A photo shot list for listing films
Shot counts for three real kinds of listing, what each frame does in the film, and the framing habits that make camera motion look right.
By the Property Video Generator team · 27 October 2026 · 7 min read
More photos do not make a better film. A tight set of 20 with two good angles of the rooms that matter beats 40 frames where half the kitchen shots are the same shot nudged six inches left. Every film we have watched fall flat had the same problem: lots of coverage, no hero.
This list is built around what a 30 to 60 second film actually uses. Hand it to your photographer before the shoot, or follow it yourself.
Shot counts for three listings
| Shot | 3 bed ranch, about $480K | Waterfront, about $2.1M | Studio condo, 600 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front exterior, straight on | 1 | 1 | 1 (building entrance) |
| Front exterior, angled | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Approach, porch or entry | 1 | 2 | 1 (lobby or hallway) |
| Main living area | 2 (opposite corners) | 3 | 2 (both ends of the room) |
| Kitchen | 2 (wide, then island or range) | 3 | 1 |
| Dining | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Primary bedroom | 1 | 2 | counted in living |
| Primary bath | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Other bedrooms and baths | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Outdoor living | 2 (patio, yard) | 4 (dock, pool, terrace, lawn) | 1 (balcony, if any) |
| View or amenity | 0 to 1 | 3 (water from inside and out) | 2 (view, building amenity) |
| Signature feature | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Twilight exterior | 1 if possible | 1 | 0 |
| Total | about 18 to 22 | about 30 to 34 | about 10 to 12 |
Notice the condo. Twelve frames is plenty for a 600 sq ft studio, and padding it to twenty just gives the film more ways to repeat itself. The waterfront is the opposite: the dock and the water are the reason that house costs $2.1M, so a third of the set is outside.
What each kind of frame does in the film
The opener
The film picks its hook from the strongest image, and that is often not the front of the house. On the waterfront it should be the dock at golden hour. On the ranch, it might be the yard. Shoot the thing that makes people stop, and shoot it well; it will probably be on screen first.
Two angles of the hero room
When a room gets two frames from opposite corners, the film can stay in it for four or five seconds without showing the same picture twice. With one frame it either moves on fast or holds too long. Do this for the living room and the kitchen at minimum.
The closer
A twilight front exterior is the best last shot there is. If the shoot cannot wait for dusk, the twilight photo tool can make one from a daytime exterior, and it will carry a "Digitally enhanced" label.
Framing for camera motion
Camera moves are built from depth in each still photo: push in, pull out, orbit, crane, pan, or hold. Walls and windows stay where they were photographed. That has a few practical consequences.
- Give the frame layers. A chair in the foreground, the room in the middle, a window at the back. A push in through that reads as real space; a push in on a flat wall reads as a zoom.
- Shoot exteriors at an angle as well as straight on. The angled facade gives an orbit something to travel along.
- Keep verticals straight. Converging lines that you would forgive in a still look wrong once the frame starts moving.
- Leave a margin around the subject. Every shot is reframed for vertical, square and widescreen, and a 9:16 frame only holds about three eighths of the width of a 3:2 photo. The reframing follows the subject, but if the fireplace is jammed against the left edge there is nothing to follow it with.
- Horizontal photos are fine. You do not need a separate vertical set.
Light
Every light on, blinds open, and avoid direct sun across the floor if you can choose the hour. Very dark frames and blown windows are the ones the film is most likely to skip. Natural looking HDR is fine. Heavy HDR with grey halos around the windows looks worse in motion than it does on a contact sheet.
Shooting it yourself on a phone
A careful phone set makes a decent film. Use the main lens, not the ultra wide; the ultra wide bends walls at the edges, and that bend becomes obvious when the camera moves. Hold the phone level at about chest height and shoot from the corners. Skip portrait mode, digital zoom and filters. And check every frame for sharpness before you leave the house, because you will not be going back.
What to leave out
- Close ups of faucets, door hardware and appliance logos. In a 40 second film they waste a second each.
- Five versions of the same room. Two good angles is the most a film will use.
- Family photos, names on the fridge, anything that identifies the sellers.
- Floor plans and graphics. They belong in the listing website gallery, not the film.
Before you upload
- Make sure you have the rights. Photographers usually keep copyright and license the photos to the agent for marketing that property.
- Export as JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 25 MB each, and no more than 40.
- Do not bother sorting them. The film plans its own walkthrough, and you can change it.
Turn your photos into a film
Drop in the set and see the first cut in a few minutes. Free, no card.