Preparing Your Home for Real Estate Photography

So, you've listed your home and are wondering whether photography should be part of your marketing strategy. Hesitate no more. 

Information by the National Association of Realtors confirms that home listings that are backed by quality photography sell 32% faster and that homes with high-quality photos sell for more. 

If this information has left any doubt, then go by the NAR's data. It proves that 87% of home buyers who search realtor websites find photos to be useful in making buying decisions.

But are we talking about just any photos? Anyone can take a picture with their mobile device and post on a webpage. But no, that won’t do here. So here’s some help. When you decide to boost marketing your on-sale home with photos, you must serve up excellent quality.  

We list three indispensable conditions that prepare your home for real estate photography and with each some tips on how to meet the requirement.

#1: Hire a professional

This bullet point may not sound like the preparation of the home for selling. But if you prepare your home for real estate photography and hire the wrong guy (or gal) for the job, it could ruin your hard work. You may need to dig deeper into your pocket, but hiring a professional will help in the following:

• Taking high-quality photos that create interest in the buyer. If you post a picture with blurred details against one that is bright with precise details, the buyer will undoubtedly choose the latter. A professional photographer will give you photos that appeal to the buyer.
• Choosing the right photos. A professional photographer will choose the right images and know when a picture needs editing to enhance its appeal. For example, he may want to turn green patches of dry grass on the lawn. This touch will improve your home's appeal without necessarily giving the prospective buyer an inflated idea of the quality of the house. Remember the photo must stay as close as possible to what the buyer will see when they make a physical visit of the home.

#2: Stage your home for photography

An empty home has little appeal. Staging a home gives the buyer the feel of what it will be like living in the house. Have a home stylist rearrange the rooms or bring in props for perfect photos. If the home you are selling is empty, hire the services of a staging company for the photography. Keep in mind these tips when staging your home:

• Stage to showcase the best features of each room. 
• You may furnish a bedroom to show its ample space and highlight its perfect setting with its spacious closets and an en suite, for example.
• Let the exterior introduce an appealing home. The outside is the face of your home. Make it attractive to create an overall first impression. If you have to plant some flowers/plants or bring in flower/plant pots that make an impression, do so.  
• Don’t forget the lighting. It is a core staging photography detail. Proper lighting makes your photos livelier, which invites the buyer’s attention.  It might mean putting off bulb lights and letting in natural light.

#3: Showcase a well-ordered home

As mentioned before, a photo gives the homebuyer a preview of how it would look like if they occupied it. If you present an untidy home, the buyer builds the image of a disorderly house and will not want to proceed with the purchase. Here are some essential tips to keep your home tidy before clicking the shots. 

• Present an appealing front of the home by keeping cars off the driveway. 
• Hide garbage bins. They will spoil any good photo of the home.
• Tidy the lawn and garden. Gardening tools are a messy presentation of the exterior.
• Mow your lawn and trim hedges to create a neat exterior of the home.
• Leave surfaces and countertops free of objects; collect toys from the floor, place books back on the shelf, and put away the isolated pot on top of your kitchen counter.
• Put toilet seats down; you might spoil everything with minor detail.
• Window blinds make a better effect when set at a say 450 upward angle.
• Do a general home cleaning before taking photos of your home.

A final rule of the thumb

For real estate photography, ten photos of the interior and 10 of the exterior are a perfect count. The gives online shopper and real estate agents an overview of what to expect if they decide to tour your property.