Making a small room feel bigger
Shoot from the corner of the room, not the doorway, so two walls are in frame and the floor runs diagonally. A dolly from that corner toward the window adds depth that a wide photo cannot. Keep the camera at chest height; a low angle makes furniture loom and the room shrink.
- Open every blind and turn on every lamp before the first photo.
- Clear the kitchen counters completely — in a compact kitchen, every object reads as clutter.
- One move per room, and never two rooms in one clip.
Lead with the view or the light
If the unit has a view, the view push is the first clip to make: it crosses the living room and lands on the glass. If it has no view but good light, shoot at the hour the light is best and use a truck along the windows. Expose for the outside in every photo so the windows never blow out.
Show what the building adds
Buyers of a condo are buying the building as much as the unit. A front-door approach into the lobby, a truck along the gym or the pool deck, and a drone reveal of the tower from outside, if you can get aerial photos, each earn a clip. Check the building's rules on photography in shared spaces first.
Mistakes specific to condos
- Shooting the balcony from inside without stepping onto it — do the balcony pull-back instead.
- A drone clip of the whole tower with no way to tell which unit is for sale; say the floor in the caption.
- Filming neighbours' balconies or windows in the exterior clips.
Questions
Can a listing video work for a studio or a one-bedroom?
Yes, and it often helps more than it does for a large house, because the video shows how the space connects. Two or three clips — a corner dolly, a view push and a kitchen truck — are enough.
Should the video include the building amenities?
One clip, at most two, after the unit. The unit is what is for sale; the amenities are the reason to pick this building over the one next door.
Read next
- How to Make a Real Estate Listing Video (Without a Videographer)A step-by-step guide to making a real estate listing video from the photos you already have: which rooms to cover, how to shoot each one, and how to cut it for the MLS and social.
- How to Make a View Push Real Estate VideoA view push crosses the room and finishes at the glass, on the view. It makes the view the destination of the shot rather than a bright patch in the corner of a photo, which is exactly how a buyer experiences it at a showing.
- Luxury Listing Video: Pace, Moves and RestraintHow to make a luxury real estate video from photos that reads as expensive: slower pacing, longer clips, reveal and drone moves, and the restraint that separates it from a standard listing reel.