Blue sky thinking on how to stand out on property portals

Here at Doctor Photo we put in blue skies for hundreds of customers every day. We perform this service as part of a Facelift for exterior shots, turning a dull day into a sunny one. This can be the cherry on the top for exterior shots, ultimately showing the property off in its best light on property portals – helping the property look good in front of potential purchasers as well as raising the quality of an agent’s brand image for potential vendors.

But what if you wanted to be a little different? What if you used the power of the sky and the way it enhances and changes a property to stand out in property portals, not just as a stamp of quality?
One of the easiest ways to make your properties stand out from the competition is to use photos that are so obviously unlike the others on the portals and in your news ads, that they’ll prove irresistible to buyers who will want to find out more. Have you ever thought about night time, dusk or dawn photography?

A property at night can often be more beautiful, especially if there are lights in the garden, on the driveway or lighting up a porch. It not only looks beautiful but it can add intrigue and it will certainly stand out from the 99.9% of lead shots on Rightmove & Zoopla.

 

But how do you take nighttime photos like the above?
There are several rules and I’ve listed them here:

⦁ Use a tripod and a cable release

⦁ Use exposure bracketing to take at least three photos ranging from very dark (so that you can see detail through the windows) to light so that you can see the elevation of the property. The photos should be at intervals of atleast 2 F-stops apart.

⦁ Blend them together using a shareway program like Enfuse GUI
⦁ Take the photos when twilight has just passed into darkness so that the sky won’t appear too bright.

⦁ Use a low iso (so that the image will be high qualit

⦁ Enhance the photo using a programme light photoshop
Obviously to take these sorts of shots you’ll need to be a night owl, using up your evenings or getting up super early.

But there is another way…
Another method might be to take your shots during the day as normal & rely on point 6 above – using photoshop.

If you don’t know how to do it you could send it to an agency like us (www.doctor-photo.co.uk) who are property image editing experts. Send the image across to us and we’ll transform the exposure, sky and shadows to show your property off in a completely different light. Imagine how this could make your properties stand out online?
Here are a few examples of one of my shots I’ve played around with:

⦁ A standard dark sky can be added pretty -easily to a day time shot. Pair this with a fix to the shadows, exposure and turning on the lights, the effect can be striking!

 

⦁ Feeling bold? Why not ask us to add in a dark sky with character?

 

⦁ Feeling really -bold? Perhaps it’s a house with real character and you want to reflect this in the environment. Why not ask us to give it a dusk or dawn sky? It would certainly stand out in the portals!

 

Interested?
If you’d like to add blue skies or even go the extra mile and really stand out on property portals with dusk and dawn shots, register here www.doctor-photo.co.uk and your first 5 Facelifts are completely free!

Tom Durrant

Doctor Photo are a leading Image Enhancing Agency. We enhance and transform photos taken by leading estate agents, property developers and photographers, to maximise the appeal and value of their clients’ houses and commercial properties.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Applicant budgets remain stable and rental prices in line with historic norms

Ratio of new renters per instruction rose by 5.1% from 8.9 to 9.4 applications per instruction. Average rental prices declined by 4% in November 2025, remaining closely aligned with November levels observed over the past four years. Year-to-date, average rental prices are 2% higher in 2025 compared to 2024.   New data from Foxtons, London’s…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

The Impact of Increasing Lease Conversions on Estate Agents in 2026

2026 is shaping up to be a watershed year for the property market. Economic pressures, shifting demand and regulatory changes are converging to create a surge in lease conversion applications. For estate agents, this “perfect storm” will reshape the portfolios they manage and redefine their role in advising landlords. Mustafa Sidki of the construction team…
Read More
Breaking News

First-time buyers help drive the most home moves for three years

Zoopla forecasts 1.5% house price growth for 2026 Housing sales hit 1.2 million over 2025 despite Q4 Budget slowdown More sales doesn’t mean faster price growth – house prices rise just 1.1 per cent (vs 1.9 per cent in 2024) The hottest markets for price growth across Britain are the Scottish Borders (TD postal area…
Read More
Breaking News

Mortgage Lending Statistics – December 2025

Latest findings The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans increased by 0.9% from the previous quarter to £1,733.7 billion, and was 2.9% higher than a year earlier. The value of gross mortgage advances increased by 36.9% from the previous quarter to £80.4 billion, the largest increase in new advances since 2020 Q3, and was…
Read More
bank of england interest rate
Breaking News

Bank of England interest rates decision – Thoughts from the Industry

The Bank of England has just announced its decision to cut the base rate to 3.75%, the first cut seen since August of this year. This decision comes after inflation (CPI) dropped to 3.2% in November (from 3.6% in October), slowly edging towards the Bank’s 2.0% target. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 5-4 in favour…
Read More
Breaking News

A Winter Rate Cut to Thaw the Market

By Kevin Shaw, National Sales Managing Director, LRG Today’s reduction in interest rates is very welcome news – for homeowners, buyers, property professionals, and no doubt Government ministers. This warming news is set against a chilly backdrop: unemployment has increased to 5.1%, while the November Budget tightened the fiscal screws. Inflation, however, has eased to…
Read More