How To Shoot Luxury Real Estate Photography, Behind The Scenes, by Alex Serrao
In this educational video, Alex Serrao shares his journey and insights into real estate photography, drawing from his experience of over six years in the field. He begins by recounting his initial struggles to find helpful resources online and how he gradually honed his skills through experience and overcoming numerous failures. Reflecting on his early work, he expresses a sense of embarrassment but also recognizes the growth and confidence he has gained over the years. Alex notes that he now works as a full-time real estate photographer and aims to fill the gap in online resources on this subject, particularly on YouTube.
The core of the video is a detailed walkthrough of a recent project: photographing a $1.6 million house located by the water. Alex emphasizes the importance of paying attention to detail in interior photography, such as ensuring symmetry and tidiness, and adjusting camera settings for optimal results. He discusses his preference for using natural light and HDR techniques over flash, as it imparts a more authentic look to the images. Alex also shares practical tips, like removing distracting elements from scenes and positioning the camera to maximize the perceived space in smaller rooms like bathrooms.
For outdoor photography, Alex highlights different considerations, such as aligning furniture for a professional appearance and shooting in auto mode to efficiently capture the essence of the space. He uses specific equipment, like the Canon 6D Mark II, to achieve high-quality results. The video concludes with Alex encouraging viewers to subscribe and engage with his content, promising to share more of his real estate photography knowledge and inviting suggestions for future video topics.
Overall, Alex Serrao’s video serves as an informative and practical guide for both aspiring and experienced real estate photographers, offering a blend of technical advice, personal insights, and industry tips.
Transcript
**Intro**
When I first started getting into real estate photography five or six years ago, I was all over the internet, searching for good resources and tutorials. I spent a lot of time on YouTube, looking for anything that could help me improve quickly and start making some money. In the end, I learned mostly through experience and a lot of failures. Looking back at the photos I used to take and deliver, I almost feel embarrassed by them. Six years later, I feel really confident; this is what I do for a living and soon, it’ll be my full-time job. So, I thought it was a good time to start sharing everything I’ve learned over these years, especially since there’s not a lot of content on YouTube about real estate photography. I’ve created this behind-the-scenes video walking you through a beautiful $1.6 million house right on the water. Hopefully, it will shed some light (no pun intended) on how to take those photos, especially in small bathrooms and awkward kitchens. I think there’s a lot of value in it for you guys, so I hope you enjoy it.
**Interior Photos**
I wanted to walk you through the behind-the-scenes of a house I shot. This video mostly covers interior photos. Starting off, I make sure everything is perfectly symmetrical, like straightening up chairs, as these little adjustments really matter in the final photo. I turned around to get a different shot when the realtor, who was helping me set things up, ended up in the frame. My settings are usually consistent; I prefer an f-stop of 7.1 or 8, keep my ISO at 100, and adjust my shutter speed for a nice bracketed HDR shot. I don’t use flash. I find that natural light, with a bit of HDR, gives a very natural and incredible look to the photos.
In a smaller bathroom, I first remove any distracting elements like robes or towels. I position the camera to make the room look as big as possible, often standing just inside the door frame. I take extra care in details, like making sure toilet papers are neatly presented and that bathroom shots show whether there is an exterior door, which is a nice feature to highlight.
In the kitchen, which was large and open, I had to take angled shots as there were no good straight-on photo opportunities. I paid attention to every detail, like ensuring fans were off to avoid blurry images in HDR. The master bathroom had a great view of the water, so I tried to capture that while paying attention to details like the color of the lights in the mirrors.
**Outdoor Photos**
For outdoor photos, like the upper deck attached to the master bedroom, I ensure that everything is perfectly aligned for a professional look. I normally shoot in auto outdoors and use a Canon 6D Mark II with a 16 to 35 f 2.8 lens. I take care to capture the view and the lifestyle offered by the location, like including a kayaker in the shot for a lifestyle element.
**Outro**
That concludes this video. I’m off to another photo shoot and will film more behind-the-scenes stuff there. I hope you’re finding value in this content. If so, please subscribe and leave a comment about your favorite part. Let me know what other videos you’d like to see. I’m trying to teach everything I know about real estate photography, so if you have specific topics you want to learn about, let me know, and I’ll try to make a video about it. Catch you in the next one, bye!