Best time of day for real estate photography

Being a real estate photographer, you will work with clients to book shoots during times that work well for both parties, though another component besides timing the shoot around other appointments, is timing it just right in relation to the sun.

There are two times a day which are ideal for real estate photography shoots, those being morning and late afternoon shoots.

Early morning shoots: There is nothing that quite beats that early morning exposure. Something about that morning sun makes for a really crisp and dynamic photo. The position of the sun leads to the best reduction of shadows and is great on exteriors. Unfortunately there is only one 8:00am a day, which many people will be occupied during.

The second best time of the day for a photoshoot is going to be in the late afternoon. Anything beyond 5 is my favorite, during the spring this gives us 2 hours of daylight to work with before the sun sets, and should set us up to finish our last photos of the day in the one and only true "golden hour" which is the 30 minutes leading to, and after sunset, which can make for a gorgeous exterior.

I try and base my daily shoots around these two preferred times. We generally only try to avoid shooting outdoors when the sun is directly overhead around noon time. But not to worry, I have lots of experience shooting in mid day when it is the only time period that we can make work for us. I would do any interior shots during mid day, then move to the shots in the exterior at the very end of the shoot, hopefully once the sun has drifted out of the way.

Worst case scenario for a mid-day shoot, I can come back around provided it was not a shoot I drove hours away from Springfield or Branson to get too, and we can come back around to finish the exteriors during golden hour. I always go the extra mile to make sure we get that lighting right.

What if it is raining? I have done many a spring shoots during rainy days. During march of 2023 we only had about 4 days of sunshine the whole month, so we made due. When shooting the university lofts in Jonesboro AR, it had been raining the entire day, so we moved the shoot back till 3. We can continue with a shoot in up to light rain, and the overcast sky can actually make for really even toned lighting for exterior shots, and really smooth lighting through windows for your interiors!

Just as long as it is not raining so hard I cannot safely take my equipment outdoors, the shoot must go on, and as you can see in my portfolio with the university lofts, the overcast sky came out to a beautiful result. But if it comes down to it, and for those who are not into the more dramatic overcast sky look, you can request a sky replacement, as you can see below where we had the blue sky and clouds put in, along with the even exposure lighting from the overcast sky can actually lead to an amazing result! So do not overlook booking your shoot on an overcast day, it may work out even better!