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Hopefully, if you’re selling your home you have a real estate agent by your side that you trust and knows what they’re doing. Although you could take the leap and sell by owner, using an agent reduces your stress considerably. One thing that a good agent pays attention to is using high-quality, amazing listing photos that show your home in its best light, honestly, and accurately.
Here are 8 things to look for in listing photos to make sure your home’s pics are doing things right.
- Use a Professional for Your Home’s Listing Photos
House hunters do a lot of their searching online before they even consider seeing a home in person. Therefore, the pictures must be perfect, or as close to it as possible. Snapping a few pics on your phone won’t cut it, nor will an agent who tries to save on marketing by taking their pictures.
You don’t want to cut corners on your listing photos — they’re essentially your house’s first impression. Ask your agent if they use a professional with expertise in real estate photos.
- Don’t Overdo the Editing
Using filters and overdoing it in Photoshop with your Instagram pics is one thing, but skip it when it comes to listing photos. Let your home’s true colors show, otherwise, you might end up with disappointed buyers who feel misled or tricked. A little tweaking is okay (like turning up the brightness so features show better), but nothing is okay if it misrepresents your home.
- Pay Attention to Proportions and Composition
Photos should show the room without zeroing in on a small area or showing too much dead space. You need to achieve a balance that showcases the room’s contents and equal parts floor and ceiling.
Also, be truthful with the size of spaces and avoid using wide-angle lenses or fish-eye lenses. If a buyer shows up expecting to see one thing and then sees another, it’s a big turn-off.
- Maximize Natural Light and Don’t Go Too Dim
If shots are too dark, it’s hard for people to see features and the true look of a space. Maximize the natural light in a room.
Clean the windows so nothing blocks light or makes it hazy. It might benefit you to remove window screens before your pictures. If natural lighting is limited, use artificial lighting to brighten the space, and avoid taking pictures with the lights off.
- Clean Your House Before the Photo Shoot
This tip should be obvious, but if you’ve spent time scrolling through listing photos, you know it’s not as obvious as it seems. Clean your house before the photo shoot.
How many times have you been utterly confused by real estate photos that show piles of laundry, dirty grout, unmade beds, or cluttered countertops? Put things away, declutter, clean your home, and replace yellowing lampshades and other grungy items.
- Don’t Include People in Your Pictures
You’re trying to sell your home, not the things in it, so don’t keep people in the frame. You aren’t staging a catalog shoot, and you’re certainly not including your family in the listing.
There shouldn’t even be a lot of personal items in your listing pictures (like family photos, etc.). Also, make sure the photographer’s reflection doesn’t appear in any of the shots (which would hopefully not be an issue if you’re using a pro).
- Pay Attention to the Background
Every inch of your photographs should show something you want people to see. Therefore, scope out the background carefully.
There shouldn’t be cars in the driveway, a television on in the background, or random clutter. Put down the toilet seat, pare down accessories, and arrange background items to show the space at its finest.
- Steer Clear of Obvious Props
Don’t get too cliché with props in your listing photos. Yes, you want the space to look and feel like a place people want to be but don’t go too far. Create a space that feels authentic, not staged, and overly stylized. Too many props can detract rather than enhance the space.
Use Listing Photos That Make a Great First Impression
Your best bet when it comes to listing photos that help sell your house is to use a professional. Someone well-versed in the world of real estate photography knows how to make your rooms look their best without showing buyers something that isn’t there.
You want your pictures to be authentic and show a true representation of your home at its best. Therefore, clean and tidy your space, pare down clutter, maximize natural light, and use a professional photographer. These recommendations are sure to get you listing photos that work in your favor and make your home stand out for all the right reasons.
