Do atmospheric late-evening listings photos work?

That first picture of your property understandable needs to be one of the best.

It should be inviting and presentable, the type of photo that makes your prospective buyer just want to click on it. Of course, it must also stand out – when a buyer is browsing through tens, if not hundreds, of similar listings it makes sense that yours needs to command attention.

Real estate photographers and real estate agents are increasingly becoming savvy on how to make that first listings picture pop. While some are making careful choices not to include the front façade in a listing, which makes sense if it’s not much to look at, others are playing with another factor to make them stand out – taking the photos by night.

We’re talking almost full darkness. While plenty take beautiful photographs in the sunset, or when it’s a bit darker to show off the lights of the property (for instance, this this Pullenvale, Queensland listing, picture above, which plays beautifully with light on the exterior), it’s rarer but often effective to see a house in the late evening.

This South Australia, Northgate property at 5 Kingston Parade is a three bedroom, two bathroom offering for a price guide of $1,049,000 to $1,149,000. It’s being marketed through Refined Real Estate Plympton.

They made the decision to shoot the brightly-lit up façade in the dark. It matches its name – also called Lightsview – and does actually work to show off the modern lines of the house. Included in the listing is a shot of the home in the light and, comparing the two, we think it’s a wise decision to have used the evening shot as the main listing image.

Shooting the rest of the house at night works for some rooms, although it would’ve been nice to see some inviting sunshine in the garage shot.

Coupled with some descriptive copywriting, that invites you to “Enjoy stunning views of the sweeping city skyline, in the warmer months have a sip of champagne whilst sitting in your spa, alternatively, cosy up with a glass of red next to the huge roaring feature fire,” we think they’ve done a great job at conjuring up a luxury lifestyle with this listing.

From Spins & Co Residential – Brisbane, a very wise decision was made to include the night-time shot on the listing as the main image. The six bedroom, four bathroom offering, 654 Upper Brookfield Road, Upper Brookfield, benefits hugely from careful decisions are the light in the photographs. The palatial, stunning façade seems to lose something of its grandeur in the day-time listing.

The rest of the house has been, very thoughtfully, photographed during daylight hours, easily showing off the airy rooms and beauty of the gardens. It really does seem to have been a decision that pays off in terms of the presentation of this home.

This Queensland listing for 35 Ryan Avenue, Balmoral through Place Bulimba has the main image being of the swimming pool in the night. While the sky is very blue, to the point of being questionably real, the property shines through the dark.

It’s a good choice of image as well, running with the pool, as the actual front façade shot doesn’t quite do the home justice.

It’s up for auction on September 18.

Another Queensland offering, at 4-6 Pacific View Parade, Buderim also uses darkness to great effect in its main photo. Clearly the shoot took place over a late-afternoon and evening, with some lighter than the others, but the cosyness that this property is given from the gloom, coupled with bright lights, is clear.

Looking for $1,175,000, the five-bedroom, four-bedroom property is noted as being under contract. We think the dimness really suits the resort-style home, allowing it to show off some pretty fancy light fittings.

However, this home’s night time shot is a little questionable. The Gatton, Queensland listing at 72 Highway Avenue could really do with some lights towards the front of the driveway, or a different angle for the photo, particularly for their main image. In fact, some of the other day time shots might actually have been preferable.

{module When do you think the best time is to take a feature image for a home?}