Add a Twilight Photo to Separate your Brand from others

Sunsets are also very appealing to a lot of people, it is one of the most featured photographs from any range of photographers. Sunsets have something calm and relaxing about them. Especially here in Hawaii, being able to covey a vacation vibes and sunset background could be very appealing to off-island buyers.

You can schedule a Sunset Photoshoot OR use a Virtual Twilight photo. A twilight image of a home can really help viewers take that second look to see more of a home inside as well. If the outside is more appealing then they will have more curiosity to look at the other parts of the home. It can also be part of the agent’s brand to have twilight photos for all of the single-family home listings.

Do twilight shoots really help to sell a home?

A real estate agency decided to test the difference between daytime professional photography and evening professional photography, and here’s what they found:

“This house was track­ing at about 1,000 views in one week with about 10 call-ins. Then we changed the photo the next week (noth­ing else) to a twi­light shot. Guess what? Where views nor­mally drop off (because it is con­sidered a stale list­ing after 1 week), they picked up by approx­im­ately 50% to 1,500 views and 15 call-ins in a week when inquir­ies tra­di­tion­ally drops off.”

So that’s 50% more people who viewed the property, and 50% more people who contacted the selling agent to find out more about it. If you’re not sure, feel free to test this yourself and compare how well a daytime photo shoot compares with the twilight photos, and see if you notice a difference. I would think that, on average, you will see a better result when using twilight photography for most homes.

However, is it better to book a twilight shoot or a daytime shoot?

Here’s a comparison for you to compare. Now obviously every home will be different, but in this example, we have a daytime photo of the exterior of this home and the twilight photo of the same property:

As you can see, the daytime photo is very good, but the twilight photo, with its strong colors and great lighting, is going to stand out a whole lot more when competing against other homes in the same area. This is a home in Kihei which is usually hot and very sunny. With a twilight photo, it gives people a more calm and relaxing feel to it. And most listing in the area will probably not have a twilight photo, do you think more viewers will click the daytime photo or twilight photo as listing cover photo?

“Twilight shoots can be appealing for marketing campaigns. but daytime shoots can really bring out the warmth of the home.”

— Photographer Angela Giles from Victor Harbor

A daytime shoot can work very well on a bright, sunny day, especially homes with ocean views or strong exterior colors that look great when the sun is hitting them (just be sure to book the shoot for the right time of day!)

However, most homes can benefit from a twilight real estate photo shoot. The glow of the lights inside the home, the absence of shadows from the sun, and of course a stunning sunset all combine to create a visually appealing image.

By the way, this house went on the market for 1 day, 56 views on Zillow. 1 Pending Offer in a day!

“With the warm interior lights contrasting against the cool blues of the evening sky, a twilight photo resonates with our primordial need for shelter & protection.”

— Sunshine Coast real estate photographer Jon May

This property has special lighting in the front of the house. For sure, we would want to show off that during sunset time.

And sometimes, it is not too easy to have a clear ocean view with a majestic sunset. Here is a sample of our digitally created sunset photo. Ideally, we took this at sunset so overall lighting is most accurate, but for location like upcountry with very unpredictable weather, it could be very cloudy during sunset. We offer a virtual alternative.

What about photography prices for a twilight shoot?

A lot of professional real estate photographers will have higher fees for their sunset shoots. Due to obvious time restrictions, a photographer can only deliver one twilight shoot per day. Some people ask their real estate photography if they have other jobs to attend to after completing an evening shoot, but in most situations that just isn’t possible. Once it gets dark (about 30 minutes after the sun goes down), then that’s about it for the day as it just gets too dark to adequately photograph a property. This restriction on the number of shoots, and their high demand, leads to a premium price being introduced by most experienced photographers.

If you are just thinking about trying the effects of having a twilight photo for your listing, we recommend starting with a virtual twilight photo. See if you like the result.

Inquire for photoshoot with FLOCUS Studio.

Project Highlight: Peaceful Upcountry Designer Home

Recently, I have the pleasure to photograph a beautiful home in Kula in upcountry for an owner who was going to sell the property himself. It is a single-family home with a loft and a bonus ohana, 2,400 sqft with 3.2 acres of land. I want to share my work process and experience.

The owner would like to have property interior and exterior photos, aerial photos of the house and the view, twilight photos taken at sunset, and a video walkthrough. He was going to sell it primarily through photos and video because it is a for sale by owner and he lives off the island. Because of the unpredictable weather in upcountry and we are now in the “winter” raining season, the clouds could cover the ocean view in a short period of time. It took three visits to complete this project because of the weather, however, it is totally worth it! I didn’t want the sky to be too dark or not able to highlight the most important selling point of the ocean view.

The result is very rewarding, the owner received a cash full price offer before he list on market! Let’s check out this house.

Breathtaking view to capture. We waited for the most sunny day to capture this view.

I love the spaciousness of the kitchen, and how bright the space is with sunlight coming through. I want to highlight the ceiling window design. Having photos taken during sunset also gives a totally different feel of the house.

Master bedroom with beautiful light fixture and a lanai to go outside.

When taking the photos, I want the people to be able to envision how it is like to live here, show them they can watch sunset from this big balcony every day.

Check out the property video.

This was a very fun property to film. What I love most is the opportunity to communicate with the original owner and hear about their process of renovating and designing the house.

If you also plan to sell your house or need listing photos, we offer full photographer services, listing photos, 3D Tour, property video walkthrough, twilight photos, and virtual staging services, serving all area of Maui. We serve owners, architects, designers, realtors, and vacation rental property managers.

Check out our portfolio and know more.