When creating a listing, Realtors have only one chance to make a first impression. Square footage and robust descriptions are key, but to give potential buyers a real sense of the property, photos are a must. But not all photos are created equal. Despite mobile phone cameras being at the fingertips of virtually everyone, they don’t possess the technology to capture a photo the same as a professional camera. In fact, studies have shown that listings with professional photography sold 50% faster and 39% closer to the original listing price than similar homes without professional photography.

“A phone camera just cannot create the nuance that a professional camera can,” explains Dan Colley, professional real estate photographer and co-owner of North Florida Real Estate Photography, LLC. “It doesn’t have enough of a wide-angle lens; therefore, it cuts rooms into small portions, and you lose a lot of the dynamic range of light.” Colley and his staff shoot with wide-angle lenses, to capture the maximum pictorial information in the room. His process differs from phone and even traditional photography in his methods. He takes multiple shots of each scene and then blends them into one photo. This helps create a full range of color and light, just as seen by the human eye.

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