Light, weather and when to shoot
Winter is long and often bright; chinooks in Calgary bring warm, clear days that make good exteriors. Summer light is long — evenings are the exterior. Wildfire smoke can flatten the sky for weeks in summer; re-shoot when it clears. Expose for snow so it reads white.
What sells here, and what buyers want to see
Calgary's suburbs sell newer construction, developed basements, garages and the view of the mountains from the west side; inner-city infills sell design and the walk. Edmonton sells the river valley, mature neighbourhoods and value. Foothills acreages sell the view, the shop and the drive to the city.
The clips to make
- View push to the Rockies from a west-facing home; balcony pull-back on an acreage.
- Truck along the heated garage; slide down into the developed basement.
- Foothills acreages: a drone top-down of the parcel and a façade glide past the shop and the barn.
Rules worth checking
Alberta sales commonly rely on a Real Property Report with municipal compliance rather than a mandated condition disclosure; a property disclosure form is used by practice and the video should match it. Drone work follows Transport Canada's pilot certificate and airspace rules; Calgary and Edmonton airports restrict large areas. Provincial privacy law applies to photographing neighbours.
Disclosure, drone and privacy rules change and differ by MLS and municipality; confirm the current version with your broker before you rely on anything here.
Questions
Should I wait for a chinook to shoot exteriors in winter?
If one is forecast, yes — warm, clear light and cleared walks. Otherwise a bright, still day on snow, exposed for the snow, is honest.
Is the developed basement a headline feature?
In Alberta it often holds a bedroom, a bathroom and the second living room; give it a slide-down clip and count the rooms in the caption.
Read next
- Real Estate Video in Canada: Toronto, Vancouver and BeyondListing video for Canadian agents: condo-heavy urban markets, winter exteriors, views and waterfront, bilingual captions, and the rules to check on drones and privacy.
- Real Estate Video in Montana: Big Sky Settings, Ranches and BozemanListing video for Montana agents: Bozeman, Missoula and the Flathead, ranch and recreational land, mountain views and rivers, snow seasons, out-of-state buyers, and the state's disclosure practice.
- Real Estate Video in Colorado and the Mountain WestListing video for mountain-town and Front Range agents: views, seasons, decks and outdoor access, second-home buyers, and how to shoot in snow and altitude light.