Over the past decade, social media has transformed how we discover, view, and share photos of all kinds – including property photos. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest have provided new venues for estate agents and property photographers to showcase listings to massive audiences. This has dramatically impacted trends in real estate photography as professionals adapt to catch the eyes of potential buyers scrolling on their phones.
Trend Towards Bolder, More Stylised Photos
One of the most noticeable effects is the shift towards brighter, bolder, and more stylised photos that pop on feeds. The days of basic visual documentation of rooms and features are fading. Instead, property photos are taking on a magazine-style quality with attention-grabbing colours and focal points. Strategic use of lighting, angles, props, and even post-processing creates photos tailored to stand out on thumbnail-sized screens.
Wide-Angle Photography Showcases Space
Wide-angle photography has also grown popular to showcase more of rooms and space. This allows viewers to better imagine themselves experiencing the ambiance and layout in person. Wider photos also capture interior design elements like furniture arrangements, windows, and architectural details that set a mood or style.
Social Media Unifies Expectations
The rise of sites like Houzz, which aggregates millions of home photos in clean, consistent layouts, has also unified expectations for property visuals. Photographers now shoot multiple exposure brackets to balance bright and shadowed areas. Staging is more critical than ever, even for empty rentals, to inspire viewers with decor examples. The fundamentals like sharpness and framing are elevated to match the presentation buyers see from major sites and feeds.
Great Photos Drive Engagement
In turn, this instant access to polished property photos has heightened buyers’ visual discernment. Online browsing behaviour studies by Redfin, Zillow, and others show that buyers skip past listings without professional, high-quality photos. Great photos dramatically improve clicks, saves, shares, and bookings for showings.
Social Platforms Offer Marketing Potential
For photographers, social platforms have also provided powerful new marketing channels. Photo-centric sites like Instagram and Houzz have proven highly effective for real estate pros to broadcast their personal branding and best work. The incredible reach to targeted, photo-hungry audiences was nearly impossible a decade ago. Savvy creative positioning on social feeds now translates directly into client leads and bookings.
Strengthening Personal Brand
While referrals traditionally drove property photography business, today’s social-media-empowered buyers often seek out photographers directly based on their Instagram or Facebook presence. This inspires photographers to share more behind-the-scenes work, interact with audiences, and strengthen their personal brand identity. For small operations, social leverage has helped many boutique real estate photographers effectively compete with big agencies and studios.
The Future of Property Photography
The social media landscape will only intensify its impact on real estate visual media. As platforms and technology advance, the potential to create even more stunning and shareable photography expands. Work with a reliable property photographer and get the best photos of your property to advertise on social media. Then you can get the most out of your marketing efforts.