Photoshoot Lighting Guide

PHOTOSHOOT LIGHTING GUIDE

Following are some simple suggestions to help ensure your professional photos get noticed online as well as providing a warm and inviting feeling to buyers seeing the property in person.

LIGHT BULB COLORS & WHICH ONE SHOULD I CHOOSE?

• The 4 colors of bulbs you’ll find most often are Soft White (2700K-3000K), Warm White (3000K-4000K), Bright White (4000K-5000K), and Daylight (5500K-6500K). The following chart demonstrates the colors on the Kelvin Temperature Scale that measures warmth and coolness that is given off visually when light is added to a room.

• As professional photographers, we suggest Warm White bulbs with at least a 3000K measure throughout the home. They compliment most homes and their décor, and they aren’t too dark and yellow or too bright and white. 
• The type and style of room may guide your bulb color decision (e.g., kitchen is often a bright white bulb)
• At a minimum, the same color bulb should be used in individual rooms.  Especially when you have a mixture of recessed and lamp lighting. 

STYLE OF BULB

• Today’s bulb styles include incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, and LED. Obviously use what works for the type of fixture or lamp but be consistent in individual rooms.

PLEASE DON’T FORGET: In our professional experience, the 3 areas that homeowners forget to swap out lights or even have working lights follow. Attention to detail can often make all the difference when showing the pride you take in your home.  

• Under the Cabinet 
• Closets 
• Porch and Flood Lights

If you haven’t bought bulbs in a while, your local hardware or lighting store is a great resource when choosing colors and styles.  In addition to actual displays, their sales’ staffs are experienced in helping to support homeowners selling their homes.

When all is said and done, your real estate agent is a wealth of knowledge.  They sell houses for a living and will be honest as to how your house should be lit to help ensure buyers get a “warm fuzzy” feeling when looking at the listing photographs online or when touring the listing in person