Real Estate Photography in Costa Rica
Photos and drone video that help a property earn the click, the showing and the offer.
Buyers decide in the first few seconds of a listing, and most of them never see the property in person until the photos have convinced them. A sale is won on site, but the photos are what get a buyer through the door.
We photograph homes, villas and developments across Costa Rica for the realtors, owners and builders who sell them: natural light, careful angles, and the surroundings that make a buyer want to live there.
Realtors & brokers
A complete library for the listing, your own website, brochures and social media, delivered ready to use.
Home sellers
Photos that show what the property is really worth, so the right buyer sees the value before they walk in.
Builders & developers
A portfolio-ready set of each finished unit, for sales and for the next project.
Why photos move a sale
Every buyer walks in with a budget and a range within it they are comfortable stretching for the right property. Photography that shows a property's real value moves the sale toward the top of that range. That is better for the seller, and it gives the buyer confidence that they are paying for what they actually get.
Zillow research found that listings with 20 or more professional photos generate up to 61% more online views, while homes with fewer than nine photos take significantly longer to sell. Source: Zillow
What we shoot for a listing
We shoot every property to lead with the photo that earns the click: natural light, verified angles and HDR editing built to turn views into inquiries and showings.
- Every room, each from its best angle: living areas, kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms, with the layout easy to read.
- The exterior and the outdoor spaces: terrace, pool, garden, parking and entrance.
- Aerial photos: the lot, the home in its setting, the view and what is around it.
- The surroundings: a lifestyle photo of the neighborhood or the view often does as much work as the property photos themselves.
- Sunset and twilight: a warm exterior that gives the listing a strong first photo.
Photo sizes and counts for listings
Many agencies publish mainly on their own websites, alongside property portals and multiple listing services that each set their own image rules. Here is what the main ones ask for.
| Where | Minimum | For best results |
|---|---|---|
| Zillow | 330 × 220 px | 1536 × 1152 px, landscape. Listings with 20 or more photos get up to 61% more views. |
| MLS and other portals | Varies by system | Commonly JPG at about 2048 px wide in landscape. Many systems cap a listing at 25 to 50 photos. |
| Agency websites and social media | No set rule | Use the full-resolution files, since you can always scale down but never up. Compress them for the web before you upload. |
What it means in practice: we deliver full-resolution JPG files exported at maximum quality, so the same set covers every portal and your own channels. Each portal resizes the files to its own formats. Systems change their rules from time to time, so confirm the current limits with your MLS or portal when you upload.
How many photos does a listing need?
We recommend 40 to 60 photos per listing, well beyond the 20 to 30 most listings get. A portal may only show part of them, so the rest are for your website, brochures and social media.
- Lead with the strongest photo: the view, the facade or the standout space.
- Keep the story in order: exterior, living areas, kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, outdoor spaces, aerials, surroundings.
- Show the property as it is. A buyer who finds what the photos promised is a buyer who makes an offer.
- For large villas and estates we deliver up to 120 photos, so you have plenty to choose from for different uses.
Packages & pricing
Every property is different, so tell us about yours and we will recommend the right number of photos. These packages are a starting point, and they include camera and drone. For a listing we usually recommend 40 to 60 photos.
Pricing & timing
Final pricing varies with distance from our photographers' base; travel time and cost are factored in.
High season starts in November, and our calendar fills up with it. If you are listing before then, ask for a date early.
Want a video to go with the photos? See our video options, from $180.
What our clients say
"They've shot three properties I had listed for sale, and all three sold in record time thanks to their incredible photos and editing. I recommend them 100%, their work is impeccable…"
Related work
Real estate photography: frequently asked questions
It depends on the listing agreement, and it is worth settling before the shoot. In our experience, when a realtor has an exclusive listing, the realtor usually covers the photos as part of the marketing of the property. When the owner does not want to give exclusivity, the realtor often asks the seller to cover the cost of the photos instead.
Many sellers do not know this is negotiable, so ask your realtor early. If you are the one paying, we can quote you directly.
We recommend 40 to 60, well beyond the 20 to 30 most listings get. Portals may show only part of the set, and you keep the rest for your own website and marketing.
Full-resolution JPG files, exported at maximum quality. Zillow asks for at least 330 × 220 px and suggests 1536 × 1152 px, and many MLS systems recommend about 2048 px wide, so a full-resolution file covers all of them. Upload the original and each portal will resize it.
Yes. The license covers the use you book the shoot for. For a sale, that means publishing the photos on real estate portals, social media and related marketing material while the property is for sale. Whoever pays for the shoot has the right to publish and use the photos.
Tell us at the quote if the owner will also use them to rent the property. That is another commercial use, quoted separately. See our Terms & Conditions.
If the budget allows, yes. A sunset or twilight exterior is often the best first photo of a listing. That is why our Premium package includes two sessions, one by day and one at sunset or at night.
A single-visit shoot usually takes around two hours on site. With two visits, plan on about three hours in the morning and two in the afternoon or at sunset. Add travel time, and expect more for properties with many spaces or that need adjustments between shots.
Delivery currently takes 7 to 10 days after the shoot, depending on our workload and the number of photos, so it can change with the season. In high season, which starts in November, ask for the date when you book. Videos usually follow the same timeline, though an elaborate production with several days of shooting and specialized editing can take longer. These times are a reference, not a commitment.
Clean surfaces and windows, check that every light works, make the beds, clear kitchen counters and put away personal items. Turn off ceiling fans, since they blur in photos, and trim the lawn and sweep the entrance.
Our packages start at $350 for Básico (20 edited photos, camera and drone included). Estrella starts at $550 with 40 photos, and Premium starts at $600 with at least two sessions, tailored to the project. Final pricing varies with the distance from our base, since travel time and cost are factored in.
They can be. Buyers browse online first and decide in a few seconds whether to open a listing. Dark, tilted or too few photos make them move on before they ever see the property. Photos are not the only reason, since price, condition, location and exposure also matter, but they decide whether buyers get to know the rest.
A good set leads with the strongest photo, shows every space in order, and includes the view and the surroundings. If your listing has been online for a while, a new shoot is a quick way to give it a fresh start.
Many buyers of Costa Rican property see it for the first time on a screen. Photos, aerial views and video give them an honest first visit: the home, the lot, the view and the surroundings. The more clearly the listing answers their questions, the more serious the inquiries you receive.
A purchase still needs an in-person visit and proper legal checks, but strong media is what gets a distant buyer to take that step.
Only if the editing changes the property. What breaks trust is regenerating parts of a photo or adding things that do not exist. We do not do that. We correct light, white balance, perspective, crop, shadows and alignment, we fix lens distortion, we reduce noise in night and twilight photos, and we shoot with special polarizing lenses that cut unwanted reflections, matching that look from photo to photo, and we keep the look consistent across the whole project, so the home looks the way it feels in person. We do remove distracting objects, such as a cable or a bin, because that is part of high-end retouching, and we say so openly. What we never do is use generative AI to add things or rebuild parts of the photo. Buyers who find what the photos promised keep trusting you through the visit and the offer.
Future clients judge your work by what you have already built. A portfolio of finished homes in consistent, professional photos shows the quality of your finish, builds trust before the first meeting and gives you images for your website, brochures and sales material. One shoot can serve all of them.
Ready to list with better photos?
Tell us about the property and we will send you a quote within 24 hours.