Top tips for photographing your home for sale

13 Nov 2014 Top tips for photographing your home for sale

Increasingly home buyers are searching online to view potential properties, before even setting foot outside or stepping into an estate agents' office. So it’s vital that you take the time to capture the perfect pics that will help buyers or renters snap up your home from the market.

Listings without photography can make potential buyers suspicious, but listings with poor quality pictures can put people off completely.  The secret is to ensure your home is presented looking the best it can be and to seize the imagination of your audience through your images.

If you can’t afford to hire a professional for the job, follow our top five photography tips to take the best possible images of your home and catch the eye of house hunters immediately.

 

Tip 1: Set the scene

Before starting to photograph your home for sale, ensure you prepare each room carefully. Start by de-cluttering and putting any surplus items into storage as untidiness can distract from the attractive look of a room. Put a little thought and effort into showing how the room can best be used. Set the table for dinner, use a vase of fresh flowers as a centre piece or temporarily reposition furniture to display the room’s full potential.

Focus on some desirable features, such as beautiful windows or a period fireplace to showcase your home’s character. Capturing a few close up shots of unique details may help make your home more memorable than others.

Tip 2: A little light studying

To literally display your home in the best light, it’s worth doing a bit of homework. Take note of how the light hits your house at different times of the day as it will change how your house looks.

There appears to be a growing trend in property photos for twilight photography shots of the outside of a house. Photos taken in this light can have an emotional appeal, encouraging home buyers to visualise returning to a warm, welcoming home.

For interior shots, tie back curtains, open blinds, pull up shades and let as much natural light in as possible, as it helps make a space look bigger and brighter. Take photos before 4pm so that the sun isn’t too low. If you want top notch shots of the outside of your home, dawn light is unsurpassed. It may not be appealing to get up at that time, but the advantage is that not many people will be around and you can pop out in your pyjamas, take the perfect snaps and then go back to bed!

Tip 3: On bended knee

Taking photos at the right level is so important. Many shots have too much floor or ceiling showing. To avoid this, take pictures from a kneeling position and you will capture much better interior photos.

It may be helpful to use a tripod stand for your camera to give you more stability, reduce any slight movement that may cause blurring and capture clearer, sharper images.

You may wish to use a bubble spirit level to ensure your camera is perfectly angled, to avoid any photos of rooms with wonky-looking windows. A professional-looking image will have a horizon that is nice and straight.

Tip 4: Put yourself OUT of the picture

It’s so easily done…taking a picture with ourselves reflected in a mirror, glass cabinet or window. Take extra care to make certain that you are not in the photograph.

A helpful hint is to stand as far back as possible in the room or shoot through a doorway (ensuring you don’t include the door frame in the picture). If you shoot into the corners of a room, it can make a room look more spacious.

Tip 5: Art critique

Instead of just looking at your room, take pictures on your camera or smartphone and examine them on the screen carefully. Taking test shots in this way will allow you to critique photos and spot anything unsightly, such as a tangle of wires poking out or the patch of wallpaper that has been scratched by the cat. You can then ensure your final photographs will show your home looking its absolute best.

 

Photographing your home as professionally as possible can be the difference between a buyer opening a web link to your property or moving onto the next. It not only has the potential to attract more buyers and increase enquiries but may help you secure a higher selling price too.

 

Image credit: Kurt Bauschardt 

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