Photo Taking Advice for Home Sellers

Real estate websites offer services to help us find the ideal home right at our fingertips. Low-grade photos make it easy by leading potential buyers to overlook a home listing solely because of a poor photo or also give in to a sale because of a fantastic shot. As we know, when browsing for the perfect home, the first thing the viewer sees is “the best” photograph of the advertised house. The future buyer then becomes intrigued to learn more if that chosen one is a well-taken photograph. Influencing that potential buyer to pick up the phone, dial the given number, and learn more about the listed property.

Now, looking at the listings with the bad photos, their chances at a call may be decreased because of photography mistakes that could have been prevented. I mean, I get it, real estate photography can be tough. It may seem like an easy task to take a picture and post it, the reality is that there is so much more to it. This is why I will share these ten ideas, which can help improve those (pre and post) picture skills that will lure in plausible buyers. A few photography ideas needed to grab the viewers’ attention are great lighting, shooting from an excellent angle, or the usage of a well-invested digital camera. These high-quality and time taking photos are the ones that are viewed the most, increasing chances at a callback and Ding Ding! You guessed it right, an even higher chance at an agreement to sell a home.

10 Great Photo Taking Tips to Sell Your Home

1. Let’s get started with the macro details such as maintenance out in the front yard, clearing walkways, and repainting chipped or washed out paint jobs on walls or fences. Beautiful green and clean scenery with smooth blending painting jobs to tickle our eyes are always a great capture.
2. Make your home, feel like home. Setting up a flower vase, adding a fruit bowl with contrasting colors on the dining table, or even adding a single centerpiece. This will give us a warm, “this can be your home” look needed for the perfect shot.
3. Give yourself a tour of the home that will be photographed and catch those mental images. By taking a stroll, almost as if you were the potential buyer at an open house, you may be able to visualize a particular angle that may work wonders. Also, adding or removing objects that may or may not work with the frame.
4. Understand that you will not obtain a high-quality shot while using a cell phone camera. Investing in a digital camera with at least five megapixels or a full-frame will give us a higher likelihood of obtaining the precise frame needed to impress the potential buyer. You can also try to shoot on a tripod so you can effortlessly get your verticals straight right away instead of waiting until editing time.
5. Bring in the light! When you think of the sun, you may think about summertime, or happy fun in the sun moments, right? Well, let’s do the same for this photo. Give the photograph an appealing look by opening curtains or using flash on your digital camera to soften the tone. Photoshop will defiantly be a great tool to apply for this light tip!
6. Do not be afraid to use up your camera to take pictures of every angle. Several snaps of different aspects may illustrate the perfect shot. Don’t be alarmed; lots of deleting and retakes may occur during this step.
7. Tell a story by placing the exterior of the home to be the first photograph, while leaving the alluring patio photograph to be last. This tip will give an online tour feel of the listed home.
8. Staging photos will work wonders. Have a pool? Add simple props such as a wine bottle and two glasses. A fire pit? Go ahead, make it cozy! How about hanging up three stockings to bring in the holiday cheer. This will give the viewer a story they can vividly create.
9. Minor details such as mirror or shower door reflections, used hand soaps, or even uncoordinated colored hand towels will prevent us from acquiring the perfect take.
10. Keep it simple! Less will always give us a better presentation!

If following these ideas may be inconvenient or being on a budget is not something you are sticking to. Then hiring the right professionals will efficiently work for you. Do not hesitate to look for better-suited options such as professional photographers or prop stylist. A prop stylist will style, arrange, and make the home you wish to advertise ready for a shoot. Real estate business professionals do this often, and those who value their time resort to such services frequently. Remember that a phenomenal photo may initiate the sale of the listed home. If you are ready to sell and want a higher number of promising buyers, you know it just takes the right click. I hope these tips and ideas were resourceful enough to help you achieve just that!

We ourselves follow these photo guidelines when we are trying tosell houses fast in Los Angeles.

Thank you to Anthony Sandoval, guest writer for this post:

Founder of SoCal Homes has rapidly scaled his home buying & flipping business to 15M in assets transacted in just 4 short years. His portfolio of holdings includes commercial, industrial, residential and multi-unit properties. His main passion is beautifying the many neighbors he grew up in by buying run-down homes and renovating back to turnkey status and raising property values here in Los Angeles.