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

what is happening to house prices
Letting Agent Talk

Smart Upgrades: Boosting Rental Property Value Without Breaking the Bank

Most landlords don’t have a vault of gold stashed away for renovations. If you do, good for you (and maybe hide it better?). But for the rest of us, improving a rental property usually means walking a tightrope between cost and ROI. So what can you actually do that won’t drain your savings, and still…
Read More
Home and Living

Creating the Perfect Rental: Balancing Aesthetics, Functionality, and ROI

Let’s get this out of the way: “perfect” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that title. Because, really, no rental is perfect. Not for everyone. Not forever. But if you’re aiming to create a rental that looks good, works well, and pays you back in more than just stress headaches? You’re in the…
Read More
Letting Agent Talk

The Landlord’s Guide to Hassle-Free Maintenance and Long-Term Tenant Satisfaction

Do you own rental property? If yes, you already know that you are being put on a test: keeping things running smoothly while somehow managing not to lose your mind (or your best tenants). Maintenance. It’s not fun. But neglect it, and your rental becomes a revolving door of disappointed tenants and mounting repair bills.…
Read More
Breaking News

Inheritance Tax Receipts raise £0.8 billion in one month

Inheritance tax receipts hit £0.8 billion in April 2025 according to data released by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) this morning. This is £97 million higher than in April of the previous tax year, and continues an upward trend over the last two decades. With such a strong start to the new tax year, predictions that Inheritance tax…
Read More
Breaking News

Zoopla research reveals homeownership outranks marriage as top priority for UK adults

A new survey from Zoopla reveals that 48 per cent of UK renters in a relationship are prioritising saving for a home over a wedding, with this figure rising to 59 per cent amongst Gen Z The financial pressures of saving for a home have resulted in a fifth considering postponing marriage in favour of…
Read More
Breaking News

London rental market rebalances amid rising supply

Foxtons data shows There was a 5% increase in market supply in April, and a 9%, increase in market supply of new instructions year to date The average rent in April 2025 increased by 3% to stand at £589 per week April saw a 3% month-on-month reduction in applicant registrations, which goes against the trend…
Read More