You’ve secured a brand-new real estate client, and you’re ecstatic about selling their bungalow. The problem? It’s not in the best shape, and you’re worried about how to make it look appealing to potential buyers.
Fortunately, that’s where real estate photography comes in.
Research shows that real estate pictures captured using high-performance cameras sold for several thousand more dollars—and more quickly — compared with amateur pictures.
The question is, how exactly do you go about taking great real estate photos?
Here’s a rundown of the top five tips for taking quality real estate photographs.
Let’s get started!
1. Carve Out Plenty of Time for Real Estate Pictures
An important step in taking attractive real estate photos is to schedule enough time to capture the property in the best light possible. A common mistake that agents make when taking real estate pictures is to schedule only a handful of minutes for the shoot.
The reality is, framing a shot properly takes time. In addition, you won’t truly know the state of your listing until you arrive at the scene. You might come across problems that need to be addressed before you can start snapping photos, and this might take a while to do.
On top of this, the weather may not be cooperating with your photo shoot when you first get to the home. In this situation, you may need to wait a little longer to get that perfect shot — for example, when the rain dies down.
For these reasons, you should never rush the real estate photography process. Give yourself half an hour to an hour to get all of the photos you need to effectively market your listing.
Also, while you’re taking photos, ask your client if they have any exterior pictures of their home in various seasons. If these photos are good quality, it may be a good idea to use them as well to show off the beautiful red maples on the property in autumn, and the gorgeous snow-white scene during winter.
2. Embrace Staging
Another way to take a top-tier real estate photo is to stage the home.
Let’s say that your clients, the sellers, are currently residing in the home they wish to sell. Try to rearrange the furniture in a manner that allows possible buyers to see the home’s potential. Buyers generally have a hard time envisioning themselves living in homes filled with dated decor or crowded furniture.
Also, for a fast and cheap fix, consider adding trendy pillows or rugs to the listing’s existing furniture.
If the property you are listing is vacant, you may want to simply hire a staging professional. A stager will know exactly what decor is in vogue and how to place it properly in the home. The right staging strategy will instantly bring your listing to life as well as help possible buyers to more effectively visualize the home’s space.
3. De-Clutter
In addition to staging your for-sale property, be sure to de-clutter it. This is critical given that not all design elements and features photograph well, even when they look fine in person.
As an example, photo collages, collections, or bold hues on accent walls may not look attractive in photographs.
As a general rule of thumb, it is wise to minimize your decor and clear items off the counters for professional photos. Yes, the house’s new look may seem plain to your sellers. However, the property will shine where it matters the most—in your photos.
Research shows that 93% of individuals visit online sites when looking for homes to buy. So, it’s paramount that the photos you take show up well online.
3. Become Detail Oriented
Taking quality photos also requires you to be detail-oriented.
You don’t want a nice home showing poorly in a photo because you forgot to put the toilet lid down. Likewise, make sure that bedspreads aren’t crooked and those toiletries are put away before you start snapping photos.
Also, make sure that the home’s windows are clean on both the outside and the inside if they show up in your photos. In addition, try to open all of your window blinds to allow plenty of light into the room.
Even seemingly small details can turn off potential buyers.
4. Remove Pets
To capture high-level real estate photos, be sure to also keep Rufus out of the shop.
Even though your client’s pets might be photogenic, not all buyers love pets. For instance, some individuals immediately envision bad odors and allergies when they see cats and dogs.
So, avoid taking real estate photos with pets to avoid alienating certain buyers.
5. Do a Virtual Tour
Finally, consider shooting a virtual tour while you’re taking your real estate pictures.
It’s best to take photos and video during the same time frame so that the lighting present in both pieces of content is similar. This is important because consistency is crucial. The virtual tour video should look as great as your photos do.
How We Can Help
At 154 Photography, we take pride in bringing out the natural beauty of any property you are trying to sell through quality real estate pictures.
Our talented team treats every order they fill like it’s the most important one. After all, our goal is to get you the sales results you want to make both you and your client happy.
We achieve this by using cutting-edge technology combined with our photography team’s unparalleled creativity. In no time, we can bring each of your listings to life.
Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can add value to your real estate marketing efforts for winning results every time.