How to take real estate photos with an iPhone: the settings that matter

Turn on the grid and the level. In Settings, tap Camera, then turn on Grid and Level. The grid gives you lines to square the room against, and the level tells you when the phone is straight. Apple iPhone User Guide, “Use iPhone camera tools to set up your shot”

Save JPEG, not HEIC. Under Settings, Camera, Formats, choose Most Compatible, and every new photo is saved as a JPEG. Apple describes JPEG as the more broadly compatible format, and SmartMLS tells agents to make the same switch. Apple Support, “Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices”

Leave the resolution alone. Newer iPhones save 24 megapixels from the main camera by default, more than twice the 2048 pixels wide an MLS such as Canopy stores. Lens Correction, which corrects the Ultra Wide camera’s distortion for more natural-looking results, is on by default and should stay on. Apple iPhone User Guide, “Change advanced camera settings on iPhone”

Skip ProRAW unless you edit every photo yourself. A ProRAW file is about 25MB at 12 megapixels and 75MB at 48, ten to twelve times a JPEG, which is past most MLS file limits until it is exported again. Apple Support, “About Apple ProRAW”

The 0.5x button switches to the Ultra Wide camera, which on the iPhone 17 is a 13 mm equivalent lens with a 120-degree field of view. The main camera is 26 mm. Apple, iPhone 17 technical specifications

13 mm is past the point where a wide lens starts to lie. HomeJab, a real estate photography marketplace, puts it at about 14 mm on a full-frame camera: below that, straight lines start to curve and furniture near the edges looks stretched. HomeJab, "How to Avoid Over-Exaggerating Spaces with Ultra-Wide Lenses"

That is a legal question as well as a look. UK trading standards guidance for estate agents says not to “use extreme lenses that affect the perspective of the image”, and a room that looks much bigger online than it does at the viewing is exactly what that guidance is about. Business Companion, "Property descriptions: sale or let"

Use 0.5x for small rooms the main camera cannot fit, such as a bathroom, a hall or a box room, and shoot everything else on 1x from a doorway or a corner. If a room still does not fit, step back through the door rather than going wider.

Tilt the phone up to get the ceiling in, and every vertical line in the room leans toward the top of the frame. Tilt it down and they lean the other way. Door frames, window edges and the corners of walls are where a buyer sees it first.

Hold the phone upright at about chest height, check the level before each shot, and if you need more of the floor or the ceiling, move rather than tilt: step back, or crop the photo afterwards. Apple iPhone User Guide, “Use iPhone camera tools to set up your shot”

Shoot landscape. Several MLSs ask for horizontal photos outright, and systems that store photos at 4:3 turn a portrait photo into a narrow strip between two bars. MLS Now, “Listing Photo Rules and Requirements”

Turn on every light, open every blind, and shoot interiors when the sun is out. NWMLS’s own photography guide says interiors are best on a sunny day and, when that is not possible, to turn the lights on, open the blinds and bring extra light. NWMLS, “Real Estate Photography 101”

Then lock the exposure. Touch and hold the brightest part of the scene you want to keep, usually the window, until AE/AF Lock appears, and drag the exposure control to brighten or darken the room. The lock holds until you tap the screen again. Apple iPhone User Guide, “Use iPhone camera tools to set up your shot”

Watch for direct sun. A patch of sunlight on the floor is brighter than anything else in the room, and the camera has to choose between losing the patch to white and losing the room to shadow.

Start with the photos buyers look for first: the front of the house, the kitchen, the living room, the primary bedroom and the main bathroom. NWMLS names those five as the must-haves. NWMLS, “Real Estate Photography 101”

Aim for 20 to 30 photos, one or two per room or feature, and skip tiny rooms that do not photograph well, such as closets and utility rooms. Show every bedroom and bathroom the listing claims, because a missing one makes buyers wonder why. NWMLS, “Real Estate Photography 101”

Check every mirror and window for yourself before you shoot. NWMLS allows no people or pets in listing photos, including the photographer’s reflection. NWMLS, “Real Estate Photography 101”

Some fixes change how a photo looks and nothing about the property. Rightmove calls them Light Touch Edits, “minimal editing such as cropping, brightness/contrast adjustments, colour balance, shadow lifting and warming tones.” A dark phone photo lifted by software is one of those. Rightmove Agent and Developer Technical Guidelines, January 2026

Others change the property, and those need a label at the least and are banned outright in some places. Bright MLS forbids editing out power lines, water towers or nearby roads. Bright MLS image policy

Doorify MLS goes further and lists changing wall colors or flooring, removing fixtures and improving the landscaping among the edits it does not permit at all. Doorify MLS, “Data Integrity: Media Guidelines”

The rule that covers every market: software may fix the light and the camera’s mistakes. It may not remove damage, move a wall, invent a view or hide something a buyer would want to know about. NAR, "Using AI to Enhance Listing Photos Can Be Legally Risky"