Tips for Photographing Your Home For a Real Estate Listing
Jim Olenbush is a Texas real estate broker that has been actively selling Lake Travis homes http://www.jimolenbush.com/ since 1997. He is one of the bloggers for the Austin Texas real estate blog http://www.jimolenbush.com/blog/ and he manages a team of agents in Austin, Texas.
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If you are putting your home on the market, having the right photographs is essential to getting the home sold. After all, most buyers skip over listings that do not contain a photo. Furthermore, if your photos are blurry or simply fail to capture the best features of your home, many potential buyers will not bother with setting up an appointment to take a closer look. The bottom line is that most buyers are very visual and great listings include top-notch photos. Therefore, it is worth the extra effort to take a quality photo that presents your home in the most favorable light.
Photographing the Outside of Your Home
Even the most basic of listings includes a general photograph of the outside of the home. If advertising in a newspaper, you will likely only be able to include one photo, so you want to make sure to make that photo count by taking one spectacular picture. Some things to keep in mind when photographing your home for your listings include:
* Remove vehicles from the area being photographed
* Avoid photographing a shady area of the house
* Clear away vegetation from the front of the door and from pathways
* Shoot up-close and at an angle
After you have taken your photos, you should also crop out streets, sidewalks and any other things that are not directly related to your home.
Photographing Your Yard
The yard is a very important aspect of the home. As such, buyers also like to see photos that give them a good idea of what the yard looks like. If you live in a townhome or a condo without a yard, you should also be sure to take photographs of the extra amenities that the buyer will be able to enjoy after purchasing the property. For example, photographs of the pool, clubhouse, tennis courts and spa will all help make the property more appealing to the potential buyer. If you do have a yard, you can make it even more appealing with the following techniques:
* Shoot long to emphasize space
* Trim the bushes and move the lawn before photographing
* Remove any evidence of pets, such as food dishes and doghouses
* Pick up any toys and other objects in the yard
Photographing the Interior
If you are creating a more extensive listing, such as an Internet listing, you will also want to take several pictures of the home’s interior. There are a few things you should keep in mind when photographing the inside of your home. Some of these include:
* Open up your blinds and drapes to allow natural light to enter
* Turn on all of the lights in the room
* Focus your photographs on interesting details, such as a fireplace mantel or a wood floor
* Close toilet lids, remove trash cans and make sure drawers and cabinets are closed
* Add floral arrangements to dining rooms and kitchens
* Avoid photographing mirrors
If you aren’t certain how to take the best possible photos for your home, you may want to consider hiring a professional photographer or working with a full-service brokerage firm that can take care of the photography for you.
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February 6th, 2010 - 4:57 am
When shooting pics of the exterior make sure you get good light…grey or rainy days can really make the listing look dreary and that plays a factor with the psychology of buyers…come back on a better weather day so you can get that exterior pic that shows off the property in the sun!