You are selling your home! Whatever the reason for your move, the sooner you can sell your home, the better! Some great real estate websites offer wonderful first views of potential homes. Having been through the process fairly recently, I can say that those first photo impressions of your home are so important! I have revisited homes on various websites over and over, enjoying each photo while imagining my life there. I have also seen photos of houses that turned me off immediately and completely. Real estate photography tips that I’ll discuss in the blog will help you think about how you take photos and why they are good tips. Here are my real estate photography tips for you:
No iPhone Zone!
An easy real estate photography tip is to put away your iPhone. Please don’t use it to take photos of your house. While the iPhone is invaluable in its accessibility (and even wonderful ability to produce some high-quality pictures), it will not be able to capture what a digital camera can or produce high-quality images like a camera. I don’t think it’s impossible to take a good photo with your phone; however, it will probably look like you took the photos with your phone, which is a disservice to your goal of selling your home.
Equipment to make things easier and professional looking.
Get a tripod.
Another easy real estate photography tip is to invest in a tripod. Nothing too fancy, although I think it would come in handy for all sorts of situations. It isn’t easy to take a great photo using natural light without one. And natural light is best. You need to have the right equipment to allow the natural light to show in the photos. You also need to have a remarkably steady hand to avoid blur. If you don’t have either of those things, I would get a tripod, especially if you have a camera and are struggling with why your photos don’t look as illuminated as you feel they look in real life.
Invest in a wide-angle lens.
A wide-angle lens allows your photo to communicate the depth and detail of the space you are photographing. To get the feel of a room to come through in a picture, a wide-angle lens is almost non-negotiable.
Invest in a simple DSLR camera.
This investment doesn’t have to be top-of-the-line or super fancy. Whether you go with a Nikon, Canon, or another brand, it will produce quality photos that can convey the loveliness of your home with high-quality images. Please ask me any questions about DSLR cameras or refer to my last blog post about how DSLR cameras work. Alternatively, you can rent the gear.
Staging and DE-cluttering tips
Getting rid of the clutter, both obvious and not.
Some clutter is obvious, like mail on the table, children’s toys stuck here and there, unshelved books, etc. Those items are easy to identify. Put them where they belong, throw them away, or, at the very least, remove them from your camera’s sight. Things that are not so obvious could clutter up your room and make for an unintentionally messy-looking photo. For example, is your fridge covered with children’s art, save-the-date postcards, and magnets? If so, they could make the space look cluttered. When you take real estate photos, you present a space that will race a potential buyer’s pulse. Remove your magnets, artwork, and personal reminders so that they do not distract from the space and that someone else can imagine a life there.
Stage the home.
We hear this term for sure and see it on TV shows constantly. You have decorated and lived in your house the way you see fit. Staging offers a universal appeal for potential buyers while highlighting your home’s strengths. The furniture arrangement, dinnerware placements, and coffee table decor may not be practical for everyday life, but the purpose of staging is appeal. Play around with furniture, place settings, and throw pillows while taking photos to see what looks best. If you are lost – don’t worry; many online resources will help you with staging ideas.
Don’t forget to capitalize on natural light. Also, play around with where you are standing while taking the photo. Perspective is key, and just a few steps to the left or right, forward and back, may give a more accurate feel for the space of the room.
