Why Twilight Shoots Are a Good Investment

Twilight photography is just one of a number of real estate photography trends taking place today. But what exactly is twilight photography and why might you offer the service to your customers?

Other marketing strategies, using, say, 3D virtual tour technology or aerial drones, allow home buyers to get a more accurate or intimate look at a property. Viral videos can tell a story and create a buzz online. And print ads, like postcards or brochures, put pictures in a customer’s hands. But perhaps no other marketing tool attracts a buyer’s attention like a shot of a home at dusk.

What is twilight photography?
Most real estate photos are shot during daylight hours. That is a great way to take in full detail and bold colors. But traditional daytime photography does not always make for an interesting image, especially when picture after picture, from one property to the next, all show similar scenes.

Twilight photography, on the other hand, captures a subject at the “golden hour,” either just before sunrise or just after sunset. Actually, the term golden hour is a little misleading, since it sometimes lasts for only fifteen minutes or so. But in that coveted window of time, when the sun is low on the horizon and casting a warm and mysterious glow, a photographer can create stunning pictures.

Of course, just as an array of real estate photographs can consist of more than mere pictures of a home and property, the same holds true for twilight pictures. You can add impressive images of other outdoor spaces, waterfront views, landscapes, city skylines, and more.

What are the benefits of twilight photography?
Photography is arguably among the most important real estate marketing strategies at your disposal. Homes listed with quality photographs – and plenty of them – tend to sell faster than other listings. Across some price ranges, they even sell for more money. Why? Well, consider what a twilight photo might do.

Twilight photos are alluring. Appealing. Eye-catching. With an air of mystique, majestic twilight shots set themselves apart from the crowd when buyers are scrolling through thumbnails, browsing through listings, or searching across social media. 

Elegant twilight images also allow an agent to showcase features of a home that are not visible during the day, or that might be less-than-impressive without some help. For instance, accent lighting does not show well in the sunlight, but when matched to the level of the interior lighting of a home and the level of light from the sun just before it goes dark, the exterior lighting can cast eerie and enticing shadows to add an element of interest. Many features – a deck, a pool, or a patio fire pit – can come to new life in the light of the rising or falling sun. At the same time, defects are de-emphasized in a twilight photo.

Nearly ninety percent of homebuyers who searched for a home on the internet (according to the NAR) found photos to be among the most useful features of a realtor’s website. That means, not only will your listing photos garner more views for a home, but they make a wonderful addition to your portfolio and boost interest in your business as well.

How do you prepare for a twilight shoot?
Because the “golden hour” lasts for such a short time, it is essential that a home be prepared in advance so that, once the time has come, the photographer can start snapping pictures. Everything happens very quickly once the shoot begins and it is easy to underestimate the time it takes to get everything set up, especially if the homeowner will not be home to show you where all of the switches are. Here are some helpful hints to help a homeowner get ready for twilight photography:

• Turn on all of the interior lights
• Turn on all of the exterior lights and landscape lighting (you might need to cover up the photocells on any solar lights in the yard so that they come on before dark)
• Reduce lighting that is too bright by unscrewing select bulbs that throw off the balance
• Have a ladder handy so that adjustments can be made in a flash when the photographer arrives
• Consider staging various areas of interest – the patio, pool deck, etc.- with the house in the background
• If your photographer prefers, have a hose handy to wet down the driveway or cement areas so they are set for a twilight shoot
• If you are doing the shoot yourself (as opposed to hiring a professional real estate photographer), make sure to use a tripod and a quality camera. Use a low ISO setting and shoot raw; you can edit your photos later

What is virtual twilight?
Sometimes referred to as a day-to-dusk, or twilight conversion, virtual twilight is when a photographer or photo editing specialist uses exterior photos taken during daylight hours and digitally alters them to appear as if they were taken at twilight. It allows an ordinary photograph to be transformed into a dramatic representation of a house at dusk.

Why might you opt for virtual twilight instead of the real thing? Well, the tight window of opportunity required for twilight photography might not fit into your schedule with every client. When you do not have the time for a twilight shoot, or when you have restricted access to a property, virtual twilight may be the answer, since you can use existing exterior digital images.

Once you have selected and submitted a photograph to be converted to twilight, a photographer or editing technician will add light in all the windows, add a brilliant dusk sky, and fix minor imperfections – ready to go in a day or two.

Yes, twilight photography is trending in real estate, but that does not mean that everyone is doing it. You can help your listings – and your business brand – to stand out when you offer a bit of twilight photography as part of your marketing mix.