Doing lots of real estate photography means your digital files will pile up quickly. In the days of film, it was too expensive to create so many photos but with digital photography, it is easy to get carried away. Before you know it, you will end up with hundreds of real estate photos cluttering up your computer.
If you’re not sure how to start, here are some tips to help you learn to manage your photos:
- Avoid Identical Shots
Avoid shooting multiple near-identical images as it will leave you with many versions of one photo. Since we can’t predict what looks best in advance, we should experiment with a variety of angles. Try taking a photo or two from one end of a room before switching to the other side and reversing the angle. You can either have a photo with all the lights on or off.
- Edit Immediately
Avoid taking too many photos and keeping them as if they were precious gems. Edit your photos as soon as you can by previewing each shot after taking them. If it’s not up to your expectations, delete it before taking another. If it’s inconvenient to delete photos from your camera because the screen is too small, edit them on your computer.
- Use A System For Filenames
Start using a useful and sensible system for naming your files, preferably something tells you a bit about the photo. A common practice is to use “Date_ImageNumber.jpg” or descriptive filenames such as “StreetNumber_ImageNumber_Room.jpg”. This allows you to determine when and where the photo was taken. Make sure you are consistent in naming your photos.
- Keep Versions Separate
Sometimes you need to save several versions of the same image for your various marketing materials. The filename is a good place to denote these differences and again, consistency is the key. A common practice is to include the date of the photo taken, place and purpose in the filename, such as “012017_livingroom_website.jpg” or “012017_bathroom_twitter.jpg”.
A good organisation of your real estate photos will make things easier for you. You don’t have to spend endless hours searching for your photos and you can maximise the marketing value for your photos after successfully segregating them according to your marketing materials. So start saving your photos today with the proper filenames!
