The right media for each listing

Aerial photos earn their place when something outside the walls sells the home: the lot, the view, the water, the trail behind the fence, the distance to the village. The best aerials are often lower than people expect, from roof height to about twice the height of the house, where the home still reads as a home and the setting surrounds it. High shots are for location: they show the property in relation to the beach, the school or the highway, and work best with a subtle outline or pin.

Video tells a story in sequence: the approach, the front door, the main living space, the view, the neighbourhood. It works on the listing page and on the brokerage's channels. Keep it short, steady and honest, and let the property carry it. Aerial video adds movement and scale that stills cannot.

3D tours answer the question buyers ask most after seeing photos: how do the rooms connect. They are most useful where the layout is unusual, where buyers are out of town, and in condos where the buyer is comparing units. See 3D virtual tours.

Social video is a different product from a listing video. It is vertical, short, and built to stop a thumb in the first second: a reveal, a view, a detail. It works best when planned at the shoot, so the photographer captures vertical clips alongside the stills rather than cropping them later. See social video.

Time of day. The front of the house should be in light, not in its own shadow. A north-facing front is often best in the middle of a summer day or on a bright overcast day. Aerials look best with the sun behind the camera and some angle to it, which gives shape to roofs and trees. Interiors look best when the sun is not blasting straight through the windows. The photographer can check the orientation from the address and suggest a time; agree it before you book.

Twilight. The window is short, roughly the half hour after sunset when the sky still has colour and the interior lights balance with it. In Victoria that is late in the evening in June and around the end of the working day in December. Twilight shoots are usually booked as their own visit. See twilight and dusk.

Seasons. Spring and summer give green lawns, leaves and long days. Fall gives colour but also leaves on the lawn and early darkness. Winter in coastal BC is grey and wet, and snow in the interior or on the prairies can be beautiful or hide the yard entirely. If a property will list in winter, consider shooting exteriors and aerials when the garden is at its best and holding them for launch. Some boards and buyers expect a seasonal note if photos are not current; follow your brokerage and board rules.

Before listing day. Shoot after staging and repairs are done, not before. Leave time for editing and review before the listing goes live, and for any reshoot.

Market conditions. In a fast market, a listing may sell before a 3D tour gets many views, and the priority is clean photos, a floor plan and speed. In a slower market, buyers take longer and compare more, and a tour, a video and strong aerials help the listing hold attention across weeks. Out-of-town and international buyers, common in resort, waterfront and retirement markets on Vancouver Island and elsewhere, lean heavily on tours, floor plans and aerials because they may not visit before an offer. Match the spend to how buyers in that market actually shop.

Reuse. Media shot well keeps working after the sale. Developers reuse aerials of a neighbourhood across phases, builders use exterior photos in their portfolio, and property managers use floor plans for rentals. Agree usage with the photographer at booking so everyone knows who can use what, where and for how long. On DroneLink, the delivered set stays in the project record, so the next listing or the next phase starts from what already exists.