right time of day. For example, if the front of the house faces west, then it would be better to take those photos in the afternoon when the sun is hitting the front of the home.

The homes that work best for twilight shoots are those that have a lot of outdoor lighting, or areas of water such as a pool or a lake. The photos are best taken a little after the sun goes down during that five to ten minute period when the lighting inside the home is level with the lights outside, and you get that wonderful balance between the two.

But what about other properties? Many, many homes will look better when photographed at twilight. There's something everyone loves about seeing an image with the glowing lights inside and a beautiful sunset. It's striking and colorful, and all in all a very appealing look for a real estate marketing campaign.

The other benefit with a twilight shoot is that it will make that particular house stand out far more strongly when compared with other homes currently for sale. As Kalgoorlie photographer Shane Cullen said: 

"For me twilights stand out so much more when buyers are looking for a property. If you are searching through 100’s of listings and see one all lit up and with a beautiful sunset behind it you are more likely to click on it and view the property. For me it is in the top 3 tips for marketing a property."

Can a twilight shoot help you sell faster?

In Sydney, Australia, one real estate agency compared the results from a professional daytime photo shoot with a twilight shoot, and found that the twilight shoot had a very positive impact:

“This house was tracking at about 1,000 views in one week with about 10 call-ins. Then we changed the photo the next week (nothing else) to a twi­light shot. Guess what? Where views normally drop off (because it is considered a stale listing after 1 week), they picked up by approximately 50% to 1,500 views and 15 call-ins in a week when inquiries traditionally drops off.”

That's a LOT more people looking at the property listing online, and a LOT more people contacting the real estate agent who was selling the property. 

Pricing for a professional real estate photo shoot at twilight

You will find that you will need to pay a little more to have a professional real estate photographer shoot a home at twilight. A photographer can only shoot one property at twilight each day, as once it gets dark then no other photography is possible. This strict limit on availability means that a higher fee is charged to ensure access to the photographer during the most perfect time for photos each day.

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Darryl Stringer

Darryl Stringer has been providing real estate photography and marketing services since 1998, and now manages a real estate photographer directory website called BestRealEstatePhotographers.com. A lot of real estate agents find it difficult to sort through the multitude of real estate marketing service providers now available. 

At BestRealEstatePhotographers.com we only include photographers who have shown themselves to be committed to learning and improving their craft, providing the highest quality service to their clients, and uniting together to support their fellow photographers around the world.

bestrealestatephotographers.com/

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