In the competitive arena of selling online, images have a critical role to play in impressing prospects. In fact, real estate headshots are considered more vital for companies that specialize in selling properties on the internet.
It’s highly imperative for you to get your real estate headshots right to make the most out of your opportunities.
And if you’re looking for ways to do that, you’ve come to the right place! In this blog, you’ll learn why real estate agent headshots matter and how to get the best one for your profile following our tips.
Why are real estate agent headshots important?
With the advent of the internet, real estate as a profession has become highly competitive. To stand out from the crowd and attract more customer attention, you need to have powerful headshots up for display on your company website.
Real estate headshots have become even higher in demand now that most real estate companies specialize exclusively in selling properties online, not through traditional industry channels.
You need to get hold of professional photographs that can help you boost your online presence and differentiate yourself from your peers. Here is why real estate headshots are very critical in your real estate business.
They show you care
Your headshots help the customer get a feel for what you look like. And when it comes to making buying decisions, they do consider appearance and presentation very important.
As such, when your prospects come across your company website and find well-kept real estate headshots of you in an organized manner, it validates their belief that you are serious about your business and care enough for its continuity.
You stand out
While many real estate agents have similar websites with similar content, we can guarantee that yours will impress people more than others simply because of elaborate and professional shots of yourself.
Your high-quality images show customers how much work goes into putting things together and give them a sense of what they should expect from your business. With all this, you’re guaranteed to stand out from the crowd.
They boost your credibility
As mentioned before, one of the primary reasons people buy online is that they do not feel comfortable visiting homes to look for properties.
As such, if your prospects come across real estate headshots that give them an idea about what you look like and if they can trust you, then there will be no turning back for them.
Furthermore, it also helps establish a sense of comfort since people love dealing with other individuals who remind them of themselves.
Professional photographers can improve customer satisfaction
Real estate headshots take a lot of time and patience. If you have a professional photographer doing the job for you, this certainly will be one less headache for you.
Additionally, you will feel more satisfied with your portraits since a professional photographer handles them instead of an amateur.
Although several benefits come with having real estate headshots on your website or blog, remember that they should represent who you really are no matter how good your pictures look.
So pull out those professional dresses and sharp suits and get your makeup and hair looking just right to impress your prospects.
What makes real estate agent headshots professional?
Professional real estate headshots should take into consideration several factors, including the following:
Lighting
The best way to avoid shadows in your images is by having a window on the left side of your face.
Composition
Make sure to have your headshot taken from a medium distance and not too close or very far. Also, it would help if you always had open body language since it projects friendliness and confidence at the same time.
In addition, avoid looking down as this makes people look smaller than they actually are.
Lens choice
When shooting real estate headshots, it is best to generally use a 50mm lens which helps flatten facial features and gives bodies a more proportionate appearance than the human eye.
Furthermore, longer lenses make objects appear larger, whereas shorter lenses make them look much smaller.
Post-processing
When it comes to post-processing, most professional photographers use the single image method, where they capture (and crop) an image and then do all their retouching in that one image. It’s best to avoid using tools such as liquefy and red-eye removers since these can give your pictures a plastic appearance.
Types of real estate agent headshots
While real estate headshots come in different shapes and sizes, there are two main categories: portrait and body shot.
Portrait headshot
The portrait headshot generally shows your subject against a simple background with very few distractions. This image also focuses on the head and shoulders of the subject, where you can have either vertical or horizontal framing of the shot.
Body shot
A body shot is essentially a full-length photograph showing you from head to your knees. This gives you an idea of how tall and big (or small) you are in relation to others. It also allows you to see what you look like from different angles, such as your legs and arms.
Consequently, if done right, real estate headshots will help you get more sales, so it’s important that you hire a professional photographer who has extensive experience in this kind of work.
7 Essential Tips That Will Help You Get the Best Headshots
There are some essential real estate headshot ideas you can try to get the perfect headshots that will help you take your real estate business to the next level. Here are the top seven essential tips that every realtor should consider when looking for the best real estate headshots:
1. Hire a professional photographer
If you want quality real estate headshots, hire a professional real estate photographer instead of an amateur. Also, these people might even ask to come back for some future work if everything goes well during the first sitting.
2. Have your makeup and hair done
It’s always a good idea to have your makeup and hair professionally done before having your pictures taken because this will help you look great in them.
Make sure that you go for natural-looking makeup instead of heavy eye shadow, lipstick, or blush since this kind of style does not work so well with headshots.
In addition, keep in mind that hairstyles should be simple enough not to distract from the main subject – yourself! To avoid getting a bad picture, avoid wearing your favorite outfit that you wear all the time.
3. Get a variety of pictures
It’s always a good idea to get several shots so you can have a wide range to choose from when it comes time to edit them. One photo might have your best side, while another one will show your worst side. But this is okay since you can delete any that turns out less than perfect after editing.
However, don’t change too much in the editing phase because then, people won’t recognize you anymore, and instead, they’ll think that somebody else took the pictures!
4. Know what style you want
Before taking your headshots, know exactly what kind of pictures you need. For instance, do you want landscape or portrait-style shots? And if you are looking for portrait-style images, what kind of background do you want in the photo? You can decide on these things beforehand, or else your photographer might choose for you.
5. Choose the location wisely
Keep in mind that the location where you have your headshots taken is just as important as anything else. Avoid taking pictures in places with many distractions because this background will not add much value to your shots.
In addition, try and identify a spot that emphasizes who you are and what you do.
For example, having your images taken at a gym will probably work better than at home since people can relate exercise to good health.
6. The pose
Make sure you don’t look stiff in your real estate headshots because this kind of pose will not be impressive to potential customers.
Instead, show a little bit of attitude but make sure that your facial expression represents a happy and successful image for yourself!
Also, before starting the shoot, make sure you know what poses should be avoided, such as touching one’s face or arms too much because these could come across as hiding something from others.
7. Pay for a session, not just one headshot
While it’s good to look at samples of headshots before hiring a photographer, don’t just stop there because you might end up settling for less than what you need.
Look for someone who offers sessions that include several headshots instead of just one or two since this will give you more idea of how the final images will turn out.
Final Thoughts
Having compelling real estate agent headshots is essential if you want your business to succeed online. As people are looking only at pictures, yours must be high quality to attract prospects and hopefully increase sales.
If you keep these tips in mind when taking your real estate agent headshots, you’ll be well on your way to improving your realty business.
