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Shooting technique

My exact camera settings
and on-site workflow.

Seven years of shooting real estate. These are the settings I use on every single shoot — no guessing, no tweaking on the fly. Dial these in and you can focus on composition instead of fumbling with your camera.

Camera settings

Save these. Use them every time.

I shoot on Aperture Priority and I shoot strictly HDR brackets. This is the foundation of my entire shooting workflow — consistent settings mean consistent results, which means less time in editing.

Mode
Av
Aperture Priority. The camera handles exposure, you control depth of field.
Aperture
f/9
Sharp front to back. Everything in the room stays in focus.
ISO
640
Low enough to avoid noise, high enough to keep shutter speeds reasonable indoors.
Bracketing
HDR
2 stops apart. Captures the full dynamic range of any room — bright windows, dark corners.
Why HDR brackets?

Real estate has an extreme dynamic range problem — windows are blown out, shadowed corners are black, and no single exposure can capture both perfectly. Shooting 2-stop HDR brackets gives your editor (or AutoHDR) everything it needs to produce a perfectly balanced image. This is industry standard for a reason.

On-site workflow

What I do the moment I arrive.

Having a consistent arrival routine means you're never wasting time figuring out where to start. Walk in, follow the same process every time, walk out. Here's mine.

1
Do a full walkthrough before touching your camera
Walk every room first. Take note of problem areas — bad lighting, clutter, windows that will be tricky. Plan your angles before you start shooting. Two minutes of planning saves twenty minutes of reshooting.
First thing, every time
2
Turn on all lights, open all blinds
Every light in the house on. Every blind open to the same level. Ceiling fans off. TVs off. Toilet seats down. These are the small things that separate a professional shoot from an amateur one. Do a checklist in your head before you shoot each room.
Before every room
3
Shoot all interiors first
I always shoot every interior room before going outside. Interior lighting doesn't change as fast as natural light outside. Lock in your interiors while the light is consistent, then handle exterior shots at the end.
Interior before exterior
4
Finish with exterior shots
Exterior last. Check the sun position — front-lit is almost always better than backlit. Walk around the whole property before picking your angles. Get the front, back, and any strong features (pool, garage, landscaping) from the most flattering angle.
End of every shoot
Room order

The order I shoot every room.

Consistent room order means you never miss a shot and you move through the house efficiently. Here's the order that works for me on a standard listing.

1
Living room / main living area
Sets the tone — most important shot of the whole shoot
2
Kitchen
Second most important room — often sells the house
3
Dining room
Usually adjacent to kitchen — shoot them together efficiently
4
Primary bedroom
Most important bedroom — get the best angles here
5
Primary bathroom
Buyers care about bathrooms — take time here
6
Secondary bedrooms & bathrooms
Move through these efficiently — 2-3 shots each
7
Any bonus spaces
Office, laundry, basement, garage — document everything
8
Exterior
Front, back, drone — always last
Next up

Now let's talk editing.

You've got the shot. Now see how I go from raw files to client-ready photos without spending hours in Lightroom.

See my editing workflow →