Green Real Estate Photography: Sell Your Home in the Winter With Green Photography

Snap it before it snows! Dive into the art of green photography in real estate—a strategy to capture stunning, verdant listing photos of your home before winter descends.

Why wait for the snow to cover the outdoor decór in your backyard or that intricately designed deck you installed? Pre-winter photos keep your listings vibrant and appealing even in the chilliest seasons. This approach ensures your property stands out with lush, green visuals when most others are draped in white. Harness the power of green photography to make your winter real estate listings irresistibly eye-catching.

Let's talk about the best time to snap those stunning real estate photos. We'll also cover how you can get good at both green and white photography. You'll be drawing in potential buyers before you know it!

Green Photography Key Takeaways

• Green Photography: Enhances real estate listings by showcasing properties with lush, vibrant surroundings, especially useful in winter.
• Optimal Timing: "Golden hour," just after sunrise or before sunset, offers the best lighting conditions for capturing property photos.
• White Photography: If snow is present, adjust camera settings and avoid midday for optimal results.
• Selling a Lifestyle: Photos that capture greenery and outdoor beauty can sell more than just a property, but a lifestyle.

Green Photography: What it is and Why Use It

In real estate, green photography is photography taken in the spring, summer, or fall, when there isn't any snow on the ground and your home is looking its best. For areas like Calgary that get a lot of snow in the winter, this strategy can be used to help make your listing photos pop if you're going to put your home for sale in the winter.

When we talk about green photography, we mean taking pictures of a place when the plants around it look bright and full of life. This not only makes the whole scene look better, but it can also make the place more valuable.

Key Benefits of Green Photography for Home Sales

The main benefit of using green photography in real estate is that you have the opportunity to portray your home at its best when you're listing it for sale in the winter. Not only does this make your home look better to buyers, but it also helps make your home look better compared to other homes on the market that may all have snow on the ground and obscuring their home's best features.

It's good to remember that showing off your home's outside look in times besides winter can help it stand out from the rest. This could lead to your home being sold faster and for more money.

This is why green photography is so useful. It allows you to show off green grass, flowers in bloom, and full trees - all things that make your home more appealing. By showing off your home in its full glory, you maximize the amount of curb appeal you can showcase in your listing photos, giving you an edge over other sellers.

Don't forget, people aren't just looking for a house to live in; they're looking for a place where they feel at home. So don't forget about the power of green photography. Use it smartly to show off what makes your home special and watch as potential buyers fall in love with it.

Green Real Estate Photos vs. White Real Estate Photos

How to Take Great Green Photos: Exterior Real Estate Photography Tips

Good real estate photography is not just about snapping a quick photo with your smartphone; it's an art that requires attention to detail, planning, and a bit of creative flair. Capturing the exterior of a home in the most flattering light can make a significant difference in how quickly a property sells and even in the selling price. Whether you're a real estate agent, a professional photographer, or a homeowner looking to list your property, here are some guidelines to help you take the best possible exterior shots.

Plan Ahead

• Golden Hours: The best light for exterior photography usually occurs during the golden hours—shortly after sunrise or just before sunset. The soft, diffused light helps to minimize harsh shadows and highlights the home’s features.
• Weather Conditions: Ideally, aim for a day that is partially cloudy to avoid washed-out photos. Overcast weather can also provide even lighting but may lack the vibrancy of a sunny day.
• Scout the Location: Before the actual shoot, visit the property to identify the best angles and features you’d like to highlight.

Equipment Matters

• DSLR or Mirrorless Camera: A high-quality camera with manual settings will allow you greater control over exposure, aperture, and ISO settings.
• Wide-Angle Lens: A wide-angle lens (between 18-24mm) can capture more of the property, making spaces appear larger and more open.
• Tripod: A tripod ensures stability and allows for longer exposure times, which is especially useful in low-light conditions.

Composition and Framing

• Elevate the Camera: A slightly elevated angle can make the property look majestic. Consider using a small ladder or even a drone for a unique aerial perspective.
• The Rule of Thirds: Keep the rule of thirds in mind to create well-balanced images. Place key elements—like the front door or unique architectural features—along the grid lines or at the intersections to capture the viewer’s attention.
• Include Some Landscape: While the focus is on the home, including some of the landscaping around your home can provide context and make the property more appealing.

Final Touches

• Post-Processing: Use software like Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop to correct any distortion, adjust lighting, and enhance colors.
• Review and Revise: Always review your photos and retake any that are less than perfect. It’s better to have too many options than not enough.

Tips for Success When White Photography is Necessary

If it's too late to take green photos to sell your home, that doesn't mean you can't still have a successful home sale. When you want to take great white photos, some of the following tricks can help you.

