【3D Virtual Tour Scanning】Exterior Real Estate Scans: Benefits, Challenges, and How to Get the Best Exterior Shots

【3D Spatial Scan】Exterior Real Estate Scanning: Benefits, Challenges, and How to Get the Best Exterior Shots

Overcoming Obstacles, Techniques for Exterior Real Estate Photography that Make Your Photos Stand Out 

The National Association of Realtors' "2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report" found that 96% of home buyers use the internet to search for homes. While people of all ages consider photos to be the most useful feature in a listing, 49% of potential buyers' next step after viewing a listing online is to take a virtual tour. 42% of potential buyers eventually contact an agent, and 35% of buyers visit the home's exterior and surroundings without ever stepping inside.

Real estate photographers and agents must work together to make listings as attractive and immersive as possible to maximize buyer interest and reduce listing time. Creating this interest begins with exterior real estate photography.


4 Benefits of Including Exterior Real Estate Photos in Your Listing

The first impression buyers have of a property is its exterior. Photos allow buyers to intuitively grasp the overall living experience of the property (not just the interior of the home).

While these four benefits ultimately enhance the overall appeal of a listing, real estate photographers should consider each individually when thinking about how to best capture these elements in exterior photos.


Highlight Incredible Views

Aerial or drone photography is perfect for capturing properties from a high vantage point or a distance. Long-distance shots provide an overall perspective of the property, which sets the stage for agents and photographers to discover and highlight elements of the property, such as captivating views.

Once buyers see the beautiful views, they will understand why the property is listed at such a high price.
 

Residential apartments share many amenities and are in close proximity, which must be highlighted so that buyers can feel the community life and interaction with neighbors. If the listing shows schools or parks are close to the residence, families with children will be more inclined to personally check out the property. If the homeowner has created a garden in the backyard, showcasing and introducing the garden will encourage potential buyers with a green thumb to check out the surrounding area.


Highlighting the Property's Narrative and Uniqueness

Exterior real estate photography can provide visual storytelling for the property from multiple angles. If the listing highlights the property's unique features, potential buyers will engage longer with the listing by clicking through more photos.

Real estate photographers can capture the property at different times of the day, such as Airbnb's most popular treehouse, to showcase the natural light and ambiance experience from morning to night.

Improve the Market Competitiveness of Your Listing (Including Your Own)

Real estate marketing tools, such as social media platforms and real estate agent websites, require visual assets to attract homeowners and potential buyers. Professional real estate photography can demonstrate significant investment and careful consideration of the property, benefiting both the listing and the real estate agent. Strong real estate visuals help create expectations for potential buyers to interact with you and the current homeowners when viewing the property in person.


4 Exterior Real Estate Photography Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Post-production techniques help with many outdoor shoots, but real estate photographers want to accurately represent the property and be as true as possible to its natural, everyday appearance. Of course, post-production and Photoshop still can't completely avoid some challenges, but when real estate photographers and agents collaborate and plan, they can ensure the property looks incredible.

Here are four common challenges in exterior real estate photos — and exterior real estate photography tips to help you find solutions.

Weather
For any professional exterior real estate photographer, weather is the biggest challenge. To get the best real estate photos, whether exterior or interior, you need as much natural light as possible.

If the weather is overcast, diffused light appears. While soft light can minimize dark shadows, it can affect how you highlight the exterior selling points of a property, such as stunning views or a perfect summer courtyard.

Solution: Reschedule or Use Photoshop
Rescheduling the shoot is the primary way to deal with bad weather. If the shoot must take place on the same day, you can wait for the weather to improve, as the sun may break through the clouds, bringing a soft, serene atmosphere to the property and community.

Exterior real estate photographers can also leverage their post-production skills. Some editing and Photoshop platforms offer sky replacement features. If you want to lean towards a natural landscape, you can also bracket the landscape, such as the sky, house, and path, and then stitch the photos together with HDR.


Lighting
For quality images of any property, light is like the "Goldilocks story": too dark, and you'll spend hours in Photoshop. Too bright, and you'll have to deal with harsh shadows.

Solution: Shoot during "Golden Hour"
Complete as many exterior shots as possible during "golden hour" (approximately 1-2 hours after sunrise and before sunset) to take advantage of warm tones and soft shadows. If shooting all day, start with exterior shots, then move to interior photos in the late afternoon and early evening, and finally return to exterior shots to show the house's appearance throughout the day.

If you must work in direct sunlight, you can use diffusers to redistribute and evenly scatter the light, reducing contrast and shadows.


Landscaping and unsightly objects
A cluttered yard, withered lawn, dilapidated fence, and objects can all detract from the aesthetic. A neighbor's yard might also have some branches extending over, creating shadows. If the property overlooks new construction or is adjacent to an old property, its appearance should be de-emphasized in the photos.

Solution: Tidy up and focus on angles
Typically, real estate agents work with homeowners to ensure the entire property, inside and out, looks its best. Schedule a site visit before the shoot to identify areas that may need tidying or touch-ups.

Real estate photographers can frame and adjust angles for exterior photos to showcase the home's selling points, such as the potential for a garden or architectural features that highlight the property's history. Agents can also add notes about the property's potential and surroundings to inspire potential buyers' visions for their potential new home. You can also try retouching any elements in real estate photo editing software!


Limited shooting time
Despite thorough preparation and consideration of external factors like weather, some homeowners can only offer limited shooting time due to scheduling conflicts or last-minute emergencies.

Solution: Create a must-have shot list
Collaborate to create a must-have shot list. Ideally, this includes the front, back, and sides of the property, as well as any interior photos you might be responsible for. Ensure you can tour the property to plan angles that maximize curb appeal. If necessary, ask if any equipment can be brought and set up the day before the shoot to ensure you can quickly get started.

 

How to Get the Best Exterior Visuals for Your Property

While high shutter speeds and ISO values can help capture exterior real estate photos in low light or less ideal conditions, real estate photographers must consider how much work and time it will take to edit these photos to their standards.

Matterport provides the ideal platform and workflow for capturing high-quality images (especially exterior real estate photos) and creating immersive 3D tours of the entire property, inside and out. All you need is a Matterport camera, the Matterport platform, and these helpful exterior real estate photography tips to successfully capture property photos!

Capture High-Quality Images and Create a Digital Twin with the Matterport Pro3 Spatial Scanner

The Pro3 Spatial Scanner uses LiDAR sensors and a 12-lens system, making it easy to create high-quality exterior images and digital twins of indoor and outdoor spaces, day or night.

Compared to other high-quality DSLR cameras, this camera captures data from over 100 meters away, providing a powerful experience. Since the camera captures each scan in less than 20 seconds, you can quickly check for alignment issues and any quality problems. But these issues are rare, as the custom 20-megapixel sensor covers an ultra-wide angle, producing lifelike 2D photo colors and immersive, accurate digital twins.

Ready to practice these exterior real estate photography techniques with the Matterport spatial scanner? It will help your exterior real estate photos leap off the page and allow you to create digital twins, which can not only help you expand your real estate photography offerings but also enable you to build more valuable partnerships with real estate agents!