A client told me my listing photos were making rooms look smaller

I was shooting wide angle on everything until a buyer said the bedrooms looked like closets. Switched to a 35mm lens for my last three listings in Fresno and actually got compliments on the space feeling bigger. Has anyone else had to unlearn a photography habit they thought was standard?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor66814d ago

I caught a YouTube video from a real estate photographer out of Austin who talked about this exact thing. He said clients get weirded out by too much distortion when you go ultra wide, and it makes them question the actual dimensions of the room. I tried switching to a 40mm equivalent on my last shoot and the hallway that used to look like a tunnel actually felt open and inviting. Wide angle works great for showing the full kitchen layout but bedrooms really do need something tighter so the bed doesn't look like a twin in a box. The buyer feedback alone is worth ditching the fisheye look forever.

murphy.barbara12d ago

Wait, you're telling me @taylor668 actually saw that Austin video too, I thought I was the only one who found it!

julia_patel14d ago

You know, I used to be all about that ultra-wide life too (like, 16mm on full frame was my go-to). I thought bigger angle meant bigger room. But @taylor668 you hit the nail on the head with that Austin video reference, that's what finally clicked for me. I tried a 35mm on a tiny master bedroom after seeing that and suddenly the queen bed looked like a queen bed instead of a cot in a storage unit. The buyer feedback was night and day, people actually said the room felt airy instead of cramped. I feel kinda dumb for not realizing sooner that distortion was working against me, but hey, better late than never. Switching lenses has been the best unlearning I've done in years.