Avoid Taking Photos in the Middle of the Day

Stay away from the middle of the day.

Taking photos in the middle of the day during winter isn't the best idea. This is because the strong sunlight can make harsh shadows and contrasts, and lead to over-exposure when it glints and reflects off the snow. You want to show a property in the best possible light, both in a real and metaphorical sense. If you take photos mid-day while there's snow on the ground, your photos are more likely to look washed out and over-exposed.

High noon might sound cool in movies, but it's not great for photography. The sun at its highest can cast deep shadows that hide details and change the look of things.

The best times for taking photos are early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The 'golden hour' light is soft and warm, and it can make colors look vibrant. Plus, it adds depth to your pictures.

Remember, you're not just snapping photos, you're telling a story. You want potential buyers to imagine themselves living in the home.

Fine Tune Your Exposure

When you take pictures of your home exterior in the winter, you need to adjust your camera's exposure just right. This way, your photos don't look dull and gray or blown-out and overly white. Changing the exposure can be tricky, but it's important for making your photos look beautiful.

Here are a few tips:

• Don't make your shots too dark (underexposed) or too bright (overexposed). Both can make you lose details in your photo.
• If your photo is underexposed, it will be too dark and important parts can be hidden.
• If it's overexposed, the colors and bright spots can look washed out.
• Try playing around with your camera's settings until you find the perfect mix.

When is the Best Time of Day to Take Real Estate Photos?

If you're a beginner photographer or a real estate agent, you might ask, 'When is the best time to take pictures of a house?' Well, the answer is during 'golden hours'. This is either just after the sun rises or before it sets. These times are great for taking pictures of houses because the light is soft. It shows off the features of the house without creating dark shadows or making parts of the picture too bright. This is true even when taking pictures of houses in winter.

Try not to take photos in the middle of the day. This is when the sun is strongest and can create harsh shadows. If you're taking photos early in the morning or late in the afternoon, a tripod can help keep your camera steady when there's less natural light.

However, once you find the right time of day, you need to also make sure to capture the best angles of your home. Good lighting is key, so aim to take your photos when it's bright and sunny, and try to have the sun behind you as much as you can. This helps avoid dark shadows or overly bright spots.

Other Elements of Great Landscape Photography

In addition to good lighting, there are other things to think about in landscape photography. These include composition, perspective, and depth of field. These elements can make a big difference in how good your photos look.

• Composition: This is about how things are placed in your picture. You want to arrange things in a way that makes the viewer's eye move through the scene. The Rule of Thirds suggests that an image can be divided into nine equal parts and that the subject should be placed along these lines or their intersections. Symmetry, when one half of your image mirrors the other half, can make your photo pleasing to the eye. Leading Lines are lines that lead the viewer's eye to the main subject.
• Perspective: Changing how you look at your scene can change how your photos feel. Taking a high angle photo from above the subject, an eye-level photo at the same level as the subject, or a low angle photo from below the subject can all create different perspectives.
• Depth of Field: This decides which parts of your photo are sharp. A shallow depth makes only the subject sharp and the background blurry, while a large depth makes everything sharp.

Learning these techniques can help you make photos that really connect with people. Have fun taking photos!

Selling a Home in the Winter? Shoot for Green Photography Sessions

When you want to sell your house, think about setting up times to take pictures of your house surrounded by beautiful plants and trees.

It's all about showing off how nice your house looks when the flowers are blooming and the trees are full of leaves.

Keep in mind, what people first see matters a lot. The outside picture of your house could be what makes someone decide to buy it when they're looking at houses online. With green photography, you're not just selling a house; you're inviting people to be a part of a friendly neighborhood and a great way of life.

If you use this method when you're selling your house, it could help you sell your house faster and maybe make more money. There's no downside, but there's a lot to gain!

Elevate Your Property's Appeal With FREE Green Photos From Justin Havre & Associates!

Are you planning on selling your house this winter? Navigating the real estate market can be challenging, particularly in the colder months when your property might not look its best. That's where we come in. At Justin Havre & Associates, we know that presentation is everything. While a winter wonderland may offer cozy vibes, it's not always the best setting for a sale.

To give your property the competitive edge it deserves, we're offering FREE* Green Photos. Our professional photographers will visit your home to take high-quality exterior photos that showcase your property in its best light, literally and figuratively. And the best part? It won't cost you a dime!

We're committed to helping every homeowner maximize their property's value for a successful, stress-free sale. With our help, not only will your home look better, but you'll also get better offers. So why wait?

Take the Next Step: Book your FREE* Green Photo Session with Justin Havre & Associates today and turn your home into the hot property everyone wants, even in the coldest months!

*Terms and Conditions apply.